Come on by the Pocket Lawyer book signing event tomorrow!

Lecture/ Book Signing – The Pocket Lawyer for Filmmakers Second Edition, by Thomas A. Crowell, Esq.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011 from 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM (ET)

Location

19 W. 21st. St.

Ground Floor

New York, NY 10010

When The Pocket Lawyer for Filmmakers first hit the shelves four years ago, Backstage called it: “an excellent, potentially career-saving resource.” The book quickly became a best-seller in the industry, finding a favored place on the bookshelves of both indie filmmakers and studio executives. 

The Pocket Lawyer for Filmmakers was designed to help producers reduce legal costs by providing the vital information needed to make informed decisions on the legal aspects of film, video, and TV productions. Written by a TV-producer-turned-entertainment-lawyer, this no-nonsense reference provides fast answers in plain English: no law degree required!

With the New Year comes the much anticipated new edition of The Pocket Lawyer for Filmmakers! This second edition features sections on production services agreements, film tax credits, DIY distribution, product placement, and more!

Come hear author/attorney Thomas A. Crowell, Esq. discuss the new edition and learn tips and tricks on how to avoid some of the more dangerous legal problems that regularly destroy indie films. 

Thomas A. Crowell, Esq. is an attorney and former television producer who counsels his clients on a wide range of entertainment law and intellectual property rights issues. In addition to his law practice, he is a professor of Film Law at Cardozo Law School, where he is the Director of the Indie Film Clinic. For more information, please see: http://www.showbizsoftware.com/category_s/42.htm

Are Some Production Incentives Doomed?

Grab those state tax credits while you can, Filmmakers! It looks like some states are preparing to tighten their budgets and some production incentive programs may be lead to the chopping block!

The New York Times has this to say about the potential production incentive bloodletting: States Weigh Cuts in Hollywood Subsidies

For more on state production incentives, see chapter 6 of the second edition of The Pocket Lawyer for Filmmakers.

The Indie Film Clinic

As many of you know, I will be teaching Film Law at Cardozo Law School this semester. I have also been hired as the Director of Cardozo’s new Independent Film Clinic. As you can see in the link, the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting is behind us, 100%! If you are an independent filmmaker shooting in NY, and you can’t afford an attorney, why see if the clinic is right for you?

An informational session will be held for filmmakers and producers on Tuesday, January 18 at 6pm at Cardozo’s campus at 55 Fifth Avenue at 12th Street. Clinic attorneys will be on hand at the session to discuss the Clinic and answer questions. To RSVP, contact David Morrison, executive director of the Clinic, at dmorriso@yu.edu. If you’re unable to attend, call 212.790.0417 or email (dmorriso@yu.edu) to discuss scheduling an initial interview. For more information, visit the Clinic online here: Cardozo Indie Film Clinic.


See the press release from the NYC Mayor's Office, click here.