IFP Legal Blog: http://www.ifp.org/resources/category/legal
Do I Sound Gay? To Be Released This Summer
David Thorpe’s documentary Do I Sound Gay? will be released later this summer by Sundance Selects. The film had its world premiere at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival and will be the opening night documentary at 2014’s DOCFEST. Bob served as production and distribution counsel for the film.
Robert Seigel Negotiated Rights To Bernard and Huey
Bob recently negotiated the securing of the rights in and to Bernard and Huey, by Slamdance Film Festival co-founder Dan Mirvish. Mirvish will be producing and directing Bernard and Huey, which is based on a long-lost, unpublished screenplay written by Jules Feiffer (Carnal Knowledge, Little Murders, Popeye).
Robert Seigel Advises Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten
The documentary Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock and Roll, addressing the western music influences in Cambodia after it first became independent and then after its takeover by the Khmer Rouge, premiered in May 2015 at The Film Forum and at the IFC Center in New York. It will be opening nationally in June 2015. Bob was production counsel for the documentary.
Robert Seigel on Panel on Doc Distribution
Bob was on a panel concerning "Documentary Distribution Maximizing Opportunities" this past Spring at New York Women in Film and Television.
Difret Wins at Sundance!
The Ethiopia-based motion picture Difret, which has Angelina Jolie as one of its executive producers, won the Audience Award World Cinema Award for Dramatic Features at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival! Bob provided legal services for the motion picture.
Robert Seigel On Panel on Freelancers
Bob participated recently on a panel hosted by New York Women In Film and Television entitled "The Legal Rights of Freelancers." The panel addressed issues faced by freelancers in the entertainment industry including independent contractor agreements, on-the-job liability and termination and separation agreements. Visit the NYWIFT event page for more information.
All Relative Released By Film Buff
Bob’s client J.C. Khoury’s romantic comedy All Relative, starring Connie Nielsen and Sara Paxton, was released by Film Buff last fall after its world premiere at the 2014 Woodstock Film Festival in October. Bob provided legal services for the film.
HBO To Premiere Casting By August 5th
HBO will premiere the latest documentary by Tom Donohue, Casting By, on August 5th. The doc examines the unsung heroes of filmmaking: the casting directors. Bob Seigel represents Tom Donohue.
Hollywood Reporter Reveals Wayward Sons’ Big-Screen Adaptation
As noted in The Hollywood Reporter, Lin Pictures (The LEGO Movie) has teamed up with Red Giant Studios to adapt Red Giant’s web-comic Wayward Sons: Legends to the big screen. Bob Seigel represented Red Giant in the negotiations. The deal will also include a television component. Read the full article here.
Robert L. Seigel on Representation Panel at Sync Up Conference Festival
Bob was part of the panel ‘Rep Me’ at the Sync Up media conference in New Orleans in April. The panel looked at the different and often overlapping roles of the attorney, agent and manager in the entertainment industry.
Between Us Picked up by Monterey Media
Director and Slamdance Co-Founder Dan Mirvish’s new film, Between Us, starring Julia Stiles and Taye Diggs, will be distributed in the U.S. by Monterey Media. Bob Seigel provided production and distribution legal services for the film.
Robert L. Seigel at Sundance 2013 for Blue Caprice and The Lifeguard
Robert L. Seigel provided legal services for two projects that premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival! He served as production counsel on Blue Caprice, which was part of the NEXT section. Blue Caprice is inspired by the 2002 Beltway killings in Washington D.C. Bob also represented one of the production companies that provided funding for the film The Lifeguard, which screened in the U.S. Dramatic section. The Lifeguard stars Kristen Bell as a woman who returns to her hometown in Connecticut and becomes a lifeguard while entering a relationship with a considerably younger man.
Robert L. Seigel on Financial Panel at Woodstock Film Festival
Robert L. Seigel will be at the Woodstock Film Festival this year, as part of the panel “Raising Funds”. The panel will look at the financial, logistical, and legal ins-and-outs of raising money for your film. Also on the panel will be Elisabeth Holm (Film Program Director of Kickstarter), Stephen Hays (120dB Films, gap financier), and Claude dal Farra (producer). Details:
Woodstock Film Festival. Order tickets online.
WHERE: Mountain View Studio, 20 Mountain View Avenue, Woodstock, NY
WHEN: Noon, Sunday October 14th
This promises to be a very informative and entertaining panel.
Casting By Picked up by HBO
Director Tom Donahue’s new documentary, Casting By, which showcases filmmaking’s unsung hero – the casting director – will be distributed in the U.S. by HBO, after premiering at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival. It has also screened at the New York Film Festival in October. Bob Seigel provided legal services for the documentary. Congratulations to Bob and Tom!
God is the Bigger Elvis
HBO and Bob’s client, Documentress Films, produced the documentary short God is the Bigger Elvis which aired on April 5th.
God Is the Bigger Elvis tells the remarkable story of Dolores Hart, a rising Hollywood star who appeared in ten films starting in 1957, acting with the likes of Elvis Presley, Montgomery Clift, Warren Beatty and Anthony Quinn, but abandoned her thriving film career – and cut off her engagement to a young architect – to become a Benedictine nun in 1963.
Directed by Documentress Films’ Rebecca Cammisa and produced by Cammisa and Julie Anderson, the documentary short was nominated for an Academy Award this year.
The Woman Who Wasn’t There
The documentary The Woman Who Wasn’t There, from Meredith Vieira Productions and Bob’s client, filmmaker Angelo J. Guglielmo, Jr., will air on cable’s Investigation Discovery channel on April 17.
The film tells the story of Tania Head, a woman who claimed she had escaped from the Twin Towers on 9/11, and that her fiance had died. After becoming the face of the tragedy, and becoming president of the World Trade Center Survivors’ Network in 2004, a New York Times article uncovered the truth behind her story, revealing it was all lies.
As a companion piece to the documentary, the non-fiction book The Woman Who Wasn’t There: The True Story of an Incredible Deception (Touchstone Hardcover/Simon & Schuster) will be released on April 3, written by New York Times best selling author Robin Gaby Fisher and filmmaker Guglielmo, Jr.
Bob represents Angelo J. Guglielmo, Jr and 4236 Productions.
School of Visual Arts
Bob recently lectured two classes concerning legal issues for producers at the School of Visual Arts in February 2012.
Between Us
Bob negotiated a foreign sales agreement for the motion picture feature Between Us starring Julia Stiles and Taye Diggs, between Maya Entertainment and Bob’s client, Dan Mirvish’s production company Bugeater Entertainment, LLC. ICM also served as the producer’s representative on the deal.
Planet B-Boy
Production has commenced on Screen Gems’ Planet B-Boy, (a fictional motion picture based on the documentary Planet B-Boy), starring Josh Halloway (Lost) and Laz Alonzo (Avatar, Straw Dogs). The film, directed by Benson Lee who also directed the documentary, focuses on the world of international break-dancing competitions. (Legal: Robert L. Seigel for the documentary and for Benson Lee).
About Fifty
As reported in Variety in October 2011, Screen Media has acquired About Fifty (formerly entitled Fifty Nothing) and will release in November. Described as a "coming of age story about the coming of age," the comedy follows two men trying to relive their younger days during a holiday getaway to Palm Springs. The film was repped by Executive Producer Melanie Becker with Robert L. Seigel on behalf of Five Oh Productions, LLC, and the deal was brokered with Screen Media’s Suzanne Blech and David T. Fannon.