Sign Here; Sell Soul.

That is what the question I keep asking myself seems like.

Warren and I met today to go over the movie contract. He saw things I completely missed. Dear friend Jane advised me wisely to be discreet here, but the title of this post explains how I feel—rather, the position I feel we (Warren and I) are in.

The remuneration offered is not fixed to the size of the movie's budget as it would be were I a unionized screenwriter. If our movie's budget is what they have been proposing, our offer is less that 25% of what union pay would be and it is far, far wider in its scope than a union contract would be. Plus we are called upon to be available for rewrites.

Worst of all, whereas Warren and I are writers, it is not about his life, it is about my life and the contract offered allows them to use my name and image as they see fit and any way they want globally—they can do anything they want with my real name.

On Thursday, we meet Brad to discuss our concerns.

When—and if—you tell someone you are negotiating the sale of your screenplay, it elicits either a very positive or very cynical reaction. Many people congratulate me, several warn me about the nature of the industry and they are clearly very skeptical. And, they think I am naive. It is, therefore, supremely interesting to experience the process firsthand. 

Warren remains a stalwart treasure. It feels like some kind of divine grace delivered him. Going through this process alone would be traumatic.
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UPDATE:  I was wrong! A key phrase in the contract was left out. See here.