Free Option...

kevacho

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 6, 2005
Messages
67
Reaction score
2
Location
Portland, OR
So, I've been doing this for a while. Done lunch in L.A. Worked with a couple of managers without any success, monetary or otherwise.

Now I'm querying and trying to get an agent for my most recent script, and a producer from "Pump Productions, Inc." found my script on inktip.com and wants to option it as a "Free Option".

Admittedly, my knowledge as to the negatives and positives of such a deal are limited. I'm getting a lot of information from my research, but would love to hear some opinions and thoughts from any and all.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Kevin
 

Bergerac

Reading & Writing
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 4, 2007
Messages
228
Reaction score
33
Location
It varies
So, I've been doing this for a while. Done lunch in L.A. Worked with a couple of managers without any success, monetary or otherwise.

Now I'm querying and trying to get an agent for my most recent script, and a producer from "Pump Productions, Inc." found my script on inktip.com and wants to option it as a "Free Option".

Admittedly, my knowledge as to the negatives and positives of such a deal are limited. I'm getting a lot of information from my research, but would love to hear some opinions and thoughts from any and all.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Kevin

Interestingly, Stage 32 has a webinar scheduled tomorrow regarding options. Here's the link:
https://www.stage32.com/webinars/Option-Agreements-Everything-You-Always-Wanted-to-Know?affid=jt1

I can't personally recommend this one, but generally everything Joey Tuccio puts on is pretty good. It costs about $50 or so.

Here's the pitch from my email box:

Stage 32 Live Webinar!
Tomorrow, October 21st, 1PM PDT


The good news - your work has caught the eye of a producer, a director, a manager or an agent. The great news – they want to option it. Now, what exactly does that mean? Or, what if you’ve found the perfect material you want to develop – how do you go about optioning it?

Stage 32 Next Level Webinars is thrilled to bring you Option Agreements: Everything You Always Wanted To Know, hosted by EMMY award winner Lane Shefter Bishop.

This webinar will provide essential practical knowledge on the ins and outs of option agreements as Lane breaks them down step-by-step and section-by-section. This is vital for authors and screenwriters who currently have or expect to have their own material optioned and want to know what monies they can expect to make, when, and how. But it is also highly beneficial for producers, directors, and talent looking to acquire their own underlying material for development- books, short stories, graphic novels, articles, etc.

Over the last few years, Lane Shefter Bishop with Vast Entertainment has set up more than two-dozen book properties – many of them only book proposals and early partials – with studios, networks and production companies throughout the entertainment industry. Underlying intellectual property is like gold these days. Great projects ‘based on’ or ‘inspired by’ literary material are constantly in demand. And by being in the center of this ‘content is king’ world, only Lane can give you the valuable insights towards making your story more sellable to the industry marketplace.
 

screenscope

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 5, 2005
Messages
681
Reaction score
78
Location
Sydney, Australia
So, I've been doing this for a while. Done lunch in L.A. Worked with a couple of managers without any success, monetary or otherwise.

Now I'm querying and trying to get an agent for my most recent script, and a producer from "Pump Productions, Inc." found my script on inktip.com and wants to option it as a "Free Option".

Admittedly, my knowledge as to the negatives and positives of such a deal are limited. I'm getting a lot of information from my research, but would love to hear some opinions and thoughts from any and all.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Kevin

Others may disagree, but I have always refused free option deals as it's great for the producer but lousy for the writer.

All it does is take your script off the market and gives no incentive to the producer to make a timely decision. My belief is that if there is genuine interest, the producer should stump up some cash, even if it's a nominal amount. It really annoys me when people expect something for nothing from writers.

In this case, I would use the offer to try to secure an agent and, if successful, refer them to the producer to negotiate on your behalf.

The last time this happened to me, I told the producer I would not enter into a free option, but as a matter of courtesy I would touch base with him before entering into an agreement with anyone else. He didn't respond.

