Clean deal structures from development through distribution.
A production is only as clean as the paper underneath it.
Dev → Distribution
Production Legal Across the Full Lifecycle
The legal framework
Film and television production is a chain of rights, contracts, and clearances — each link load-bearing. A gap in chain of title, an unsigned contributor release, an uncleared third-party asset, or a distribution deal with the wrong recoupment structure can halt a project at exactly the moment it should be released. We represent production companies, independent studios, and production entities across the full lifecycle — option agreements that secure the underlying rights, chain-of-title work that makes the project financeable and releasable, co-production and distribution deals that protect long-term value, financing structures that align investor and producer incentives, and the IP disputes that arise when any link in the chain is contested. Our job is to build the legal infrastructure so the creative work can reach the screen.
Chain of Title
Chain of title is the documentary proof that every necessary right has been properly acquired and transferred. Distributors, financiers, and E&O insurers require it before release. We build and verify the chain from the underlying work through every contributor, ensuring no gap halts distribution.
Option Agreements
An option grants a producer the exclusive right to acquire underlying rights (a book, screenplay, life story) for a set term at a fixed price. We structure option-purchase agreements that protect both the rights holder and the producer — with extension, reversion, and credit terms drafted to survive the development gauntlet.
Distribution
Distribution deals determine who controls release and how revenue flows back. Key terms — distribution fee (typically 15–35%), expense cap, recoupment waterfall, term, territory, and media — decide whether a profitable film actually pays its producers. We negotiate from the recoupment structure outward.
E&O Insurance
Distributors, broadcasters, and streamers require errors-and-omissions insurance before licensing a project. E&O covers infringement, defamation, and privacy claims — and requires a clean chain of title and legal clearance review. We prepare the clearance work that makes E&O obtainable.
What we handle
Option & Underlying Rights
Structuring and negotiating option-purchase agreements for books, screenplays, articles, life stories, and other underlying works — with extension, reversion, credit, and purchase-price terms that survive the development process.
Chain of Title
Building, verifying, and repairing chain of title — contributor agreements, assignment and work-for-hire paperwork, releases, and the documentary record that makes a project financeable, releasable, and insurable.
Co-Production Arrangements
Structuring co-production deals between production entities — controlling creative control, financial contribution, credit, revenue splits, and decision rights, and aligning the parties so the production can proceed without governance disputes.
Distribution Deals
Negotiating distribution agreements across theatrical, streaming, home video, and international territories — controlling the distribution fee, expense cap, recoupment waterfall, term, territory, and media to protect the producer's long-term return.
Financing Structures
Structuring film and television financing — equity, debt, tax credits and incentives, gap and slate financing, and investor agreements — that align investor and producer incentives and preserve producer control through the production cycle.
Production Clearances & IP
Clearance work for third-party content embedded in a production — music, clips, photographs, brands, and life rights — and the IP disputes that arise when chain of title or clearance is contested after release.
Entertainment & Media
A production is only as clean as the paper underneath it. Chain of title, option terms, distribution recoupment — these are not formalities. They are the decisions that determine whether a project reaches the screen and whether its producers get paid.
— Michael A. Johnson, Shareholder
How we work
Shareholder-led from intake. Counsel that moves as fast as the matter requires — and prepares for the resolution that may never require a courtroom.
Rights & Structure
We map the rights landscape at development — underlying rights, option terms, contributor agreements, and the chain-of-title plan — so the project is financeable and releasable from the start.
Production Legal
During production, we handle the deal paper — cast and crew agreements, location releases, vendor contracts, and the clearances that make chain of title clean and E&O obtainable.
Distribution & Financing
We structure and negotiate the distribution and financing deals — controlling the recoupment structure, investor terms, and territory splits that determine whether a profitable project actually pays its producers.
Disputes & Enforcement
When rights are contested — chain of title, credit, distribution accounting, or clearance — we litigate effectively in federal court, arbitration, or through negotiated resolution.
Representative results
Outcomes in this area. Every result depends on its facts; past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Theatrical + SVOD
Negotiated a multi-territory distribution agreement for an independent feature — controlling the distribution fee, expense cap, and recoupment waterfall to preserve producer return across theatrical and SVOD windows.
Independent Feature · 2024
Repaired
Rebuilt chain of title for a documentary production missing contributor releases — obtained retroactive releases and cleared third-party content so the project became financeable and E&O-insurable.
Documentary · 2023
Option → Sale
Structured an option-purchase agreement for a book adaptation — with extension and reversion terms that protected the rights holder while allowing the producer to develop the project over a multi-year option window.
Adaptation · 2025
Michael A. Johnson
Shareholder Nashville
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