Interviews – Joshua Lastine is a Transactional Entertainment Lawyer!

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This is transactional entertainment lawyer Joshua

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Lastine and you’re listening to the Geekcast

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Radio Network. Hello, and welcome to another

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Geekcast Radio Presents interview. I’m your host,

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Steve Megatron, with TFG1 Mike. Hello. Today,

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we’re going to be talking with Joshua Lastine,

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who is a leading entertainment lawyer with expertise

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in dealmaking, intellectual property, and creator

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rights. His experience at top agencies and studios

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give him unique insights into Hollywood trends

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and the business of creativity. He’s a passionate

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advocate for independent creators and a knowledgeable

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voice on geek culture and fandom. Hi, Joshua.

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How are you? Hey, Steve Megatron. Hey, Mike.

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Hey, GeekCast. So thrilled to be here. I’m doing

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well this evening. Thank you for having me. Thanks

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for joining us. Yeah, this was kind of cool to

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get the invite to… talk with you. No, I was

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really excited to do this. You know, usually

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I get stuck on stuffy, boring lawyer podcasts.

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But every now and then I get to do one of these

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really fun, cool podcasts with you guys and talk

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about lawyer things, but still kind of more in

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the geeky realm. So excited to be here. Awesome.

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Awesome. So usually how we begin these is we

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kind of do like the intro about you so can you

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tell us a little bit about your journey to becoming

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an entertainment lawyer or was there like a particular

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uh experience or case that kind of sparked your

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interest in this field and then kind of in tandem

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with geekdom yeah yeah you know let me start

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by kind of explaining what an entertainment lawyer

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is or i guess what type of entertainment lawyer

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i am anyway i’m what is known as a transactional

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entertainment lawyer i’m not a litigator i don’t

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go to court i don’t wear a suit and tie and argue

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in front of a judge so all of the stuff you see

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on law and order or on suits or any of those

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cool shows that’s completely not me i strictly

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handle contract deal making negotiating actor,

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writer, director, voiceover deals, and things

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related to film and television. So that really

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is my 24 -7, 9 -5, 365, whatever you want to

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call it. I live, breathe, and eat the entertainment

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world. And like you said, specifically, my clients

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lean more into the animation space, horror genre,

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indie filmmakers, user -generated content creators,

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and those interested in nerd culture. because

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that’s really, you know, what I consume as a

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consumer myself. So circling back to your question

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about my journey and how I kind of got here,

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it is so intertwined with geek culture and pop

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culture in general, I guess I should say, you

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know, really what… spurred me. And even just

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knowing what an entertainment lawyer was back

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when I was a kid, you know, the original Star

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Wars, not the original Star Wars VHS, but the

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new edition re -releases in the 1990s and those

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awesome gold box cases. You know, they had an

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extensive amount of back behind the scenes, extended

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cuts, interviews with George Lucas and Fox executives,

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in particular, Alan Ladd Jr., who was the head

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at Fox at the time. And so I was always kind

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of aware that there was this business side of

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entertainment. I was aware that Hollywood was

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a money -making, deal -making machine, and I

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always knew that that was where I wanted to work,

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where I wanted to play. I was very passionate

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about also going to law school and business school

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at kind of the same time. I majored in business

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economics when I was an undergraduate, and it

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was kind of at the early… height of the, the

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original MCU, the original Iron Man, the original

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Captain America, the first Avengers and stuff.

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And it was just, I just had so much fun growing

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up as a kid, tracking things like box office

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metrics, how much stars are getting paid on what,

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and, and, you know, not necessarily in the tabloid

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nitty gritty, but like on the business side of,

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of entertainment affairs. So yeah, fast forward

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to a young law student. I actually, In 2012,

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2013, got to intern for Marvel Studios and got

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to work on a bunch of their projects that were

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in production at the time. Avengers Assemble,

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Ant -Man, the original one, the original Guardians

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of the Galaxy, Avengers 2, got to work on a little

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bit, as well as do really… cool things like

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license Iron Man’s image to like Pennzoil bottles

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and like REI for sleeping bags and fishing boxes

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and things like that. So, you know, it really

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is kind of amazing when you get behind the scenes

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of things and just see how much freaking paperwork

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is involved in everything. You know, you would

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be amazed at all the different type of deals

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that someone like me has to handle, whether those

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are Actor agreements, writer agreements, location

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agreements, merchandising agreements, a wide

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variety of different things. So I’ve had a pretty

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awesome career in getting to work on projects

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that I – Consume as a consumer, as a fan, I guess

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you would say. I got to do a deal a long, long

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time ago for a robot chicken Simpsons couch gag

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scene, which was a particular favorite of mine.

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So that was a cool thing that I got to work on.

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But yeah, it really has been a journey from…

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I forgot to mention this. I grew up in Iowa.

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I grew up in a small town in the middle of nowhere.

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But like Luke Skywalker, I wanted to get off

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the farm, so to speak, and come to Hollywood

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and have my own adventure galaxy far, far away.

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Awesome. Seth Rollins to the stars, ladies and

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gentlemen. Yeah. No, I can definitely relate

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to the moving away from… from where I began

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and I hail from Michigan. So it’s, I live in

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Colorado now, but yeah, totally different landscape.

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Yeah. And, you know, it’s it’s I’ve been very

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blessed in my career to have some really good

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opportunities working for major studios, working

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on some pretty high profile projects. And now,

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you know, I run my own entertainment law firm

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where I get to kind of pick and choose the projects

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that I get to work on. So as of late, I have

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been working more in the animation space, working

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with animation, adult animation clients, trying

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to work with new content creators. on things

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like publishing their own comic books or online

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comic books, working with people who have toy

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licensing deals with Funko Pops or NECA toys

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or Hot Topic or whatever have you. So, I mean,

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it’s a lot of work. It’s a lot of fun at the

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same time. Yeah, I don’t know. Yeah, very cool,

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man. And I know Mike’s going to circle back around

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to the Funko Pops at some point. I don’t know

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what you’re talking about. Yeah, don’t play coy

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with me. I have no idea. Absolutely. Mike, are

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you a Funko Pop collector? I have a few. I’m

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not a big Funko Pop collector as much as I am

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a Marvel Legends collector. If there were an

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earthquake in California right now, I would be

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completely killed by falling Marvel Legends figures

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on my head. Yeah, you’d be screwed. In particular,

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my 32 -inch Galactus that’s standing right above

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me. Oh, wow. No, no, no, no, no. You don’t have

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that standing right above you. No, you never

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put the action figures above you. It looks pretty

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sturdy. Okay, tell me that one of 4 .8 hits.

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There you go, there you go. So you mentioned

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working on animation shows. So what is your particular

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genre or type of project that you’re most drawn

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to in that space? You know, I like working in

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adult animation because, again, that’s what I

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consume as a consumer, as a fan, whatever you

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want to call it. The thing about adult animation

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is that it’s not as much as a money driver as

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kids animation. Surprise, right? Of course, right?

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Adult animation is fun and there are some great

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shows and obviously the exceptions to the rule,

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The Simpsons and King of the Hill and things

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like that. But generally speaking, it’s more

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so kids animation that drives merchandise and

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action figures and licensing products. So while

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I enjoy working in adult animation, I suppose

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I wouldn’t turn away clients that work in the

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Coco melon or shark. Uh, what’s it, what’s it

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called? Baby shark, boo -boo based or whatever

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it’s called. Pink Fong. Pink Fong is the company.

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I’ve actually done a few deals with them, but,

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um, yeah. And, and I don’t want to make it seem

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like I’m, I’m, I’m all work too. You know, I,

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uh, no, we’re, we’re getting some fun stuff too.

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No, of course, of course. So, so yeah, that’s,

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um, Working in animation, it’s very unique relative

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to other areas of, let’s say, compared to live

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action. In live action, you are showing an actor

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as they are, and you’re depicting them in that

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role, and you’re photographing their likeness.

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For an animated series, you’re just using their

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voice, and there are different concerns. things

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that the studio needs in terms of using someone’s

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voice in a voiceover role versus having an actor

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on set, which is obviously different to you than

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having the director on set or the rest of the

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cast and stuff. So it’s all sorts of different

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types of deal -making that goes into making all

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of those products. Very cool. We hear you have

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an impressive collection of action figures in

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Marvel Legends. How did you… get started and

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do you have any favorites yeah so i was a marvel

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legends collector back when they initially had

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the license with toy biz um i think i would have

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started collecting in 2004 2005 gave it up for

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the longest time when i was in law school but

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then repicked back up the hobby in 2015. And

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like I said, if it earthquakes here, I’m going

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to be completely hammered by Marvel Legends.

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Probably my favorite is my Galactus because that’s

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kind of the holy grail of the collection. But,

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you know, never go wrong with Victor Von Doom.

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He’s also right there in front of me. I have

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them spaced out between, I got, Probably 40 Avengers

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on one side and 25 to 30 villains on the other

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side. Oh, so the heroes have to remember the

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villains. So that means the villains have to

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have their comeuppance. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That

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almost sounds like my Beast Wars collection.

