ENTERTAINMENT LAW CIRCULAR
June 2020
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Join David Albert Pierce's webinar Thursday, June 18, 2020 at 11 am Pacific/2pm Eastern.
You can catch the live stream on
Slamdance Film Festival's Facebook Page
or clicking the
Tune In box below
or watch rebroadcasts any time in the future on
Facebook, Youtube, MovieMaker,com, Slamdance.org or PierceLLP.com
starting on Monday June 22nd.
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The CA Department of Public Health announced that film production can re-open as early as June 12th, but there’s always a catch. Our firm’s research staff has been following & compiling the new state-wide, nation-wide, & even worldwide rules & guidelines that film & TV crews must abide by when restarting production. In this third desk-side chat, in partnership with
Slamdance
&
MovieMaker Magazine
,
David Albert Pierce
will cover producers' obligations for operations during every stage of production in our post-pandemic reality. Save yourself hours of research & join us for this virtual legal clinic in order to stay on top of production guidelines as an informed filmmaker in our new film industry.
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Thursday, June 18th
11AM (PDT) | 2PM (EDT)
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. . .And catch a rebroadcast of David's webinar from last month anytime online by. . .
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In case you missed it, our firm partnered with
Slamdance Film Festiva
l
&
MovieMaker Magazine
to host our
second
virtual legal clinic and answered questions about how to safely return to production in a COVID-19 world.
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Other Past Firm Seminars & Events in May & June
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Film & TV Crisis Update: Force Majeure, Financing, Insurance, Labor, COVID-19 Legal Issues
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On M
ay 18th
,
David Albert Pierce
was one of 4 panelists who spoke on a webinar panel for the
Beverly Hills Bar Association's Entertainment Law Section
on COVID-19 Issues Confronting the Entertainment Industry. The other panelists included Insurance Broker
Winnie Wong
, Film Financier
Peter Graham
and fellow Entertainment Attorney
Larry Verbit.
Like David's prior seminars, this one focused on how
Force Majeure
and common law contract defenses may affect productions. In addition, issues concerning
Effects of COVID-19 on Financing issues, completion bonds, insurance matters and safety concerns
as a result of COVID-19 were discussed.
David Albert Pierce
was the Program Chairman. David is also the immediate Past Chairman of the Entertainment Law Section.
Free rebroadcasts of this BHBA Seminar can be viewed by clicking below:
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On
June 11, 2020, PLG-LLP Partner,
John R. Baldivia, served as the Program Chair for the BHBA webinar titled
"Battling over Arbitration Clauses: Tips, Traps, and Latest Developments." This was a joint program put on by the
BHBA Entertainment Law Section and the Litigation Section. The panel speakers were
: Legendary Entertainment Law attorney
Neville Johnson, Litigation Attorney
Adam Wolfson and
the Honorable John Zebriwski (Retired) now an arbitrator for ADR Services.
That webinar is also available for rebroadcast via the Beverly Hills Bar Association's website:
BHBA.org
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MovieMaker Magazine's "Demystified" webseries is now available online and features David Albert Pierce discussing important issues to consider when entering a distribution deal.
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PLG Clients,
Jess Jacklin &
Charles Beale as
Studiofest, have been working with
MovieMaker Magazine to produce this new web series called
Demystified.
David Albert Pierce appears as featured speaking in
Episode 3, which premiered on Studiofest's
Youtube Channel
June 15th and which can also be viewed on
MovieMaker.com
.
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WHAT'S NEW AT PIERCE LAW GROUP LLP?
-- June 2020 --
P LG-LLP C L I E N T S P O T L I G H T
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"Fully Realized Humans"
Congratulations to PLG Clients,
Sean Drummond & Chelsea Bo of Paxeros Productions, premiered the film
Fully Realized Humans
, at
Tribeca Film Festival (or at least the virtual edition of the Festival) where it was (virtually)
nominated for multiple awards, including
Best Actor, Best Cinematography,
and Best Screenplay.
"Fully Realized Humans" tells the story of Jackie and Elliot who are confronted with the torments of parenthood and left with no other option but to go on a quest to become fully realized humans in order to better parent their child.
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"1BR"
Congratulations to PLG Client
Allok Mishra recently wrote an article in
MovieMaker Magazine detailing his firsthand experiences in the producing his horror film,
1BR. The article details how 1BR was almost shut down by a number of ridiculous obstacles, and how it overcame them all.
1BR, is produced by Pierce Law Group client
Malevolent Films and tells the story of a young woman who moves into an apartment complex with strictly enforced rules with neighbors who are not what they seem. The film is distributed by
Dark Sky Films and is available for purchase on
AmazonPrime.
