Performer Agreement
(Between Actor and Independent Production Company, Long Form)

This is a long-form performer agreement in which an independent production company directly employs an actor or actress to provide his or her services for a motion picture. This template includes practical guidance, drafting notes, alternate clauses, and optional clauses. As distinguished from the form of contract intended for studio or major production company use (see Performer Agreement (Between Actor and Motion Picture Studio, Long Form)), the independent production company version is designed to create a quick and economical agreement for all performers on the motion picture by using a top page (labeled as a ""memorandum"") containing a few negotiable terms, to which can be added a ""rider"" containing standard terms and conditions intended to be applied equally to all performers providing services on the motion picture. The instant template may be especially useful for motion picture productions with lower budgets, given the limited number of negotiable terms and corresponding economic benefits. The memorandum part of the agreement contains the performer's contact information and key provisions, including those pertaining to: • Compensation • Credit • Travel benefits If there are any other provisions specifically applicable to the performer, they can be added in the appropriate space at the bottom of the template. However, the objective is to keep the template as simple and succinct as possible. The rider references the memorandum and indicates that any conflicts between the two will be decided in favor of the memorandum, since it is the negotiated portion of the agreement. In the interest of saving time and money, the objective of the rider is to provide standardized terms which should be generally acceptable so that there is no need for further negotiation. If any changes are made to the rider, they should be incorporated into a separate addendum, so that the variations from the standard form will be immediately obvious to anyone responsible for administering the performer services agreements for the production company. Note that it is not uncommon for a performer to form a loan-out company which then provides his or her services to the production company, based upon considerations of tax factors and liability. In such cases, modify the memorandum and rider so that the production company enters into an agreement with the loan-out company (""Lender""), and require the individual performer to sign an Inducement Letter (set forth in Optional Exhibit). If for some reason the Lender loses its entity status and/or develops a legal impediment that prevents it from fulfilling its contractual obligations, the Inducement will require the performer to fulfill the Lender's obligations directly to the production company, and, by the same token, the production company will have recourse directly to the individual performer. For a collection of content related to motion picture production, see Motion Picture Production Resource Kit. For additional guidance on motion picture performer agreements, see Motion Picture Production Agreements and Documents — Talent Agreements and Entertainment Industry Contracts P 11.01. For an agreement between a performer and a motion picture studio, see Performer Agreement (Between Actor and Motion Picture Studio, Long Form).