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Oh, you’re a Beast Wars guy. Oh, yeah. Yeah,

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we’re huge Beast Wars fans. I’ve got a cabinet

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of… Beast Wars figures, Dragon Ball Z, Power

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Rangers, Star Trek? I started… Getting a recollection

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of the Beast Wars figures after the new Netflix

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series, which ironically was the production was

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done by one of my clients, Rooster Teeth, or

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formerly a client of mine, Rooster Teeth. They

00:12:34.679 –> 00:12:37.500
did the production for Netflix’s Transformers,

00:12:37.500 –> 00:12:39.759
the Age of Cybertron or War for Cybertron or

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whatever it’s called, which saw the return of

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the Beast Wars, which I thought was so cool.

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I actually have the Nemesis and the Ark. Oh,

00:12:50.500 –> 00:12:53.879
nice. sitting in my home office because you know

00:12:53.879 –> 00:12:56.799
i was a big beast wars fan it was really funny

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because when they announced that they were going

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to do that third season of the transformer show

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with the beast wars you know being the central

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cast i i quickly you know phoned my mom because

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i had my old beast war action figure collection

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somewhere in storage and those things were you

00:13:15.159 –> 00:13:17.919
know this was not in the height of the pandemic,

00:13:17.919 –> 00:13:19.559
but somewhere in the middle of the pandemic.

00:13:19.679 –> 00:13:21.960
And those, those things were selling for a pretty

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penny. Um, Oh yeah, for sure. She threw them

00:13:25.200 –> 00:13:30.419
all away. Um, just like parents, you, yeah, I’m

00:13:30.419 –> 00:13:33.220
sure most of them were broken anyway. Um, so

00:13:33.220 –> 00:13:36.500
that, that was a heartbreaker, but I, I have,

00:13:36.500 –> 00:13:39.980
I have dino by, I have black arachnid. I have

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ravage the, um, Covert Agent Ravage? Yes, yeah,

00:13:49.009 –> 00:13:53.029
Covert Agent Ravage, yep. With his dual pistols,

00:13:53.070 –> 00:13:54.990
oh, that’s one of my favorites. Yeah, I got that

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too. I wanted the, because they had a Japanese

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version that they didn’t release in the United

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States. It was like X -9 Jaguar. Yeah, but I

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never got it, so I’m so glad that I ended up

00:14:07.669 –> 00:14:09.090
getting this one. The one that I have to get

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now that I don’t have is Silverbolt. I saw they

00:14:12.830 –> 00:14:14.990
re -released that one, so that one I want to

00:14:14.990 –> 00:14:18.690
get. Yeah, I don’t have that one yet. I do have

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all of the iterations of Beast Megatron and varying

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degrees of Masterpiece and War for Cybertron

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characters. I was going to ask, do you have the

00:14:30.049 –> 00:14:35.179
Transmetal Masterpiece Megatron? Uh, yes. That

00:14:35.179 –> 00:14:38.419
would be a holy grail in my collection as well.

00:14:38.460 –> 00:14:40.759
I don’t have that one, but that would be a nice

00:14:40.759 –> 00:14:43.799
looking figure. Oh, it’s definitely awesome.

00:14:44.019 –> 00:14:47.240
I have a shrine of Megatron in my cabinet. Just

00:14:47.240 –> 00:14:53.299
ask Mike. I love it. Go ahead. Well, well, well,

00:14:53.340 –> 00:14:57.639
what do you have to say for yourself? I simply

00:14:57.639 –> 00:15:00.279
have a penchant for intelligent conversation.

00:15:01.320 –> 00:15:06.279
Yes. I was so disappointed they didn’t get the

00:15:06.279 –> 00:15:09.019
OG voice cast together for that. I was such a

00:15:09.019 –> 00:15:14.519
missed opportunity. Oh, I know. I was so sad.

00:15:15.679 –> 00:15:19.440
I was like, no, they could have done, you know,

00:15:19.440 –> 00:15:21.960
they could have brought our, our, you know, our

00:15:21.960 –> 00:15:25.259
guys back. Yeah. No, they could have done it

00:15:25.259 –> 00:15:28.360
for the movie too, but that’s true. I don’t even

00:15:28.360 –> 00:15:31.320
think I remember that film. I don’t either, but

00:15:31.320 –> 00:15:34.799
I was campaigning on Twitter. I was like, hey,

00:15:34.860 –> 00:15:39.679
I can do Beast Megatron if… Yeah, why didn’t

00:15:39.679 –> 00:15:43.320
they just get a sound alike? Oh, man. Yeah, I

00:15:43.320 –> 00:15:45.379
don’t know. But yeah, I was still glad because

00:15:45.379 –> 00:15:47.740
it at least brought the Beast back to the forefront.

00:15:48.590 –> 00:15:50.830
Yeah. No, that was so cool. And I actually think

00:15:50.830 –> 00:15:54.029
someone did dub over it on YouTube. If you want

00:15:54.029 –> 00:15:57.070
to listen to the, to the original voice, I don’t

00:15:57.070 –> 00:15:59.269
know if it’s exactly a one for one of the, of

00:15:59.269 –> 00:16:01.809
the show or whatever, but there are clips of

00:16:01.809 –> 00:16:05.409
the new show with the original voices. Yeah.

00:16:05.570 –> 00:16:08.490
That’s funny. Yeah. Steve did a whole thing on

00:16:08.490 –> 00:16:11.090
that. Once he heard it, he was like, literally

00:16:11.090 –> 00:16:14.539
I’m going to puke is what he told me. Well, I

00:16:14.539 –> 00:16:17.580
was more offended over Megatron than any of the

00:16:17.580 –> 00:16:22.519
others. I know. I actually re -recorded the dialogue

00:16:22.519 –> 00:16:27.259
with me doing the voice and then I had a voice

00:16:27.259 –> 00:16:30.120
comparison and people were losing it on YouTube.

00:16:31.720 –> 00:16:34.659
Did Waspinator speak in that show? Because that

00:16:34.659 –> 00:16:36.299
would have been another one that I wouldn’t know.

00:16:37.059 –> 00:16:40.200
Waspinator does not understand. There you go.

00:16:40.419 –> 00:16:44.710
Waspinator commenters. Scott McNeil is great.

00:16:44.730 –> 00:16:48.250
Great impressions. Thank you. Yes, he does. I

00:16:48.250 –> 00:16:54.929
watched cartoons as a kid. As a kid? I still

00:16:54.929 –> 00:17:00.509
do. You’re known for encyclopedic knowledge of

00:17:00.509 –> 00:17:03.610
movies and TV. Any theories you’d like to share

00:17:03.610 –> 00:17:06.809
with us on things in the entertainment industry?

00:17:06.970 –> 00:17:11.700
I keep throwing hot takes or crazy theories of

00:17:11.700 –> 00:17:14.259
what they’re going to do with Marvel. Oh gosh.

00:17:15.319 –> 00:17:17.740
But I won’t go there because I don’t want to

00:17:17.740 –> 00:17:22.299
accidentally cause something. Before you answer,

00:17:22.359 –> 00:17:24.299
Joshua, I just have to get this off my chest.

00:17:24.680 –> 00:17:28.779
I think it was two years ago, 2022. It was right

00:17:28.779 –> 00:17:32.279
after the pandemic didn’t die down, but everything

00:17:32.279 –> 00:17:35.980
opened back up. There was a convention, I think

00:17:35.980 –> 00:17:39.740
it was at SDCC, where they’re like, here. Here’s

00:17:39.740 –> 00:17:42.640
everything, phases five and six. This is what’s

00:17:42.640 –> 00:17:45.799
coming. I’m like, you morons, don’t do that because

00:17:45.799 –> 00:17:48.559
you don’t know what’s going to happen. Yeah,

00:17:48.599 –> 00:17:51.799
they overplayed their hand there. Very much so.

00:17:52.839 –> 00:17:57.359
But that’s kind of been a giant trend of studios

00:17:57.359 –> 00:18:00.640
as of the last five years. Like, I don’t know

00:18:00.640 –> 00:18:07.119
what, I mean. I guess I do. There was 10 films

00:18:07.119 –> 00:18:10.140
that made over a billion dollars in 2019, and

00:18:10.140 –> 00:18:13.000
I think that gave some uber confidence to especially

00:18:13.000 –> 00:18:15.680
Disney, who had like six of them. But it’s really

00:18:15.680 –> 00:18:20.519
just been one giant CGI mess of, you know, a

00:18:20.519 –> 00:18:24.460
$300 million film after another, aside from Dune,

00:18:24.500 –> 00:18:27.200
which was great. But studios have not been…

00:18:27.769 –> 00:18:30.390
nailing the landing so to speak in terms of finding

00:18:30.390 –> 00:18:32.569
what the audience wants and it was funny I was

00:18:32.569 –> 00:18:35.509
at a entertainment law convention over this past

00:18:35.509 –> 00:18:38.869
weekend and they were comparing the 2019 entertainment

