Warner Brothers short horror film contest legitimacy is being disputed
Warner Brothers held an Annabelle: Creation contest for independent horror movie filmmakers, and now there are questions being raised as to its legitimacy.
Greetings creeps and ghoulies!
It seemed that the Warner Brothers short horror film contest surrounding the Annabelle: Creation release was innocent enough. The studio was seemingly wanting to promote poor independent filmmakers creative works in which the winner will get a meeting with Dave F. Sandberg (the director of Annabelle: Creation and Lights Out) and New Line Cinema (now owned by Warner Brothers).
That sounds like a great opportunity. Right?
Ummmm, not so fast. The good folks at Red Letter Media has read the contractual obligations to the contest, also known as “the fine print.” Which, you can read here at the official website. Now, to their credit, they do start by saying:
“BY ENTERING THIS CONTEST, YOU AGREE TO THESE OFFICIAL RULES, WHICH ARE A CONTRACT, SO READ THEM CAREFULLY BEFORE ENTERING. WITHOUT LIMITATION, THIS CONTRACT INCLUDES INDEMNITIES TO THE SPONSOR FROM YOU, A CLASS-ACTION WAIVER, A REQUIREMENT THAT MOST DISPUTES BE SETTLED BY MANDATORY BINDING ARBITRATION, AND A LIMITATION OF YOUR RIGHTS AND REMEDIES.”
Still with me? Good. If you read further, we also come across this:
“If neither Mr. Sandberg nor a Sponsor-selected executive from New Line Cinema is available to participate in the Meeting on the Sponsor-appointed date, that portion of the prize will not be awarded and no substitute or replacement will be provided. Actual retail value of the prize may vary depending on the location of the applicable winner’s residence, market conditions, changes in value of components (e.g., air transportation and hotel rates) and other reasons.”
“EACH ENTRANT AGREES THAT, IN ADDITION TO THE LICENSE GRANTED ABOVE, SPONSOR (OR ANY OF SPONSOR’S PARENTS, AFFILIATES, OR SUBSIDIARIES) MAY, UPON WRITTEN NOTICE TO ENTRANT AT ANY TIME WITHIN APPROXIMATELY THREE (3) MONTHS OF THE VERIFICATION OF THE WINNER IN THIS CONTEST, ACQUIRE FROM ENTRANT AN EXCLUSIVE AND IRREVOCABLE OPTION TO PURCHASE ALL RIGHT, TITLE AND INTEREST IN AND TO HIS OR HER ENTRANT CONTENT (“OPTION”) IN EXCHANGE FOR FIFTY U.S. DOLLARS ($50 US).”
Yes, you read that correctly. If you didn’t, let me sum it up: Your short film will be the property of the studio, to do whatever they want with it within three months of notifying the winner, in exchange for $50. Your sole creation will be in the hands of the studio, to potentially make millions of dollars off of your $50 investment. In addition, the winner may not even meet with the studio nor David Sandberg.
When reached for answers on Twitter by the concerned filmmakers, Mr. Sandberg had this to say:
https://twitter.com/ponysmasher/status/897916043150057473
...once I saw them I didn't read them as bad. I read them as $50 being just for an option, not the rights. I'll ask Warner to clarify.
— David F. Sandberg (@ponysmasher) August 16, 2017
This was never about stealing ideas from poor filmmakers, it was about finding interesting filmmakers and having a fun contest to inspire.
— David F. Sandberg (@ponysmasher) August 16, 2017
The contestants must not have bought his explanation, because he pinned this last tweet as of August 17:
Going to take a break from the internet for a bit. Doing Shazam work that I can't show or talk about anyway. I'll be back ❤️
— David F. Sandberg (@ponysmasher) August 18, 2017
Next: Horror movies that traumatized us as children
I’m happy that Red Letter Media pointed this out, most of us (including myself) agree to a lot of stuff when we enter contests without reading them. This is a reality check that Hollywood still has the ability to sneak away with the little guys’ ideas. So, please, read the fine print whenever you enter a contest that wants your creativity. You may be losing out.