PLAYDIGM Entertainment Licensing & Branding

Thanks to Nicolas Chartier of Voltage Pictures, one of the producers of the Oscar winning picture THE HURT LOCKER, suing pirates has become the hot topic once again.  This entertainment war between the makers of films and the audience who don’t pay to watch them, is about to go to another level.

Being a creator of entertainment products, I am a firm believer in copyright and making a living from one’s art/work.  It takes quite a bit of time to write a screenplay and even more to produce it.  You wouldn’t want to produce something you made and then not be able to earn fair market value from it so you can exist and continue to do what you love.

I don’t go into a store and borrow/steal things because I know that it ain’t worth getting caught.  Aside from the fine there is the criminal record which is worse than any monetary loss.  Is it fair to sue someone if they buy a DVD of their favorite movie or a CD of a great band and lend it to a friend? In this case I don’t believe they are a pirate.  They are not making a profit from this transaction. You can sue them (you can sue anybody these days for almost anything) but it is unlikely you will win.

It is my opinion, that to solve this piracy problem, go after those websites that upload copyright material illegally and ensure they can not offer people to download this material.  Are they not the ones who are breaching the creators copyright?  This makes more sense and could be achieved by getting the Internet Providers to ensure this is not being done.  Sure it is a complicated and expensive process, but suing someone for thousands of dollars because they (may or may not) have stolen a DVD/CD off the internet is not proportional to the crime.  If you stole an item from a store the fine is directly related to the worth of the item stolen and again, the criminal record is the worse part.

The entertainment industry needs to go after those that offer their goods online – not the viewers.  I have bought the Beatles White Album too many times and copied it from record to cassette tape then to CD and MP3 digital files.   I also will be lending my cassette of Alice Cooper tunes to a friend – does that make me a Pirate?  Or him?

I shake my head and wonder how all this will play out.  Either way, hope you all are rocking to good tunes and enjoying great movies because it is what helps make life worth living!  Mind you, if you do come across one of my entertainment products – please pay for it.  lol

Sandford Tuey

info@Playdigm.com

How much are the rights to the TERMINATOR brand worth?

Derek Anderson and Victor Kubicek acquired the sci-fi franchise in 2007 for approximately  $25 million and produced  ‘Terminator Salvation’.  They are   looking to sell their brand rights as the  companies they own are fighting off bankruptcy and not cyborgs.

Anderson and Kubicek’s Halcyon Holding Group retained FTI Capital Advisors and have requested court approval to “evaluate strategic alternatives.”

The Original Terminator was released in 1984.  Production company Hemdale Film Corporation owned 50%  and creator James Cameron sold his 50% to his producing partner and future wife Gale Anne Hurd for $1.  They have since divorced.

In 1990, Carolco Pictures, owned by producers Mario Kassar and Andrew Vajna, bought Hemdale’s position for $10 million then promptly released ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’.  However In 1997, Carolco went bankrupt, but the partners started C2 Pictures which purchased their old firm’s stake for $8 million and paid around $8 million for the remaining 50% from Hurd.

In 2007,  novice producers Anderson and Kubicek purchased the Terminator rights.  Anderson claims that the Terminator rights are now worth more than $60 million – twice what he and his partner bought it for. The box office and DVD sales seem to prove that ‘Terminator: Salvation’  is worth more than expected and should even generate more sequels.  Predicting future revenue for any entertainment project is hard to do but this franchise is on solid ground as long as the next story plot is compelling and draws the fans.

How many more times will such a powerful brand change hands, no one knows.  My guesstimate is that the Terminator Trademark and brand will be a viable entertainment asset for generations to come and will hold its value.

I look forward to the next installment, as do millions of audience members and fans.  Be prepared for the Rise and War Of The Machines

How to develop a brand using Galactic Gladiators as an example:

Stage 10

I called Diamond Comics Distribution while the process of choosing which artist, colorist and graphic designer was ongoing.  After this company merged with Capital, it became almost a monopoly distributor of comics and related merchandising to mom and pop, hobby, comic and pop culture stores throughout North America and Europe.  One powerful corporation.

What I learned was that if Diamond did not pick up your comic book, you were not going to get sales into the comic retail stores very easily.  So negotiations started and the first thing I was told was that management would need to see a full color sample of the first issue and a total of three more issues synopsis laid out and described in writing.

I explained that the Galactic Gladiators story was based on my screenplay and that there were only three issues marking the three acts.  They said it was their policy that a minimum of four issues had to be committed to and they needed to know that the story was ready or they would not handle the product.

One of the hardest writing assignments I have ever had to do was turn a three act screenplay into four parts and make it tell the same story.  Each comic ending had to be a climax to ensure readers would want to buy the next issue.  This was a longer and harder process than I expected.

Next Report will be #7.

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FROM THE MIND TO THE MARKE – Pre-Order this ebook by sending an email to info@Playdigm.com (put title of book in the subject line).  This ebook is expected to be available in late 2009.  Reserve an issue with no money down. Payment to be required later.

(c) Sandford Tuey All Rights Reserved.