00:18:38.869 –> 00:18:44.170
film market you know with Avengers Endgame coming

00:18:44.170 –> 00:18:47.230
out that year Lion King or Aladdin came out that

00:18:47.230 –> 00:18:49.369
year maybe both of them did I’m trying to think

00:18:49.369 –> 00:18:52.369
of what all the top 10 movies were anyway 2019

00:18:52.369 –> 00:18:54.869
was it was a pretty banger year for movies and

00:18:54.869 –> 00:19:01.259
if you look at 2003, sorry, 2023, similar movies

00:19:01.259 –> 00:19:03.720
came out. They had the Marvels, they had the

00:19:03.720 –> 00:19:06.160
Little Mermaid remake, but all of those movies

00:19:06.160 –> 00:19:10.400
did relatively poorly. And, you know, the writing

00:19:10.400 –> 00:19:12.559
on the wall, at least in terms of what Hollywood

00:19:12.559 –> 00:19:15.420
thinks, is that, you know, people are over franchise

00:19:15.420 –> 00:19:18.640
films and people are over sequels, prequels and

00:19:18.640 –> 00:19:22.180
reboots. And I think to a certain degree, a lot

00:19:22.180 –> 00:19:27.250
of that is true. Especially for the more, how

00:19:27.250 –> 00:19:30.630
do you say, advanced moviegoer, for people who

00:19:30.630 –> 00:19:32.730
really want to go to the movies and see the theaters,

00:19:32.789 –> 00:19:35.750
I think people are dying for something new or

00:19:35.750 –> 00:19:38.470
original. But for the general moviegoing audience,

00:19:38.869 –> 00:19:43.269
that franchise, that blockbuster, the sequels,

00:19:43.269 –> 00:19:45.670
prequels, remakes, and reboots, that’s always

00:19:45.670 –> 00:19:51.190
going to be a big driver towards a more uniform…

00:19:52.089 –> 00:19:56.190
pull of all people towards the box office. And

00:19:56.190 –> 00:19:59.349
it’s not necessarily that people are over those

00:19:59.349 –> 00:20:03.349
movies as much as the 2023 offerings just sucked.

00:20:03.789 –> 00:20:08.369
The Marvel sucked. Killers of the Flower Moon

00:20:08.369 –> 00:20:11.849
sucked. I’m trying to think. It’s just not been

00:20:11.849 –> 00:20:16.130
a great time for movies in the last five years.

00:20:17.190 –> 00:20:21.099
And, you know, I’m really hoping that Because

00:20:21.099 –> 00:20:24.599
of industry trends, because of the pressure that’s

00:20:24.599 –> 00:20:26.559
been put on these studios in terms of tightening

00:20:26.559 –> 00:20:28.900
their budget and bringing in fiscal responsibility,

00:20:29.259 –> 00:20:32.019
we might see some more creative movies come out

00:20:32.019 –> 00:20:35.480
in the next five years. But yeah, my prediction

00:20:35.480 –> 00:20:38.920
is that we will see more smaller budgeted indie

00:20:38.920 –> 00:20:41.339
films. You’re going to see a lot more horror

00:20:41.339 –> 00:20:43.400
films because that really is the only thing that’s

00:20:43.400 –> 00:20:45.619
proven in the last five years to make a buck,

00:20:45.779 –> 00:20:49.299
which I’m not complaining about at all. I love

00:20:49.299 –> 00:20:52.569
horror movies. too, but you’ll see probably less

00:20:52.569 –> 00:20:56.789
and less of the large 300 million Indiana Jones

00:20:56.789 –> 00:21:00.369
5 films. Thankfully, for better or worse, but

00:21:00.369 –> 00:21:03.369
hopefully they’ll find their footing in terms

00:21:03.369 –> 00:21:06.049
of releasing some good Marvel or Star Wars content

00:21:06.049 –> 00:21:12.170
again, although I remain skeptical. So, I have

00:21:12.170 –> 00:21:17.190
it pulled up here. Disney has had and still has

00:21:17.880 –> 00:21:22.740
Seven out of ten from 2019. Yep. Only Sony and

00:21:22.740 –> 00:21:25.160
Warner Brothers have the other three. Sony has

00:21:25.160 –> 00:21:27.900
Spider -Man Far From Home and Jumanji Next Level,

00:21:28.059 –> 00:21:32.119
and Warner Brothers had Joker. In 2023 for the

00:21:32.119 –> 00:21:35.799
top ten? Oh, in 2019, those were the top ten.

00:21:36.000 –> 00:21:39.160
Yeah, that was the top ten of 2019. In 2023,

00:21:39.539 –> 00:21:44.700
you’ve got one Disney movie. No, two. You’ve

00:21:44.700 –> 00:21:48.569
got Little Mermaid and… Guardians Volume 3.

00:21:48.829 –> 00:21:51.710
Little Mermaid made a billion dollars? No way.

00:21:53.150 –> 00:21:59.569
No. No, top ten. Oh, top ten. Yeah, highest grossing.

00:21:59.630 –> 00:22:07.250
It made $569 million. But compare 2019 to 2023.

00:22:08.269 –> 00:22:11.190
I see more different, like Disney isn’t dominating

00:22:11.190 –> 00:22:15.230
2023, whereas in 2019 they were. I see Warner

00:22:15.230 –> 00:22:18.329
Brothers, Universal, two Universal movies, one

00:22:18.329 –> 00:22:24.009
Sony, and two Warner Brothers. So luckily, and

00:22:24.009 –> 00:22:25.569
that’s the biggest thing, I want to eventually

00:22:25.569 –> 00:22:28.769
do a podcast episode for somewhere on our network

00:22:28.769 –> 00:22:32.980
about basically… how we used to have all of

00:22:32.980 –> 00:22:35.539
these different, I don’t technically touchstone

00:22:35.539 –> 00:22:38.819
is Disney, but like touchstone pictures and Regency.

00:22:38.859 –> 00:22:41.980
We used to have all these set pair of, you know,

00:22:42.000 –> 00:22:43.779
Columbia, Paramount, all that stuff. They all

00:22:43.779 –> 00:22:46.160
used to be separate. And now it’s like many majors.

00:22:46.640 –> 00:22:49.640
Yeah. Yeah. And now Disney Warner brothers and

00:22:49.640 –> 00:22:54.579
basically own everything. I thought there was

00:22:54.579 –> 00:22:56.519
a third one in there, but there isn’t. Well,

00:22:56.619 –> 00:22:59.619
there there’s Disney Warner brothers, Paramount,

00:22:59.740 –> 00:23:05.000
uh, Sony is still around. Sony actually is in

00:23:05.000 –> 00:23:06.880
an interesting position where they’re the only

00:23:06.880 –> 00:23:10.920
movie studio that doesn’t have a streaming output

00:23:10.920 –> 00:23:16.000
channel. Paramount, Disney, Warner Brothers,

00:23:16.220 –> 00:23:18.240
obviously they all have their own streaming platforms.

00:23:18.359 –> 00:23:22.559
Sony is unique in that. they don’t um which means

00:23:22.559 –> 00:23:25.799
they can you know license their products to the

00:23:25.799 –> 00:23:28.279
highest bidder amongst netflix and all the other

00:23:28.279 –> 00:23:31.519
channels which which that kind of competition

00:23:31.519 –> 00:23:35.619
breeds more creativity usually will drive up

00:23:35.619 –> 00:23:38.559
you know the prices of things only problem is

00:23:38.559 –> 00:23:41.619
is that again sony’s content has just really

00:23:41.619 –> 00:23:46.880
sucked um aside from um anyone but you in the

00:23:46.880 –> 00:23:50.380
last you know five or so years. So excited to

00:23:50.380 –> 00:23:54.819
see Kraven. So excited to see Kraven. It’ll definitely

00:23:54.819 –> 00:23:57.400
be interesting to see how they play that one

00:23:57.400 –> 00:24:02.420
out, especially considering how bad Madam Web

00:24:02.420 –> 00:24:05.579
was received. I didn’t sell the sarcasm good

00:24:05.579 –> 00:24:08.039
enough. I’m probably not going to see the Kraven.

00:24:09.299 –> 00:24:14.440
Although I will go see Venom 3. No, I won’t.

00:24:14.440 –> 00:24:17.460
Nope. I’ve already hidden every single trailer

00:24:17.460 –> 00:24:20.839
and everything that Sony puts out with that movie

00:24:20.839 –> 00:24:23.579
on YouTube. I hide all of those videos. I have

00:24:23.579 –> 00:24:28.019
zero interest in that. What is the story about

00:24:28.019 –> 00:24:31.180
moving Kevin Feige’s movie posters? Can you share

00:24:31.180 –> 00:24:33.720
any behind -the -scenes details about that experience?

00:24:34.779 –> 00:24:37.440
Yeah. No, this is kind of a fun story I like

00:24:37.440 –> 00:24:40.059
to tell. So, like I said, I interned at Marvel

00:24:40.059 –> 00:24:43.990
Studios when I was in law school. It was actually

00:24:43.990 –> 00:24:47.269
at a really unique time because they had not

00:24:47.269 –> 00:24:50.309
just been bought out by Disney, but the transitioning

00:24:50.309 –> 00:24:53.029
was finalized and they were moving from their

00:24:53.029 –> 00:24:56.410
Rosecrans Manhattan Beach office up to the Burbank

00:24:56.410 –> 00:25:00.269
lot for Walt Disney Studios. And, you know, at

00:25:00.269 –> 00:25:03.369
the Frank G. Wells building where all of the.

