Contact Information: Contact: Dina Appleton (310) 228-3725 Ralph Richardson (213) 617-5542
Sheppard Mullin Entertainment Attorney Authors 'Hollywood Dealmaking'
Insider Resource Provides Negotiating Tools and Strategies to Navigate Evolving Industry Landscape
| Source: Sheppard Mullin
LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - January 15, 2010) - Dina Appleton, special counsel in the
Entertainment, Media and Technology practice group in Sheppard Mullin's Los
Angeles/Century City office, has co-authored (with Columbia Pictures VP,
Legal Affairs Daniel Yankelevits) "Hollywood Dealmaking: Negotiating Talent
Agreements for Film, TV, and New Media." Published this week, this second
edition book captures the dramatic changes in the entertainment industry
over the past five years and explains negotiation techniques and strategies
used by seasoned professionals in entertainment dealmaking.
While traditional movie deals are still making headlines, new media are
gaining influence and changing the entertainment industry's dealmaking
landscape, transforming the traditional terms in the art of "making the
deal." As the entertainment industry evolves in this new landscape, so
must the deals and dealmakers.
Authored by two Hollywood insiders, "Hollywood Dealmaking" has become the
go-to resource for new and experienced entertainment attorneys, agents and
agent trainees, business affairs executives, and creative executives, and
is currently used in entertainment law courses at UCLA, Loyola, and
Berkeley to name a few. The second edition of the book includes new
chapters on reality television and new media, and discusses new avenues for
content creation, sources of revenue, and innovative talent deals to
navigate the evolving entertainment industry landscape.
Readers will also find advice on how to: Recognize the key players in the
dealmaking process; understand the "lingo" and terminology used in the
entertainment industry; acquire option-purchase rights in a contract;
create employment deals for the actor, director, writer, producer, and
crew; work out distribution deals and rights for film and television; and
specify net profits, back-end agreements, and box-office bonuses. With
extensive interviews and quotes from major Hollywood players and industry
insiders (including Sheppard Mullin partners Robert Darwell and Craig
Cardon), memos to illustrate key dealmaking points, and section-by-section
summaries to clarify complex legal issues, "Hollywood Dealmaking" is an
essential resource for industry novices and veterans alike.
Dina Appleton represents major film studios and television companies as
well as independent producers. She previously ran the business and legal
affairs for a respected Hollywood talent agency and she's spoken on various
panels regarding entertainment law. Appleton teaches a dealmaking course
annually at UCLA Extension and she is a regular contributor to Backstage
magazine and contributed to the Final Draft/Lone Eagle Press book, Ask the
Pros. She is a member of both the law society of Upper Canada and the
California Bar.
Daniel Yankelevits has a wealth of experience in both business and legal
affairs in both television and film. He served as Chairman of the Beverly
Hills Bar Association, Entertainment Section, from 1998-1999 and he's
currently a member of the planning committee for the USC Entertainment Law
Symposium. Yankelevits teaches an annual class at UCLA titled 'Negotiating
Talent Agreements and Motion Picture Contracts,' and he's written several
articles about the motion picture industry in the Los Angeles Daily
Journal, California's largest legal news provider, and Script magazine.
About Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
Sheppard Mullin is a full service AmLaw 100 firm with 550 attorneys in 11
offices located in the United States and Asia. Since 1927, companies have
turned to Sheppard Mullin to handle corporate and technology matters, high
stakes litigation and complex financial transactions. In the U.S., the
firm's clients include more than half of the Fortune 100. For more
information, please visit www.sheppardmullin.com.