I suspect he signed a deal to make the show, get paid for the show once, and ride off into the sunset. Also assume it was probably the best type deal he was going to get at the time. I mean just like he said he had been turned down by HBO and that probably wasn't the only one. He wasn't in a position of strong negotiation.
Back in the early days of TV when reruns weren't seen as much value. Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball basically made their fortunes from having the foresight to own syndication rights for I Love Lucy. It was worth much more than the original show. The thing is, the TV networks know this now, and if your personal brand doesn't command that value, why would they offer perpetual payments in a contract?
I suspect a lot of this is dramatized, because, well it's an entertainment show, and the rest of it is playing the victim. Chappelle should probably realize he may not even be in the position he was without taking that contract even if he doesn't get paid for it later.
What's really ridiculous is that he's equating instances where he was scammed and stolen from (assuming that actually happened) to a contract he willingly if reluctantly signed. I get that he had reservations about it but it sounds like they told him to take or leave it, and he signed up for the consequences when made his decision. It's also dishonest to say he didn't get paid. He did get paid as agreed, otherwise he would have had cause to sue. It was just a one off payment and didn't include syndication rights. It also kickstarted his career, so he should just write that off as an investment that paid off handsomely.
I think there is something to be said about having your name, face, and likeness owned and sold by someone else with no control over it, regardless of what a piece of paper says. Can really fuck with your head mentally in a lot of ways.
Especially when you are a nobody blind sided by sudden fame you aren't prepped for facing down billion dollar corps with their army of lawyers and contract writers.
That's important, because its the very reasoning why prenups often get thrown out. Because the man has "more power" to maneuver the contract to his benefit, and the very act of being asked to sign one puts it "under duress" (which nobody comedians are likely under a lot of duress given if they don't sign they don't get a career). I don't particular agree with that but the legal precedent is there.
While its old hat to say "its not fair, women get a loophole" its clear legally at least some parts of the system recognize these "contracts" can be used abusively and just because you put your magic pen stroke on it doesn't make it unquestionable.
It's amazing how insane Hollywood types try to control anything. A friend wanted to show his comics to someone and the guy handed him a contract that demanded the rights to everything and anything made in the next ten years.
Same friend met a production company that treated him like family until he saw the contract and realized they would have taken everything from him. There are entertainment lawyers who specialize in Hollywood for a reason. It has been stealing from others for decades.
Until stuff like YouTube, the only way to be seen was to sign those insane contracts. Now that it's not, the same Hollywood types are going broke and trying to use stuff like Mr Top to stay in power.
The more stories you hear about how Hollywood is, the more you understand why all these Hollywood stars think everyone is such a terrible human being who would kill you and rape your corpse if it made them a penny richer.
Because that's the sort of person they're around everyday, so that's how they assume everyone is.
Yeah exactly. I won't fault Dave for this because a "choice" being given like that isn't a choice at all. Its just telling you that if you want a career in the industry, then you sell them your soul and likeness and then you might get lucky enough to blow up into mega stardom to be able to negotiate your way out.
Because its not like you can just say no, and try again elsewhere or renegotiate. These companies will not only shut you out for even daring to speak against them, they will collude together to block you from being in the industry at all. Comedy is especially well known for being an incestuous pit of "anger one of us anger all of us."
Dave still signed it, so he holds a chunk of the responsibility regardless. But I don't think the fact that you can just sign things like that with no restrictions (like time or monetary upper limits) should be the norm either.
I suspect he signed a deal to make the show, get paid for the show once, and ride off into the sunset. Also assume it was probably the best type deal he was going to get at the time. I mean just like he said he had been turned down by HBO and that probably wasn't the only one. He wasn't in a position of strong negotiation.
Back in the early days of TV when reruns weren't seen as much value. Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball basically made their fortunes from having the foresight to own syndication rights for I Love Lucy. It was worth much more than the original show. The thing is, the TV networks know this now, and if your personal brand doesn't command that value, why would they offer perpetual payments in a contract?
I suspect a lot of this is dramatized, because, well it's an entertainment show, and the rest of it is playing the victim. Chappelle should probably realize he may not even be in the position he was without taking that contract even if he doesn't get paid for it later.
What's really ridiculous is that he's equating instances where he was scammed and stolen from (assuming that actually happened) to a contract he willingly if reluctantly signed. I get that he had reservations about it but it sounds like they told him to take or leave it, and he signed up for the consequences when made his decision. It's also dishonest to say he didn't get paid. He did get paid as agreed, otherwise he would have had cause to sue. It was just a one off payment and didn't include syndication rights. It also kickstarted his career, so he should just write that off as an investment that paid off handsomely.
I think there is something to be said about having your name, face, and likeness owned and sold by someone else with no control over it, regardless of what a piece of paper says. Can really fuck with your head mentally in a lot of ways.
Especially when you are a nobody blind sided by sudden fame you aren't prepped for facing down billion dollar corps with their army of lawyers and contract writers.
That's important, because its the very reasoning why prenups often get thrown out. Because the man has "more power" to maneuver the contract to his benefit, and the very act of being asked to sign one puts it "under duress" (which nobody comedians are likely under a lot of duress given if they don't sign they don't get a career). I don't particular agree with that but the legal precedent is there.
While its old hat to say "its not fair, women get a loophole" its clear legally at least some parts of the system recognize these "contracts" can be used abusively and just because you put your magic pen stroke on it doesn't make it unquestionable.
It's amazing how insane Hollywood types try to control anything. A friend wanted to show his comics to someone and the guy handed him a contract that demanded the rights to everything and anything made in the next ten years.
Same friend met a production company that treated him like family until he saw the contract and realized they would have taken everything from him. There are entertainment lawyers who specialize in Hollywood for a reason. It has been stealing from others for decades.
Until stuff like YouTube, the only way to be seen was to sign those insane contracts. Now that it's not, the same Hollywood types are going broke and trying to use stuff like Mr Top to stay in power.
The more stories you hear about how Hollywood is, the more you understand why all these Hollywood stars think everyone is such a terrible human being who would kill you and rape your corpse if it made them a penny richer.
Because that's the sort of person they're around everyday, so that's how they assume everyone is.
Yeah exactly. I won't fault Dave for this because a "choice" being given like that isn't a choice at all. Its just telling you that if you want a career in the industry, then you sell them your soul and likeness and then you might get lucky enough to blow up into mega stardom to be able to negotiate your way out.
Because its not like you can just say no, and try again elsewhere or renegotiate. These companies will not only shut you out for even daring to speak against them, they will collude together to block you from being in the industry at all. Comedy is especially well known for being an incestuous pit of "anger one of us anger all of us."
Dave still signed it, so he holds a chunk of the responsibility regardless. But I don't think the fact that you can just sign things like that with no restrictions (like time or monetary upper limits) should be the norm either.