00:25:04.059 –> 00:25:06.940
C -suite executives work. They, they put us up

00:25:06.940 –> 00:25:10.539
the Marvel studios headquarters. Um, but unfortunately,

00:25:10.740 –> 00:25:14.099
um, Kevin Feige’s posters showed up, not, not

00:25:14.099 –> 00:25:17.819
posters, but like the signed autographed framed

00:25:17.819 –> 00:25:21.920
Avengers one through whatever. I can’t remember

00:25:21.920 –> 00:25:25.460
which one we were on at the time. signed by all

00:25:25.460 –> 00:25:30.599
of the cast those priceless memorabilia showed

00:25:30.599 –> 00:25:32.980
up on the back of a moving truck and there was

00:25:32.980 –> 00:25:37.480
no one to essentially bring them up the freight

00:25:37.480 –> 00:25:42.299
elevator up to Kevin’s office except for Kevin’s

00:25:42.299 –> 00:25:45.960
assistant who was a friend at the time but she

00:25:45.960 –> 00:25:49.910
couldn’t physically lift the posters. They’re

00:25:49.910 –> 00:25:54.490
massive, massively framed, you know, movie posters.

00:25:55.009 –> 00:25:57.990
So, you know, I, being the lowly intern, the

00:25:57.990 –> 00:26:00.069
bottom guy in the totem pole volunteered to,

00:26:00.130 –> 00:26:03.329
you know, haul each one up individually up to

00:26:03.329 –> 00:26:06.309
Kevin’s office and make sure that they got up

00:26:06.309 –> 00:26:09.490
there unbroken. Like every time I was going up

00:26:09.490 –> 00:26:12.250
a set of stairs with one of them, I saw my life

00:26:12.250 –> 00:26:14.309
flash before my eyes. Cause if I break one of

00:26:14.309 –> 00:26:18.779
these things, it’s, it’s, you know, priceless

00:26:18.779 –> 00:26:21.960
memorabilia from the Avengers movies. Just, you

00:26:21.960 –> 00:26:26.099
know, it kind of reinforces… I like to tell

00:26:26.099 –> 00:26:27.839
that story because I feel like it reinforces

00:26:27.839 –> 00:26:29.619
a little bit about myself in terms of, like,

00:26:29.660 –> 00:26:32.549
you know… You really do have to be able to

00:26:32.549 –> 00:26:36.029
roll up your sleeves and tackle any job. I was

00:26:36.029 –> 00:26:40.210
in a suit and tie and was going up to work a

00:26:40.210 –> 00:26:46.769
law desk. But just being who I am, I saw a job.

00:26:46.849 –> 00:26:50.069
I saw it needed to get done. I took my suit jacket

00:26:50.069 –> 00:26:53.230
and tie off and rolled up my sleeves and did

00:26:53.230 –> 00:26:56.710
it. I think that that’s a good lesson for everyone

00:26:56.710 –> 00:27:00.660
in 2024. Oh, for sure. It’s like Kevin Conroy

00:27:00.660 –> 00:27:02.940
said as old man Bruce in Return of the Joker.

00:27:03.079 –> 00:27:05.440
Joker’s vain. He likes to talk. Block it out

00:27:05.440 –> 00:27:08.960
and power on through. I’ve used block it out

00:27:08.960 –> 00:27:11.759
and power on through ever since that movie almost

00:27:11.759 –> 00:27:15.720
25 years ago. Oh, wow. Next year’s 25th anniversary

00:27:15.720 –> 00:27:19.339
of Return of the Joker. Holy crap. Rest in peace,

00:27:19.440 –> 00:27:24.059
Kevin Conroy. Yes, absolutely. The legend. Absolutely.

00:27:24.059 –> 00:27:29.160
I will say in the whole DC versus Marvel debate,

00:27:29.819 –> 00:27:34.799
DC’s animated films are just top tier above anything

00:27:34.799 –> 00:27:39.019
that Marvel’s put out. Oh, I agree. That’s always

00:27:39.019 –> 00:27:42.640
been the thing between the two when you do DC

00:27:42.640 –> 00:27:46.299
versus because DC has the animation, Marvel has

00:27:46.299 –> 00:27:49.380
the live action. Now, there are some really good

00:27:49.380 –> 00:27:54.000
DC movies. You know, some depend on your taste

00:27:54.000 –> 00:27:56.119
of what is good and what isn’t good and whatever.

00:27:56.339 –> 00:27:59.099
But, like, next year, and we’re actually going

00:27:59.099 –> 00:28:01.319
to be doing this next year, Steve knows and doesn’t

00:28:01.319 –> 00:28:04.980
know this, we have already completed two episodes

00:28:04.980 –> 00:28:08.940
covering the 90s, the late 80s, early 90s Batman

00:28:08.940 –> 00:28:11.940
movies. We did Burton’s Batman and Schumacher’s

00:28:11.940 –> 00:28:16.259
Batman. Next year is the 20th anniversary of

00:28:16.259 –> 00:28:18.980
Batman Begins, so we’re going to cover the Dark

00:28:18.980 –> 00:28:23.799
Knight trilogy. Oh my goodness. Yeah. And Instagram,

00:28:23.940 –> 00:28:27.019
there’s, I don’t know what account it is on Instagram,

00:28:27.099 –> 00:28:29.319
but I get sucked into doom scrolling Instagram

00:28:29.319 –> 00:28:32.240
reels. And this account keeps showing me all

00:28:32.240 –> 00:28:35.420
these behind the scenes of Batman begins of the

00:28:35.420 –> 00:28:38.220
dark night of the dark night. Like, Oh God, we’re

00:28:38.220 –> 00:28:44.480
doing this podcast next year. You’ve been good.

00:28:45.039 –> 00:28:50.049
Sorry. I was going to say, for me, I really think

00:28:50.049 –> 00:28:52.990
that watching the behind the scenes, watching

00:28:52.990 –> 00:28:56.490
how films get made, watching all of the blood,

00:28:56.529 –> 00:28:58.730
sweat, effort, and tears that go into making

00:28:58.730 –> 00:29:03.289
movies is not so much more interesting, but it’s

00:29:03.289 –> 00:29:06.490
such an added layer to the movie experience itself.

00:29:06.650 –> 00:29:08.710
So watching those behind the scenes, talking

00:29:08.710 –> 00:29:11.450
about those behind the scenes, I just watched

00:29:11.450 –> 00:29:16.099
an hour -long video of all of the… easter eggs

00:29:16.099 –> 00:29:19.420
tidbits and fun facts about uh batman returns

00:29:19.420 –> 00:29:24.259
um and you know the an hour and five minute runtime

00:29:24.259 –> 00:29:27.279
that i could have watched the movie but you know

00:29:27.279 –> 00:29:30.420
just having that kind of inside information is

00:29:30.420 –> 00:29:34.380
just so so much fun um and it’s part of the business

00:29:34.380 –> 00:29:36.960
that i that i really love and enjoy yeah absolutely

00:29:36.960 –> 00:29:39.680
and while i will agree that streaming services

00:29:39.680 –> 00:29:42.599
are easy and they’re convenient and everything

00:29:42.599 –> 00:29:45.759
else Sometimes things leave streaming services

00:29:45.759 –> 00:29:49.380
completely. They don’t just jump from Hulu to

00:29:49.380 –> 00:29:52.180
Netflix. They don’t just do whatever. They just

00:29:52.180 –> 00:29:55.240
leave. And this is why I’ve been saying, I’ve

00:29:55.240 –> 00:29:58.420
been buying, again, since 2021, I’ve been buying

00:29:58.420 –> 00:30:00.759
more and more physical media again, and I haven’t

00:30:00.759 –> 00:30:03.799
had a physical media collection since 2011. But

00:30:03.799 –> 00:30:08.079
I have a growing list and growing shelves of

00:30:08.079 –> 00:30:10.720
Blu -rays and 4Ks, and if I can get it, I have

00:30:10.720 –> 00:30:13.809
a 4K TV and a 4K Blu -ray player. So if I can

00:30:13.809 –> 00:30:15.789
get it in the highest quality, I will be getting

00:30:15.789 –> 00:30:19.710
it in the highest quality whatsoever. Oh, yeah.

00:30:20.170 –> 00:30:23.650
Man after my own heart. When I moved to California

00:30:23.650 –> 00:30:29.650
from Iowa, I had 400 DVDs in regular… theatrical

00:30:29.650 –> 00:30:32.390
movies. And then I had probably like 40 to 50

00:30:32.390 –> 00:30:36.250
TV box sets, all the Simpsons, Seinfeld, South

00:30:36.250 –> 00:30:38.869
parks, that kind of stuff. But, you know, after

00:30:38.869 –> 00:30:41.970
moving that once or twice in LA plus storage

00:30:41.970 –> 00:30:44.329
and rent size, I’m like, I got to get rid of

00:30:44.329 –> 00:30:46.490
these things. So I got rid of everything. I think

00:30:46.490 –> 00:30:52.589
it was in 2013, 2014. Um, but, but now I am finding

00:30:52.589 –> 00:30:54.930
myself. Yeah. Like you said, buying a lot more

00:30:54.930 –> 00:30:58.029
physical media. Um, I just bought phases one

00:30:58.029 –> 00:31:02.150
through three of the MCU on Blu -ray 4k. Um,

00:31:02.289 –> 00:31:04.829
we obviously have Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter

00:31:04.829 –> 00:31:09.450
and Star Wars on Blu -ray 4k. Um, you know, yeah,

00:31:09.609 –> 00:31:11.369
you, you never know what’s going to happen. I

00:31:11.369 –> 00:31:14.509
call it my doomsday or, uh, uh, no internet,

00:31:14.609 –> 00:31:19.670
um, sale, sale, sale, sale face. But, um, yeah.

