Legal news and trends for Canadian in-house counsel and c-suite executives
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/50877
companies in other countries or even other provinces, sharing expertise, pri- vate financing, and government monet- ary support — in the form of tax credits. The company had two big productions in 2008: Passchendaele, an Ontario- Alberta effort, and Blindness, a tripartite international effort with Japanese and Brazilian partners. The co-production treaties spell out a minimum amount each country has to contribute finan- cially and creatively, says the Rhombus in-house counsel. Therefore any cur- rency swings take place outside of North America. Canadian companies such as Rhombus get paid to produce the films through support from Telefilm Canada and various partners, if a film does well in other markets, that is almost an unexpected financial bonus. That sys- tem also ensured the company had a solid financial year in 2008. "Last year, when it was such a terrible year for most of the world, we had one of our best years because we had two films out, Passchendaele, which became the highest-grossing Canadian film of the year, and Blindness which did reasonably internationally," says Wong. One country that Canada has nota- bly excluded from such international filmmaking co-operation deals is our southern neighbour. Wong says he thinks the government's perspective is if it allowed U.S. filmmakers access to such deals "then Americans would just incorporate Canadian companies or use Canadian shell companies to access all of our money and make fully American movies that have nothing to do with Canadian culture." Setting up locations and negotiating the tax credits and other incentives are only a few of the duties for in-house lawyers working in the film industry. A finished film represents the culmination of an enormously complex set of legal negotiations. Contracts govern every- thing from financing agreements with banks and other lenders to individual talent contracts for the actors and direc- tor. "I'm responsible for everything from beginning to end," says Wong. As the company's only lawyer, Wong's work on a project starts with the option agreement to secure the rights to a film or screenplay and hiring writers to turn that idea into a workable script. Once the project starts moving into development he works on agreements to acquire financing prior to going into pro- duction. Then it's time to bring together the production team and on-screen talent. "I do all the actor agreements, the director agreements, co-production agreements with our partners, all the financing agreements, the distribution agreements, the broadcast agreements, and the interim financing agreements, all the security, [and] the completion bond agreements as well," says Wong. Even when the movie is in the can © 2009 Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP. Cassels Brock and the CB logo are registered trade-marks of Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP. TSX and the TMX logo are trade-marks of TSX Inc. All rights reserved. and the wrap party has been held, the legal work doesn't end. Deals have to be made with sales agents and the fin- ished film has to be sold to interested countries around the world. "It's 50 38 • DECEMBER 2009/JANUARY 2010 ntitled-2 1 INHOUSE 12/3/09 10:04:16 AM LOOK FOR GROWTH CAPITAL Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange offer attractive 'going public' alternatives for small and mid-cap US companies. With more than 3,700 listings and $1.5 trillion in issuer market capitalization, TSX is a strong and growing world leader across all sectors. Is the TSX the right option for you or your clients? Cassels Brock, one of Canada's leading law rms, can help you to make that decision. With a long and successful track record of assisting cross- border entrants to the Canadian capital markets, we understand the legal and tax rami cations of these unique transactions and can offer practical guidance and advice on every step of the process. We would be pleased to provide a complimentary consultation to review your business plans and objectives. Call Mark Young, Managing Partner, at 416 869 5443. NORTH