A first-look deal is any contract containing a clause granting, usually for a fee or other consideration that covers a specified period of time, a
pre-emption right,
right of first refusal
Right of first refusal (ROFR or RFR) is a contractual right that gives its holder the option to enter a business transaction with the owner of something, according to specified terms, before the owner is entitled to enter into that transactio ...
, or right of first offer (also called a right of first negotiation) to another party, who then is given the first opportunity to buy outright, co-own, invest in, license, etc., something that is newly coming into existence or on the market for the first time or after an absence, such as intellectual property (manuscript, musical composition, invention, artwork, business idea, etc.) or real property (real estate).
Film industry
In the
film industry
The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production companies, film studios, cinematography, animation, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, p ...
, it is an agreement between a writer and an independent production company or between an independent production company and a film studio in which the potential buyer (producer or studio) of a not-yet-written script or
in-development film or television project pays a development fee to the writer or producer for the right to have the first look at the new material before others in the industry get to see it, and at that time make an offer to purchase or distribute or adhere to purchasing or distribution terms already stated in the agreement.
[ "First look deal. A contractual agreement between a studio and independent producer that the studio have first rights to consider a film by that producer for production and/or distribution by giving financial support during the development period."]
See also
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Tag-along right
Tag along rights (TARs) comprise a group of clauses in a contract which together have the effect of allowing the minority shareholder(s) in a corporation to also take part in a sale of shares by the majority shareholder to a third party under the s ...
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Drag-along right Drag-along right (DAR) is a legal concept in corporate law.
Under the concept, if the majority shareholder(s) of an entity sells their stake, the prospective owner(s) have the right to force the remaining minority shareholders to join the deal. H ...
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Overall deal
A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, an ...
References
Film production
Intellectual property law
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