00:31:20.440 –> 00:31:23.779
And the only downside, and I agree with you because

00:31:23.779 –> 00:31:26.039
I’m the same way, if I lose internet, well, as

00:31:26.039 –> 00:31:27.900
long as I still have electricity, then I thought

00:31:27.900 –> 00:31:30.319
to myself, because my girlfriend pointed this

00:31:30.319 –> 00:31:32.779
out to me, she’s like, but if the internet goes

00:31:32.779 –> 00:31:34.839
out, the internet and the computers are what

00:31:34.839 –> 00:31:36.839
controls the power, so the power’s, I’m like,

00:31:36.900 –> 00:31:45.119
oh, crap, don’t ruin this for me. Oh, God. You

00:31:45.119 –> 00:31:48.700
know, one physical media I had to go out and

00:31:48.700 –> 00:31:52.680
buy not too long ago was the – I had to track

00:31:52.680 –> 00:31:57.839
down a DVD of Dogma, Kevin Smith’s Dogma, because

00:31:57.839 –> 00:32:00.440
that one has not been re -released, remastered

00:32:00.440 –> 00:32:03.119
at all on Blu -ray, and you can’t find it anywhere

00:32:03.119 –> 00:32:06.420
on streaming. I think that might change starting

00:32:06.420 –> 00:32:09.619
next year, but I think I had to pay $40 on eBay

00:32:09.619 –> 00:32:16.200
for a DVD. Or an old DVD copy of Dogma. Yeah,

00:32:17.359 –> 00:32:23.559
that’s crazy. That one’s got to rank up there.

00:32:23.799 –> 00:32:27.579
One of my favorites. Kevin Smith created an interconnected

00:32:27.579 –> 00:32:31.920
universe before the MCU made it cool. Absolutely.

00:32:33.859 –> 00:32:36.619
You’re developing your own animated and scripted

00:32:36.619 –> 00:32:39.319
projects. Can you give us a sneak peek into what

00:32:39.319 –> 00:32:42.619
you’re working on? Oh, goodness gracious. I didn’t

00:32:42.619 –> 00:32:45.660
know that was in there. Hey, they gave me the

00:32:45.660 –> 00:32:48.619
ammunition. I took it. This is why we don’t share

00:32:48.619 –> 00:32:50.960
the questions with the guests so we can have

00:32:50.960 –> 00:32:57.119
on -the -spot answers. Let me put it this way.

00:32:57.220 –> 00:33:01.980
I am constantly immersed in ideas for film and

00:33:01.980 –> 00:33:05.660
television projects, animated live action, whatever.

00:33:07.119 –> 00:33:11.599
I have spent… My entire adult life learning

00:33:11.599 –> 00:33:14.140
how to make these properties and projects and

00:33:14.140 –> 00:33:16.200
helping other people create things and get their

00:33:16.200 –> 00:33:18.940
own projects off the ground, I have no doubt

00:33:18.940 –> 00:33:21.480
that in the not -too -distant future, I will

00:33:21.480 –> 00:33:25.079
be working on more intimately my own creative

00:33:25.079 –> 00:33:28.140
projects, and I can’t share anything right now,

00:33:28.279 –> 00:33:31.119
but yeah, things will be coming in the pipeline.

00:33:31.680 –> 00:33:35.380
And then when you’re ready to divulge that information,

00:33:35.740 –> 00:33:38.460
we’d love to have you back and discuss it. Absolutely.

00:33:38.500 –> 00:33:44.400
No, absolutely. So with kind of pivoting to a

00:33:44.400 –> 00:33:46.960
little bit of the legal side and a little bit

00:33:46.960 –> 00:33:49.759
of the creative side, what is with your experience

00:33:49.759 –> 00:33:51.900
in both law and creative development? How do

00:33:51.900 –> 00:33:54.259
you see the relationship between the legal and

00:33:54.259 –> 00:33:56.059
artistic sides of the entertainment industry?

00:33:56.400 –> 00:34:00.119
So I’m a firm believer that the legal and business

00:34:00.119 –> 00:34:02.700
side of entertainment should be subservient to

00:34:02.700 –> 00:34:06.000
the art itself. Do not ask any of my colleagues

00:34:06.000 –> 00:34:09.199
or executive friends that because I firmly believe

00:34:09.199 –> 00:34:11.500
that, or not firmly believe, I think that they

00:34:11.500 –> 00:34:14.380
firmly believe that the business and legal affairs

00:34:14.380 –> 00:34:20.440
sides really drives the industry. But I, yeah,

00:34:21.059 –> 00:34:23.960
no, the art has got to come first. And I really

00:34:23.960 –> 00:34:28.199
think that the last 10 years, last 15 years has

00:34:28.199 –> 00:34:32.789
been a trial run in what happens when you, How

00:34:32.789 –> 00:34:35.230
do you say for lack of putting it delicately,

00:34:35.250 –> 00:34:39.250
let tech bros run the industry and really focus

00:34:39.250 –> 00:34:42.530
on a profit first or not even profit first, a

00:34:42.530 –> 00:34:46.409
equity shareholder first model, a stock valuation

00:34:46.409 –> 00:34:49.329
model and whatever is going to make our investors

00:34:49.329 –> 00:34:54.269
happy. Like you said, there used to be a lot

00:34:54.269 –> 00:35:00.139
more. privately owned smaller mid -size studios

00:35:00.139 –> 00:35:03.219
and production companies and or subsidiaries

00:35:03.219 –> 00:35:05.500
of the larger studios that kind of worked or

00:35:05.500 –> 00:35:08.619
acted independently a lot of that is gone now

00:35:08.619 –> 00:35:11.320
a lot of things are just now housed under one

00:35:11.320 –> 00:35:14.099
banner and and with that we’ve seen you know

00:35:14.099 –> 00:35:19.800
kind of a dry up of creativity Technical difficulties.

00:35:20.579 –> 00:35:22.599
Let’s move on, shall we? I was just going to

00:35:22.599 –> 00:35:24.500
say, when’s the last time you saw a really good,

00:35:24.639 –> 00:35:27.579
you know, raunchy adult Christmas movie? You

00:35:27.579 –> 00:35:29.400
know, like Bad Santa or something like that.

00:35:29.940 –> 00:35:32.360
They just don’t make those anymore. Although

00:35:32.360 –> 00:35:34.900
we got lucky this year with a bunch of sequels

00:35:34.900 –> 00:35:39.539
to movies that came out decades ago. You know,

00:35:39.760 –> 00:35:42.260
did you guys see Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice? I’ve

00:35:42.260 –> 00:35:44.940
seen it, but I’ve also seen Beverly Hills Cop

00:35:44.940 –> 00:35:48.579
4, and I loved that one. I was going to say,

00:35:48.679 –> 00:35:50.840
you know, I forgot about Beverly Hills Cop 4.

00:35:50.940 –> 00:35:53.800
That was really good. I really liked Beetlejuice

00:35:53.800 –> 00:35:57.260
Beetlejuice. They’re not, how do I say, they’re

00:35:57.260 –> 00:35:59.780
not movies that are going to draw a lot of people

00:35:59.780 –> 00:36:03.360
to the cinemas, to the theaters. But for us,

00:36:03.460 –> 00:36:06.360
you know, people who really enjoy cinema, I really

00:36:06.360 –> 00:36:08.420
enjoyed them for what they were. I don’t know.

00:36:08.480 –> 00:36:10.019
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice did pretty well at the

00:36:10.019 –> 00:36:12.039
box office, has been doing pretty well at the

00:36:12.039 –> 00:36:14.550
box office. Well, and they had a lot of merchandising,

00:36:14.550 –> 00:36:16.630
too, like the Halloween season coming up and

00:36:16.630 –> 00:36:19.769
everything else. And they really dove into that

00:36:19.769 –> 00:36:21.510
and took advantage of it, started seeing more

00:36:21.510 –> 00:36:25.110
of the old cartoon coming back out and things

00:36:25.110 –> 00:36:28.010
like that. Yeah, the whole original cartoon’s

00:36:28.010 –> 00:36:31.050
on Tubi to watch for free. I don’t work for Tubi.

00:36:31.050 –> 00:36:32.929
I’m not plugging Tubi in any meaningful way.

00:36:33.110 –> 00:36:36.449
I will plug them as long as I need to because

00:36:36.449 –> 00:36:39.409
that service is the greatest service in the world.

