Studio contract

As a studio contract (. Engl Studio Contract ) were referred to in the studio system of the film industry in Hollywood an employment contract by which a film artist - as an actor for a particular period exclusively to one - film production company has been bound ( "Studio"). Up until the 1950s, studio contracts, the duration of which was usually 7 years, were the normal contractual relationship between studio and artist in Hollywood. Only then did it become common for artists to conclude contracts with production companies for individual film projects, including feesand negotiated profit-sharing. The usual components of a studio contract included a progressive remuneration that was paid to the artist on a weekly basis, regardless of how many films he was used in or how many days he actually worked. 40 weeks were usually paid within a working year; the remaining 12 weeks were unpaid leave during which the artist was not allowed to work for other companies. In which film projects the studio used him, the artist usually had little influence. The studios on the other side is procured flexibility by "borrowed", as in the case of staff shortages, artists together ( Loan-out ). It was also customary to suspend unpaid artists for a certain period of time who had made themselves unpopular or could not be employed, for example because they were pregnant. The time during which the actor was suspended was added by the studios to the regular term of the studio contract. This practice continued until a California professional court ruled in a lawsuit between Olivia de Havilland and Warner Brothers .

Contract actors also often employed their own agents , but these acted more as legal advisers than as mediators e.g. B. of role offers. From the mid-1930s, the influence of agents steadily increased. Myron Selznick, Harry Edington and others signed certain artists and negotiated with the studios about fees and parts of the contract. Although the system of studio contracts offered film artists a steady income, many felt it was a drastic restriction on their professional self-determination. Many actors actively fought against the restricted studio contracts and in this way were sometimes successful in obtaining higher fees and / or a say in the scripts. James Cagney , Bette Davis , Kay Francis and Janet Gaynor were sometimes involved in years of disputes with their studios.

From the mid-1930s onwards, it was precisely the top stars who avoided tying themselves to a particular studio for a long time and instead concluded, in some cases, parallel contracts for only a certain number of films with individual studios. At the same time, it became common to demand a percentage of the gross profit in addition to a fixed fee. This system known as free-lancing was first pursued by Barbara Stanwyck and Irene Dunne . Stars like Carole Lombard , Cary Grant and Ronald Colman also managed to maintain their freedom in terms of the choice of film material in this way.

After Olivia de Havilland won her legal battle against Warner Brothers in the mid-1940s and the actors were given more rights, the power of the film studios was limited by several court decisions and television reduced the popularity of the cinema, the studio contracts became noticeably fewer. Most important actors and filmmakers were no longer bound by studio contracts from the 1950s onwards.

Studio contract

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