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    Movie Production Termsheets

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    Sai Teja
    Pay or play is a commitment by a producer to pay an artist their negotiated fee even if the production is cancelled or the artist's services are no longer required. This protects both the artist from lost income and the producer from lawsuits if they replace the artist. It incentivizes producers to use the contracted artist. Pay and play further commits the producer to using the artist's services, unless contingencies like disability prevent it. Most artists require pay or play agreements before committing their schedule to a project.

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    Movie Production Termsheets

    Uploaded by

    Sai Teja
    82 views3 pages
    Pay or play is a commitment by a producer to pay an artist their negotiated fee even if the production is cancelled or the artist's services are no longer required. This protects both the artist from lost income and the producer from lawsuits if they replace the artist. It incentivizes producers to use the contracted artist. Pay and play further commits the producer to using the artist's services, unless contingencies like disability prevent it. Most artists require pay or play agreements before committing their schedule to a project.

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    Movie production Termsheets

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    Pay or play is a commitment by a producer to pay an artist their negotiated fee even if the production is cancelled or the artist's services are no longer required. This protects both the artist from lost income and the producer from lawsuits if they replace the artist. It incentivizes producers to use the contracted artist. Pay and play further commits the producer to using the artist's services, unless contingencies like disability prevent it. Most artists require pay or play agreements before committing their schedule to a project.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    82 views3 pages

    Movie Production Termsheets

    Uploaded by

    Sai Teja
    Pay or play is a commitment by a producer to pay an artist their negotiated fee even if the production is cancelled or the artist's services are no longer required. This protects both the artist from lost income and the producer from lawsuits if they replace the artist. It incentivizes producers to use the contracted artist. Pay and play further commits the producer to using the artist's services, unless contingencies like disability prevent it. Most artists require pay or play agreements before committing their schedule to a project.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 3

    What Does 'Pay or Play' Really Mean?

    Essentially, pay or play is the commitment by a producer -- a studio,


    network, production company, or individual -- to pay the artist even if the
    producer later decides that the artist's services won't be required.
    In other words, whether or not the production goes forward, and whether
    or not the artist is ultimately required to render services, he or she will
    be paid the negotiated fee.
    This is subject to limited exceptions, typically including the artist's
    disability, force majeure (an unexpected or uncontrollable event, also
    known as an "act of God"), and/or the artist's breach of the agreement.

    The expression is a bit confusing, as it implies that the artist is either


    "paid" or "played." Obviously, if the artist is played, he or she must also
    be paid.

    A typical pay-or-play provision protects not only the artist but the
    producer too, as it allows the producer to terminate an artist's services
    for any reason whatsoever -- with or without cause -- without the threat
    of a lawsuit for loss of opportunity or a similar claim, as long as the
    agreed-upon compensation is paid. The producer doesn't even have to
    proceed with the production.
    For the artist, pay or play offers security from loss of compensation if he
    or she is replaced at the director's whim after the artist took him- or
    herself off the market in anticipation of the production. It also acts as
    incentive for the producer to utilize the artist, as the producer must pay
    him or her anyway.

    Pay or play is akin to a "run of the play" contract in theatre, which says
    that if an actor is replaced, he or she will still get paid for as long as the
    show runs.

    Memoirs of a Geisha is an example of a film on which the provision


    came into play. Several years before it was finally produced and
    released in 2005 with Rob Marshall directing, the movie was slated to be
    shot with Steven Spielberg at the helm. At that time, several actors were
    hired by the studio under pay-or-play deals. When the contracted start
    date came and went, those actors began receiving their full salary as if
    they were rendering services.

    A related but rarely employed concept is pay and play. This is a


    commitment by a producer both to pay the artist and to use the artist's
    services in the production, barring any of the typical contingencies
    mentioned above.

    In other words, the producer agrees not to produce the project without
    the artist's participation. A producer is usually loath to make such a
    commitment except under exceptional circumstances.

    It is rumored that Sylvester Stallone would not sell the rights to his
    screenplay for Rocky unless he was attached to star in it. He was
    purportedly made pay and play to render acting services in the film.

    Because pay-or-play clauses can have a significant financial impact on


    a producer, most won't deem an actor pay or play until the picture has
    been green-lighted, a firm start date has been set, and the other
    principal cast members have been made pay or play.
    Independently financed pictures often try to avoid pay-or-play provisions
    altogether or delay them until the start of principal photography, so they
    can be assured the movie is fully funded and will proceed.
    Most working actors in film and TV won't consider an offer unless it is
    pay or play, as they won't tie up their schedule if they aren't certain to be
    compensated for it.
    In any event, it is important -- on both sides of the bargaining table -- to
    be clear as to what preconditions must be satisfied before the pay-or-
    play obligations kick in.

    Dina Appleton is co-author of 'Hollywood Dealmaking: Negotiating


    Talent Agreements' and is special counsel in the Entertainment Media
    and Communications Group at the law firm Sheppard Mullin Richter &
    Hampton LLP in Los Angeles. She previously headed business and
    legal affairs at the now defunct talent agency Writers and Artists
    Agency.
    https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/pay-play-really-mean-30130/

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