00:36:40.190 –> 00:36:43.409
They’re the silent sleeper. That’s right. They

00:36:43.409 –> 00:36:47.210
have almost everything. They have pretty much

00:36:47.210 –> 00:36:50.570
all the U .S.-based Transformers cartoons. They

00:36:50.570 –> 00:36:53.849
have every single episode of Columbo, which I

00:36:53.849 –> 00:36:56.550
plan on doing a whole podcast on. They’ve got

00:36:56.550 –> 00:37:02.110
everything over there. And it’s free. I sincerely

00:37:02.110 –> 00:37:04.750
hope they learn to beat Netflix at their own

00:37:04.750 –> 00:37:09.219
game. So, we’ll see. But them and Roku have been

00:37:09.219 –> 00:37:12.179
on my list of companies to watch out for for

00:37:12.179 –> 00:37:15.239
a while now. Agreed. How can creators protect

00:37:15.239 –> 00:37:18.059
their artistic vision while navigating the business

00:37:18.059 –> 00:37:21.960
side of the entertainment industry? Hire a lawyer.

00:37:22.280 –> 00:37:26.000
No. Hire him, folks. Hire him. You’ve done that

00:37:26.000 –> 00:37:31.769
before. No. You know, it’s kind of a trick question

00:37:31.769 –> 00:37:33.989
because at the end of the day, there really is

00:37:33.989 –> 00:37:36.889
no such thing as a truly unique original idea.

00:37:37.010 –> 00:37:40.309
I firmly believe that even myself, sometimes

00:37:40.309 –> 00:37:43.969
I will think I have the most ingenious idea for

00:37:43.969 –> 00:37:47.289
a plot or something and realize that it’s been

00:37:47.289 –> 00:37:53.469
done by this, that, or the next thing. True originality

00:37:53.469 –> 00:37:58.280
lies in the expression. And so, you know, you

00:37:58.280 –> 00:38:03.159
can take stories that have been told and cliches

00:38:03.159 –> 00:38:07.099
and fairy tales and mythology and in parts of

00:38:07.099 –> 00:38:10.059
stories and stuff. And you if you learn to tell

00:38:10.059 –> 00:38:12.599
and craft a narrative in a new, unique, expressive

00:38:12.599 –> 00:38:17.300
way, that is truly what is the essence of art

00:38:17.300 –> 00:38:19.900
or what what you want to protect. And so, you

00:38:19.900 –> 00:38:23.699
know, I always tell people that unless you have

00:38:23.699 –> 00:38:28.539
a. M. Night Shyamalanian, like, I see dead people

00:38:28.539 –> 00:38:32.639
style twist. I wouldn’t be too concerned with

00:38:32.639 –> 00:38:35.400
sharing my ideas with other people because it’s

00:38:35.400 –> 00:38:37.840
going to boil down to the expression of that

00:38:37.840 –> 00:38:40.340
idea. And really, there’s so many people who

00:38:40.340 –> 00:38:43.260
have ideas. Ideas are not protectable under the

00:38:43.260 –> 00:38:46.960
Copyright Act. It is the expression of that idea

00:38:46.960 –> 00:38:50.400
that is protectable. So in my business, a lot

00:38:50.400 –> 00:38:53.260
of people talk. A lot of people have ideas for

00:38:53.260 –> 00:38:55.900
things, but very… not very few people, but

00:38:55.900 –> 00:38:59.119
the ones that do, you know, those are the ones

00:38:59.119 –> 00:39:01.579
that matter. So, you know, protecting yourself

00:39:01.579 –> 00:39:05.179
is great. Make sure that you file for copyright

00:39:05.179 –> 00:39:06.940
protection. Make sure you’re registering your

00:39:06.940 –> 00:39:10.000
work with the WGA if you’re a writer. You know,

00:39:10.039 –> 00:39:12.360
obviously don’t share your work with scrupulous

00:39:12.360 –> 00:39:14.980
individuals if it is confidential or private

00:39:14.980 –> 00:39:16.860
or you don’t want it seen before it’s ready.

00:39:17.019 –> 00:39:19.780
But, you know, China is going to steal ideas

00:39:19.780 –> 00:39:23.489
from the United States. all day every day you

00:39:23.489 –> 00:39:26.409
know we we can’t stop that there is no foolproof

00:39:26.409 –> 00:39:29.989
way to completely protect or shield your idea

00:39:29.989 –> 00:39:33.670
and it’s funny you say that because we often

00:39:33.670 –> 00:39:36.409
say around here when we have a good idea as soon

00:39:36.409 –> 00:39:38.989
as we spit the good idea out on a podcast that

00:39:38.989 –> 00:39:41.670
ends up people end up hearing it the next thing

00:39:41.670 –> 00:39:43.769
out of either one of our mouths is disney don’t

00:39:43.769 –> 00:39:49.679
steal our idea please now now To be fair, there

00:39:49.679 –> 00:39:52.940
have been a bunch of instances where companies

00:39:52.940 –> 00:39:55.599
have done more scrupulous things like stealing

00:39:55.599 –> 00:39:59.829
people’s ideas, but yeah. Again, it lies in the

00:39:59.829 –> 00:40:03.730
expression. I teach entertainment business law

00:40:03.730 –> 00:40:06.949
at Los Angeles Film School. And one of the cases

00:40:06.949 –> 00:40:10.550
I like to talk about is a more recent incidence

00:40:10.550 –> 00:40:14.369
where Pixar was sued by a tattoo artist because

00:40:14.369 –> 00:40:17.469
there was this van in the movie Onward. And this

00:40:17.469 –> 00:40:20.670
tattoo artist, she sued Pixar because the van

00:40:20.670 –> 00:40:24.570
in that movie almost completely resembled, was

00:40:24.570 –> 00:40:27.460
almost identical to hers. And I show it. to my

00:40:27.460 –> 00:40:31.440
students in, in my law class, because, you know,

00:40:31.440 –> 00:40:34.940
one could look at this van and, and look at this

00:40:34.940 –> 00:40:37.239
tattoo artist, this lady bringing a lawsuit and

00:40:37.239 –> 00:40:40.420
say, you know, like she’s crazy, you know, why

00:40:40.420 –> 00:40:43.559
would Disney steal her idea for this van? Like,

00:40:43.599 –> 00:40:47.440
and not to mention, you know, Again, people can

00:40:47.440 –> 00:40:49.840
have independent ideas about the same thing at

00:40:49.840 –> 00:40:52.940
the exact same time. So I try to show students

00:40:52.940 –> 00:40:55.780
that on the one hand, there can be a degree of

00:40:55.780 –> 00:41:00.099
separation between ideation and idea theft. But

00:41:00.099 –> 00:41:02.619
the devils in the details and the devils are

00:41:02.619 –> 00:41:04.579
in the facts of the case. And the facts of this

00:41:04.579 –> 00:41:08.940
case were that Pixar had rented her van specifically

00:41:08.940 –> 00:41:13.880
several times for Pixar -related activities and

00:41:13.880 –> 00:41:17.309
or had approached her. to license the van to

00:41:17.309 –> 00:41:20.590
use it or something to that effect. Like essentially

00:41:20.590 –> 00:41:23.889
Pixar was well aware that this van existed. Um,

00:41:23.989 –> 00:41:26.269
and it could be shown through, through evidence,

00:41:26.429 –> 00:41:30.289
right? Um, because in 2024, there’s an email

00:41:30.289 –> 00:41:32.409
record, there’s a digital footprint of everything.

00:41:32.610 –> 00:41:35.289
Um, so Disney ended up having to settle that

00:41:35.289 –> 00:41:38.150
case, having to, you know, pay that tattoo artists

00:41:38.150 –> 00:41:41.250
and undisclosed lump sum of money because they

00:41:41.250 –> 00:41:43.530
were clearly in the wrong. They clearly had stolen

00:41:43.530 –> 00:41:46.969
her idea. Um, But there was a very clear paper

00:41:46.969 –> 00:41:52.550
trail of how that occurred. More often than not,

00:41:52.570 –> 00:41:55.190
I’ll have people come into my office or I’ll

00:41:55.190 –> 00:41:57.849
have people call me and say, hey, I had an idea

00:41:57.849 –> 00:42:03.690
for a movie about Napoleon and now Ridley Scott

00:42:03.690 –> 00:42:08.869
stole my idea. Well, it’s like anyone can have

00:42:08.869 –> 00:42:10.889
an idea to make a movie about Napoleon, right?

00:42:11.070 –> 00:42:17.320
Yeah. It depends. Is the lawyer’s favorite answer

00:42:17.320 –> 00:42:20.280
all the time? It depends. The devil’s in the

00:42:20.280 –> 00:42:22.500
details. The facts and circumstance are going

00:42:22.500 –> 00:42:25.699
to dictate. Generally speaking, Hollywood doesn’t

00:42:25.699 –> 00:42:27.639
have a bug around people trying to steal your

00:42:27.639 –> 00:42:30.900
ideas. But then every once in a while, you know,

00:42:30.900 –> 00:42:32.219
something like that. It does happen occasionally.

00:42:32.659 –> 00:42:36.329
The van incident happens. Be careful, folks.