My approach, of course, could scupper a potential deal, so make sure you weigh up your 'options' before you decide.
 

DevelopmentExec

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 4, 2007
Messages
394
Reaction score
60
Location
Los Angeles
The most important thing in an option agreement is the terms of the sale if the option is executed.

While I'm not a fan of the free option, a free one that offers a 300K sale price, is preferable to a two thousand dollar option that offers a 25K sale price.

I've always structured my options (whether free or not) with a sales price that's a %age of the production budget (usually somewhere btn 2 1/2 - 3 1/2%, more if they want me to rewrite during the option period) with a reasonable floor (usually at least guild minimum,) and a ceiling if the producer requires one. This way I'm guaranteed a decent minimum but the more financing they're able to get, the more compensation I receive.

If you are going to agree to a free option, try to keep the time-frame short (6 months) and have a clause that forces them to pay an option fee if they decide to extend the option after the first six months. If they're going to pay to extend, they're almost certainly going to want the extension to be for more than six months.
 

kevacho

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 6, 2005
Messages
67
Reaction score
2
Location
Portland, OR
Thank you everyone. You've given me great information and a lot to think about.

-Kevin
 

kevacho

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 6, 2005
Messages
67
Reaction score
2
Location
Portland, OR
More on "free option"...

So, I just got off the phone with her. For lack of a better phrase I got a good vibe. Now for the "not-so-good" news, she wants me to sign an 18 month free option agreement. She's mailing it to me, so I'm thinking I might call her once I've had time to look it over and try to get her down to 6 or 9 months.

What do you guys think?

Again, thank you any and all for your help and opinions.

Sincerely,

Kevin
 

MagnusRex

Registered
Joined
Jun 15, 2014
Messages
21
Reaction score
1
Now for the "not-so-good" news, she wants me to sign an 18 month free option agreement. She's mailing it to me, so I'm thinking I might call her once I've had time to look it over and try to get her down to 6 or 9 months.

What do you guys think?

Again, thank you any and all for your help and opinions.

Sincerely,

Kevin

Wow. 18 months is a LONG time to have your hard work effectively off the market - for free.

Just curious, have you looked up this producer's track record? I.e., how many films have made it through production/distribution?
 

kevacho

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 6, 2005
Messages
67
Reaction score
2
Location
Portland, OR
Not many. She produced a music show in Australia, and is partnered with a woman who has 18 producer credits.

Yah, the 18 month long thing kind'a threw me too.
 

MrJayVee

Pro scribe
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 14, 2005
Messages
258
Reaction score
17
Location
Beverly Hills, CA
Website
www.theworkingscreenwriter.blogspot.com
Option...

18 months? Nope, don't do it. It's an insult to YOU. Yes, get her down to no more than 9 months (and even that's pushing it). What happens is some producers will get free options on a bunch of scripts, hoping that they can get at least one of them off the ground. If they believe in your script--if they think it's worthy of producing--then they should come up with some decent cash. Case closed.
 

ricetalks

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 6, 2008
Messages
665
Reaction score
48
Location
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
18 month is too long. Ask her how much time she really needs to shop it around and see who is interested. Question whether or not it should take her 18 months if she has good contacts. Give her 6 months. Tell her you'll grant her a 6 month renewal if she can come back to you with something solid on board.
 

kevacho

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 6, 2005
Messages
67
Reaction score
2
Location
Portland, OR
Thus ends the "free option"...

So to, as they say, put a cap on it, my discussions with the producer and her free option are over. She sent me an 18 month option agreement with two extensions, both another 18 months. There were a couple of legal points as far as rights and return of rights that I noted when I sent her back an email, and she ran like a startled deer. Told me she was going to take a "miss" on my screenplay. I get the feeling that she thought she was dealing with an ignorant kid. I am many things, good and bad, an ignorant kid would not be one of them.

Back to the drawing board.

