We have been in the film business for almost 100 years and have secured a position as a market leader in film and television work for more than 25 years. We have more than 50 media and entertainment lawyers worldwide advising clients like you on all aspects of project and asset financing, as well as production and distribution of films and television programs.
We act for financiers, motion picture and television studios, production companies, distributors, sales agencies, broadcasters, television networks, cable networks, over-the-top platforms, talent and other content creators, owners and exploiters.
At Reed Smith, we represent financiers and borrowers in financing transactions, ranging from independent micro-budget films to film and long-form television productions costing more than $100 million to produce.
We act for all kinds of financiers, and regularly advise a number of the most active banks, capital groups and public funding bodies in the film and television production finance arena. These include CIT Group, City National Bank, One West Bank, East West Bank, EP Financial Solutions, Bank of Ireland, Royal Bank of Scotland, Comerica Bank, HSBC, Barclays Bank, Natixis Coficiné, Grosvenor Park, Endgame Entertainment, Footprint Films, CinemaNX, Future Film, Prescience Film Finance, the Abu Dhabi Film Commission and the UK Film Council.
Although we act on all types of financing transactions, we are particularly well known for our work advising senior lenders on complex ‘gap’ finance facilities, lending against UK and United States tax credits for film and television production, and our ability to navigate the most complex international production and distribution financing structures (including those for single picture, slate and library financings).
We handle a huge volume of tax-based financings for many players in the industry, including lenders, arrangers, producers, broadcasters, guarantors and distributors of films.
On the production and distribution side of deals our clients include multiple Academy Award® winning filmmakers and the creators of some of the most successful and longest-running television series ever produced. Our film and television production and distribution lawyers advise on all aspects of production and distribution work. This ranges from preparing and negotiating development, rights, talent, crew, and location agreements, to advising on the structuring of production/acquisition finance (including advice on tax-based incentives), and negotiating completion guarantees, inter-party agreements, sales agency agreements and distribution and licensing agreements across all platforms.
Our distribution experience extends beyond theatrical exhibition and broadcasting into new media platforms, including the roll-out of digital cinema systems in multiple jurisdictions. The exploitation of format, merchandising and publishing rights is also familiar territory for us. We are particularly experienced in helping you deal with music and other copyright collection societies.