00:42:36.389 –> 00:42:38.550
The police are after the entertainment lawyer

00:42:38.550 –> 00:42:41.090
as we’re talking to him. Yeah, I’m sorry, guys.

00:42:41.289 –> 00:42:45.349
It’s a hot night in Santa Monica, I guess. Isn’t

00:42:45.349 –> 00:42:50.289
it always? Yeah. So with the rise of, since we’re

00:42:50.289 –> 00:42:52.730
talking about that, with the rise of AI, how

00:42:52.730 –> 00:42:55.170
do you see intellectual property law evolving

00:42:55.170 –> 00:43:00.530
in the coming years? You know, I really have.

00:43:01.230 –> 00:43:04.070
No clue where intellectual property law is going

00:43:04.070 –> 00:43:06.730
to go, where copyright law is going to go. To

00:43:06.730 –> 00:43:13.349
me, the idea that all AI generated art is not

00:43:13.349 –> 00:43:16.750
copyrighted, not copyrightably protectable. That’s

00:43:16.750 –> 00:43:19.929
an absurd assertion. And that’s kind of the stance

00:43:19.929 –> 00:43:22.150
that the copyright office is taking at this point

00:43:22.150 –> 00:43:23.969
in time. But if you think about it and you boil

00:43:23.969 –> 00:43:28.699
down. AI really is, it’s not too dissimilar from

00:43:28.699 –> 00:43:36.719
Photoshop or what we use to program mocap or

00:43:36.719 –> 00:43:41.940
CGI or any advancements in computer technology

00:43:41.940 –> 00:43:44.880
that we’ve made in the last 20, 30 years. It’s

00:43:44.880 –> 00:43:48.219
not the exact same as that, but there’s an analogy

00:43:48.219 –> 00:43:52.239
to be made. And as long as a human hand is using

00:43:52.239 –> 00:43:55.869
the AI tool to create, I believe that people

00:43:55.869 –> 00:43:59.829
can use AI to make incredible works of art that

00:43:59.829 –> 00:44:03.250
should be protected by copyright law. But we’ll

00:44:03.250 –> 00:44:06.550
have to see, you know, how the court kind of

00:44:06.550 –> 00:44:08.610
decides on that. Like I said, right now, they

00:44:08.610 –> 00:44:11.090
kind of take the position that anything used,

00:44:11.409 –> 00:44:16.110
AI used to create won’t qualify for copyright

00:44:16.110 –> 00:44:20.630
protection. Intellectual property, copyright

00:44:20.630 –> 00:44:23.130
law in general is kind of a fascinating topic.

00:44:23.230 –> 00:44:26.409
If you think about copyright law in comparison

00:44:26.409 –> 00:44:31.989
to patent law, patent protection only lasts for

00:44:31.989 –> 00:44:36.949
20 years. Copyright lasts for the life of the

00:44:36.949 –> 00:44:40.110
author plus – I forget what it is off the top

00:44:40.110 –> 00:44:42.030
of my head, 70 something, 75 years or something.

00:44:42.190 –> 00:44:45.619
Something like that. Yeah, 95 for corporation

00:44:45.619 –> 00:44:53.280
from publication or 120 from ideation. But those

00:44:53.280 –> 00:44:59.000
copyright lengths of time, 100 plus odd years,

00:44:59.179 –> 00:45:03.679
that’s a long time for protection. I don’t know

00:45:03.679 –> 00:45:10.789
that… level of protection is good for art or

00:45:10.789 –> 00:45:13.389
society. I just, I don’t know. I don’t know,

00:45:13.409 –> 00:45:17.230
to be honest with you. I prefer actual intelligence

00:45:17.230 –> 00:45:19.809
to artificial intelligence. That’s my stance

00:45:19.809 –> 00:45:25.469
on AI. I will say, I think that artificial intelligence

00:45:25.469 –> 00:45:28.369
is highly overrated in the intelligence category.

00:45:28.630 –> 00:45:33.760
It is great. taking long, complex things and

00:45:33.760 –> 00:45:39.619
reorganizing them and taking a sentence and giving

00:45:39.619 –> 00:45:42.360
ideas for it. And it’s good for what I like to

00:45:42.360 –> 00:45:45.420
call the ideation process, but it does not substitute

00:45:45.420 –> 00:45:49.760
in any way for a brain. We use AI at our law

00:45:49.760 –> 00:45:52.179
firm for a lot of things, and I compare it to

00:45:52.179 –> 00:45:55.880
driving a race car. It’s like a Formula One race

00:45:55.880 –> 00:45:59.280
car. The average driver off the street can’t

00:45:59.280 –> 00:46:02.139
get behind a Formula one race car and, you know,

00:46:02.159 –> 00:46:05.599
do a million laps and do cool things with it.

00:46:05.659 –> 00:46:08.619
But the right driver behind the wheel with the

00:46:08.619 –> 00:46:11.639
right tools can, you know, open that car up and

00:46:11.639 –> 00:46:14.079
do some really cool stuff. That’s a great analogy.

00:46:14.239 –> 00:46:16.579
And I actually think of it very similar just

00:46:16.579 –> 00:46:20.260
because I tend to think of it like old school

00:46:20.260 –> 00:46:23.380
search engine, like when you had to use the Boolean

00:46:23.380 –> 00:46:25.320
searches and you had to kind of know exactly

00:46:25.320 –> 00:46:27.500
like what you were looking for to get it to come

00:46:27.500 –> 00:46:31.349
up. and the right way to ask the question and

00:46:31.349 –> 00:46:34.369
so like it’s very much like that you have to

00:46:34.369 –> 00:46:36.570
kind of know how to use the tool and what you’re

00:46:36.570 –> 00:46:39.969
using it for but it’s not good for the the end

00:46:39.969 –> 00:46:42.590
product it’s good for the getting you know the

00:46:42.590 –> 00:46:44.829
wheels turning in your brain to go the rest of

00:46:44.829 –> 00:46:48.150
the way yeah like you know i’m writing an episode

00:46:48.150 –> 00:46:51.969
of a tv show about thanksgiving you know dinner

00:46:51.969 –> 00:46:54.869
and i you know i type into chat gbt what are

00:46:54.869 –> 00:46:58.900
the most common family conflicts that occur during

00:46:58.900 –> 00:47:03.320
Thanksgiving, and I can find ideas in that to

00:47:03.320 –> 00:47:06.579
use, but it’s not like it’s writing anything

00:47:06.579 –> 00:47:10.860
for me. But I can clearly tell you it’s whoever

00:47:10.860 –> 00:47:15.099
gets the last baked potato, whoever gets the

00:47:15.099 –> 00:47:20.139
last piece of pumpkin pie, and depending on what

00:47:20.139 –> 00:47:22.539
football team you’re a fan of, whoever gets to

00:47:22.539 –> 00:47:26.889
watch the game first. That sounds like a very

00:47:26.889 –> 00:47:30.750
mild Thanksgiving there, Mike. Like they burn

00:47:30.750 –> 00:47:33.750
the dinner and have to go out, and then all the

00:47:33.750 –> 00:47:38.469
places are closed. Do you guys watch The Bear?

00:47:38.809 –> 00:47:44.349
No. On Hulu FX? No, I haven’t yet. It’s a really

00:47:44.349 –> 00:47:49.030
good show about a chef who’s trying to win a

00:47:49.030 –> 00:47:52.309
Michelin star for a restaurant in Chicago, but

00:47:52.309 –> 00:47:56.230
there’s this very… now -famous episode. I think

00:47:56.230 –> 00:47:58.030
it’s called The Five Fishes or something like

00:47:58.030 –> 00:48:02.570
that. Set over Christmas with Jamie Lee Curtis

00:48:02.570 –> 00:48:06.349
and a huge ensemble cast, but it’s one of the

00:48:06.349 –> 00:48:08.710
best episodes of television I’ve ever seen. It’s

00:48:08.710 –> 00:48:10.789
really good. Love to check that out. Yeah, the

00:48:10.789 –> 00:48:13.190
only reason I bring it up is it’s a pretty intense

00:48:13.190 –> 00:48:16.829
family fight scene at a holiday dinner. What

00:48:16.829 –> 00:48:19.590
are some current trends in Hollywood that creators

00:48:19.590 –> 00:48:21.829
should be aware of before signing any deals?

00:48:22.800 –> 00:48:26.400
Oh, boy. Nobody’s paying anything? I don’t know.

00:48:26.420 –> 00:48:28.400
I don’t know how to answer that question. You

00:48:28.400 –> 00:48:31.480
know, the motto on the street right now is survive

00:48:31.480 –> 00:48:36.400
to 2025. I think a lot of the companies, a lot

00:48:36.400 –> 00:48:40.570
of the studios… a lot of the financiers are

00:48:40.570 –> 00:48:43.570
licking their wounds. They’re looking at the

00:48:43.570 –> 00:48:46.150
high interest rate as kind of being problematic

00:48:46.150 –> 00:48:49.150
and a barrier for jumping into investing again.