If anyone has any dealings with Pump Productions Inc. feel free to pm, and I can retell my experience.

Best of luck to all,
Kevin
 

Jamesaritchie

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 13, 2005
Messages
27,863
Reaction score
2,311
I hate free option offers, and would never accept one, but I have a friend who has done this, but with a six month option. This seems more than long enough, to me.

I do very little for free, and I won't option anything to anyone who can't afford to pay me a decent amount without missing the money. A free option usually means the person is either broke, or hopes you're sucker enough to take all the risk.
 

kevacho

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 6, 2005
Messages
67
Reaction score
2
Location
Portland, OR
Thanks for the comment, James. I'll be honest with you I was seriously considering it, but when she bailed after I asked three very legitimate questions I knew it was "too good to be true".

The weird thing is a lot of my friends asked me why anyone would do such a thing -- sign a writer to what essentially amounts to a bogus contract just to string writer along for 18 months. And I don't really have a good answer for them. Oh well.

Thanks again, to everyone who weighed in. I appreciate and enjoy your knowledge and comments.

Kevin

Live to write. Write to live.
 

Bergerac

Reading & Writing
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 4, 2007
Messages
228
Reaction score
33
Location
It varies
I hate free option offers, and would never accept one, but I have a friend who has done this, but with a six month option. This seems more than long enough, to me.

I do very little for free, and I won't option anything to anyone who can't afford to pay me a decent amount without missing the money. A free option usually means the person is either broke, or hopes you're sucker enough to take all the risk.

Are you talking about optioning the rights to your novels?

Or optioning the rights to your screenplays?

I NEVER option the rights to my novels to anyone other than a major studio or producing entity, and those options are NEVER free.

Screenplays... that's a different matter. I don't mind a free 4-month option so a producer can see if he/she can "set it up" but my entertainment attorney is involved from the start.

At my production company, if one of the principals comes in with a pet project, they will need at least 90 days to talk to investors, get a budget drawn up, pitch to a director, etc., so we require a free 4-month option. It lets us know if the writer will be a cooperative team player, which is the only kind we want to work with. If they demand up front money for a mini-option, even after the process is explained to them, we cut them loose. If they want pay-to-play table money, they'll need to look elsewhere. If we request a short option, though, it's in good faith. Longer than that is hobbling the writer so we pay if a deal is in the works.

Unless someone is already produced, big upfront option money is a part of the bygone days.
 

screenscope

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 5, 2005
Messages
681
Reaction score
78
Location
Sydney, Australia
Are you talking about optioning the rights to your novels?

Or optioning the rights to your screenplays?

I NEVER option the rights to my novels to anyone other than a major studio or producing entity, and those options are NEVER free.

Screenplays... that's a different matter. I don't mind a free 4-month option so a producer can see if he/she can "set it up" but my entertainment attorney is involved from the start.

At my production company, if one of the principals comes in with a pet project, they will need at least 90 days to talk to investors, get a budget drawn up, pitch to a director, etc., so we require a free 4-month option. It lets us know if the writer will be a cooperative team player, which is the only kind we want to work with. If they demand up front money for a mini-option, even after the process is explained to them, we cut them loose. If they want pay-to-play table money, they'll need to look elsewhere. If we request a short option, though, it's in good faith. Longer than that is hobbling the writer so we pay if a deal is in the works.

Unless someone is already produced, big upfront option money is a part of the bygone days.

That's fair and I would have no objection to that kind of short deal. It's when producers want to tie up the script for more than 6 months - and with extension options - that I draw the line.
 

kevacho

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 6, 2005
Messages
67
Reaction score
2
Location
Portland, OR
Bergerac- I'm talking about an 18 month "free" option regarding one of my screenplays. That was one of the questions I put to her, whether or not she was willing to entertain a 6, even 9 month option. I also asked a couple questions regarding exclusive rights.

Hell. I was very professional with her. I think that's what spooked her.;)

Kevin