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"FIX IT IN FIVE"
Congratulations to PLG Client,
Dr. Lynette Louise (aka
The Brain Broad
), released her International Docu-Series to the public online during the COVID-19 lockdown.
FIX IT IN FIVE documents the Brain Broad helping children with autism and other co-occurring disorders improve through the use of play, neurofeedback and brain-behavior science while teaching parent these same techniques in their homes!
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"Rise of the King-Fu Dragon"
Congratulations to PLG client,
Chris Mancini
, fully crowd-funded his next project, "
Rise of the King-Fu Dragon
"
on Kickstarter
.
The project is a graphic novel in which A small time crook in Los Angeles, becomes an unlikely hero in the mystical battle between good and evil which has been fought since the days of Ancient China.
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Congratulations to PLG Client,
David Arquette, who has just fully signed to returns as
Officer Dewey Riley in
Spyglass Media Group's reboot of
Scream. Arquette states he looks forward to reuniting with the
Scream cast & bringing this beloved character back to life.--- We feel the same way!
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How are you, anyway?
If you haven't already, please take a moment to
complete our 2020 client survey:
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Pierce Law Group leads the way with U.S. Supreme Court amicus filing in important copyright case concerning John Steinbeck
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David Albert Pierce and
John Baldivia filed an
amicus brief with the
US Supreme Court at the end of April 2020 in regard to
Estate of Steinbeck v. Kaffaga
, SCOTUS Case No.19-1181 on behalf of
California Society of Entertainment Lawyers.
The brief seeks to persuade the SCOTUS to grant the petition of heirs of author John Steinbeck in regard to an important issue in interpreting the rule governing the inalienable right of authors (and their heirs) to retain the statutory right to terminate copyright licenses and assignments 35 years later when those deals are later deemed imprudent.
Special shout out goes to Pierce Law Group Spring Semester intern,
Daniel Kolko for his valuable and scholarly legal research which contributed to the brief!
To read a more detailed summary of this case, visit the
PLG BLOG. To view the official filing, use the button below.
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What Are You Doing to Protect your
Corona Content
?
Individuals are creating new corona content every day, but they’re also sharing it with the globe via the worldwide web. We’re seeing the positive effects this content is having on its audience who are craving fresh & digestible entertainment more now than ever. As the true and original author of your work, however, having your handle tagged on an image or below a video is not enough to keep your intellectual property (IP) protected from infringement. Our firm has long been an advocate for filmmakers in the realm of protecting (& defending) IP. For questions or assistance, contact Pierce Law Group LLP.
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WGA Says Some Companies “Shortchanging” TV Writers
in Misapplication Of Force Majeure Clauses
(Deadline)
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As discussed in our recent virtual legal clinics, the boilerplate "force majeure" language in a lot of California contracts remains vague & fails to mention public health crises. Now the WGA is speaking out as this language is effecting the paychecks of their union members.
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The above article pairs nicely with the Deadline article "
Justin Baldoni’s Wayfarer Studios Launches Social Distancing-Themed ‘Six Feet Apart Experiment’ Filmmaking Competition
" (below). On June 22, up to five filmmakers will be selected and then paired with a seasoned storyteller to mentor them throughout the production process. Wayfarer Studios and Wayfarer Entertainment will provide winners $50,000 in production financing & in-kind services. All projects must be filmed with social distancing guidelines in mind & feature innovative filmmaking techniques. This includes webcams, mobile phones, user-generated and sourced footage. Filmmakers are asked to submit pitches for original stories – screenplays or experimental – complete scripts encouraged but not required
.
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RECENT DECISIONS RELEVANT
to the
ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY
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Pierce Law Group LLP has served as general counsel for the world famous Comedy Store since 2003. We also represent many of the comedians that grace its stages.
Help us help them during these unprecedented times. Following the passing of Mitzi Shore, Our firm assisted The Comedy Store in establishing a Comedian's Assistance Fund in conjunction with the Motion Picture Television Fund (
MPTF). That fund has never been more needed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Donations can be made to the fund with proceeds benefiting comedians unable to perform during the time of COVID as well as the employee door staff and wait staff that have been unemployed during the pandemic. To donate click below:
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Pierce Law Group LLP
is civic minded and pleased to have donated to
“
The Minnesota Freedom Fund
”
which is dedicated to creating solutions to end discrimination and oppressive conduct that may occur against those less fortunate by our country’s criminal justice system, as well as our immigration system.
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Pierce Law Group LLP Recognized by Clients & Peers
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MDAF Membership limited to attorneys who've won million dollar verdicts & settlements
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Don't forget to connect with us on social media!
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DISCLAIMER
The information you obtain in this newsletter is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for advice regarding your individual situation. We invite you to contact us and welcome your calls, letters, and electronic mail. Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please do not send any confidential information to us until such time as an attorney-client relationship has been established.
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