00:48:49.329 –> 00:48:52.949
I’m hoping 2025 will be a more robust year for

00:48:52.949 –> 00:48:57.730
indie filmmaking and or private equity, private

00:48:57.730 –> 00:48:59.869
investments into the entertainment industry in

00:48:59.869 –> 00:49:05.719
general. As far as trends go, Old is the new

00:49:05.719 –> 00:49:10.239
again. Look for things in the early 2000s that

00:49:10.239 –> 00:49:13.280
were really popular. Rediscovering things from

00:49:13.280 –> 00:49:16.579
the early 2000s right now, music, pop culture,

00:49:16.739 –> 00:49:19.320
brands. I imagine that’s going to be pretty in

00:49:19.320 –> 00:49:25.059
vogue for the next five years as people… Ten

00:49:25.059 –> 00:49:28.760
years, my junior, starting to become the main

00:49:28.760 –> 00:49:32.639
purchasers, start to get more of that purchasing

00:49:32.639 –> 00:49:34.960
power, that purchasing dollar power. You’ll see

00:49:34.960 –> 00:49:37.679
a rise of those trends, not too dissimilar from

00:49:37.679 –> 00:49:41.739
the 90s trends we’ve seen recently as well. So

00:49:41.739 –> 00:49:43.780
it’ll be kind of like all the callbacks that

00:49:43.780 –> 00:49:47.619
were in Deadpool and Wolverine. Yeah, I mean,

00:49:47.659 –> 00:49:53.349
oh goodness, we could talk about that. Yeah,

00:49:53.610 –> 00:49:55.869
no, Deadpool versus the Wolverine. That was a

00:49:55.869 –> 00:49:58.570
great movie. It was like watching all of the

00:49:58.570 –> 00:50:01.829
internet memes of the 2000s combined together

00:50:01.829 –> 00:50:05.070
into one film. It was, yeah, yeah, you know,

00:50:05.130 –> 00:50:09.730
there’ll be more of that. Well, after all, I

00:50:09.730 –> 00:50:13.050
mean, nostalgia is what rules the universe now

00:50:13.050 –> 00:50:17.230
because there is no new idea. There is only a

00:50:17.230 –> 00:50:21.780
way to modify current ideas. There is no… new

00:50:21.780 –> 00:50:24.519
breakout and it’s our own fault because we were

00:50:24.519 –> 00:50:27.760
raised in the 70s 80s and 90s to the point of

00:50:27.760 –> 00:50:30.480
we started with all this stuff and now all the

00:50:30.480 –> 00:50:33.400
companies are like we need to make money let’s

00:50:33.400 –> 00:50:35.500
make more of the stuff they loved 40 years ago

00:50:35.500 –> 00:50:43.559
yeah and and you’ll have that of course um I

00:50:43.559 –> 00:50:44.840
lost my train of thought. I was going to say

00:50:44.840 –> 00:50:46.420
something cool and interesting, but I forgot

00:50:46.420 –> 00:50:51.199
it. Sorry. No, nostalgia goes a long way, but

00:50:51.199 –> 00:50:55.059
I do think that people are in the mood and or

00:50:55.059 –> 00:50:57.320
craving for something original. Now I remember

00:50:57.320 –> 00:50:59.519
what I was going to say. You know, it has always

00:50:59.519 –> 00:51:03.340
been true that all art is recycled. Even going

00:51:03.340 –> 00:51:07.280
back to Picasso and Plato, everyone has always

00:51:07.280 –> 00:51:10.340
said that good artists borrow. great artists

00:51:10.340 –> 00:51:13.559
steal. So it’s not necessarily the regurgitation

00:51:13.559 –> 00:51:17.119
of things. That is the issue. It is the fact

00:51:17.119 –> 00:51:19.719
that the regurgitation of these things has not

00:51:19.719 –> 00:51:22.840
created or supported anything new. You know,

00:51:22.900 –> 00:51:28.539
there you, you can always look at art and see

00:51:28.539 –> 00:51:31.579
the influences in the history and where, you

00:51:31.579 –> 00:51:34.860
know, they have borrowed inspiration from Hollywood

00:51:34.860 –> 00:51:37.820
just needs to find that again. No, I agree. That’s

00:51:37.820 –> 00:51:42.690
a lot of the, The old can work still. It’s just

00:51:42.690 –> 00:51:45.269
the implementation. And that’s one of the things

00:51:45.269 –> 00:51:48.010
I’ve loved with some of the more recent Ryan

00:51:48.010 –> 00:51:51.469
Reynolds films that have been released on Netflix

00:51:51.469 –> 00:51:54.869
is it’s got a mixture of different things in

00:51:54.869 –> 00:51:58.329
a new packaging, and it feels fresh. I think

00:51:58.329 –> 00:52:00.030
that that’s the best we’re going to get in 2024,

00:52:00.429 –> 00:52:04.789
to be real honest. I mean, like, I really liked

00:52:04.789 –> 00:52:12.159
Alien Romulus. It was Alien 1. In 2024, I was

00:52:12.159 –> 00:52:16.099
pleased with it. So what are some of the essential

00:52:16.099 –> 00:52:19.280
things that you think creators need to know to

00:52:19.280 –> 00:52:21.539
kind of protect themselves online, especially

00:52:21.539 –> 00:52:24.699
like us being podcasters? What are some of the

00:52:24.699 –> 00:52:27.599
things that you would kind of recommend to watch

00:52:27.599 –> 00:52:30.159
out for to stay on the good side of the law and

00:52:30.159 –> 00:52:34.300
not have people come after you? Just because

00:52:34.300 –> 00:52:37.059
you got a Google image off of Google. Anyway,

00:52:37.139 –> 00:52:39.260
that’s a long story. Yeah, I mean, you always

00:52:39.260 –> 00:52:41.639
want to be careful when you’re using third -party

00:52:41.639 –> 00:52:43.840
intellectual property, whether that’s images,

00:52:44.000 –> 00:52:46.440
whether that’s video clips, whether that’s sound

00:52:46.440 –> 00:52:50.719
bites. Um, you know, podcasts and online digital

00:52:50.719 –> 00:52:55.780
media is, is a lot more forgiving than film or

00:52:55.780 –> 00:52:59.460
television is as it relates to, you know, unlicensed

00:52:59.460 –> 00:53:02.659
sampling, if you want to call it that. Um, but

00:53:02.659 –> 00:53:05.000
you always want to be aware of who you’re ripping

00:53:05.000 –> 00:53:07.280
from. You want to be aware of people who are

00:53:07.280 –> 00:53:09.420
highly litigious. You know, the Tolkien estate

00:53:09.420 –> 00:53:13.039
is highly litigious. Um, sir, Arthur Cohen’s

00:53:13.039 –> 00:53:15.619
estate is highly litigious. Um, if you get a

00:53:15.619 –> 00:53:18.920
takedown notice. Take it seriously and take the

00:53:18.920 –> 00:53:23.559
content down, you know, and and and I guess,

00:53:23.699 –> 00:53:28.730
you know, in terms of. Best practices, make sure

00:53:28.730 –> 00:53:32.590
that you are filing for a corporation, you have

00:53:32.590 –> 00:53:34.750
your ownership structures with your partners

00:53:34.750 –> 00:53:39.210
figured out, you have your equity splits figured

00:53:39.210 –> 00:53:42.690
out. When you’re engaging with people, you’re

00:53:42.690 –> 00:53:45.269
having them sign appearance releases or voiceover

00:53:45.269 –> 00:53:48.690
releases or something like that. If you’re filming

00:53:48.690 –> 00:53:51.710
in a location, you’re getting a waiver of liability

00:53:51.710 –> 00:53:56.690
in case somebody gets hurt. Just a number of

00:53:56.690 –> 00:53:59.190
things that you can do to overly protect yourself

00:53:59.190 –> 00:54:03.389
if you have the budget and the means to get that

00:54:03.389 –> 00:54:05.469
kind of one -on -one consulting with an attorney.

00:54:05.750 –> 00:54:10.309
Makes sense. Yeah, absolutely. So, what are some

00:54:10.309 –> 00:54:14.829
of your favorite TV shows and characters? Oh,

00:54:14.829 –> 00:54:18.030
gosh. You know, right now, I am hardly watching

00:54:18.030 –> 00:54:22.849
anything. on TV that is new. I take that back.

00:54:22.909 –> 00:54:25.789
I’m really enjoying Agatha all along right now.

00:54:25.869 –> 00:54:28.110
I think that that fits in well with October.

00:54:28.909 –> 00:54:32.869
My wife and I usually do 31 Days of Halloween

00:54:32.869 –> 00:54:36.050
every October, so we’ve been binge -watching.

00:54:37.480 –> 00:54:41.639
Halloween movies. In terms of OG legacy shows,

00:54:41.960 –> 00:54:44.400
I’ll go back and watch Simpsons a million times

00:54:44.400 –> 00:54:48.260
over. Same thing with Dragon Ball Z or Arrested

00:54:48.260 –> 00:54:56.280
Development or Smallville. But I think at this

00:54:56.280 –> 00:54:59.949
point in my career, I have… how do I say not

00:54:59.949 –> 00:55:03.010
as much time to go back and rewatch things? Um,

00:55:03.170 –> 00:55:05.670
I, I actually, that’s how I measure a good movie.

00:55:05.889 –> 00:55:09.230
Uh, a good movie or film is, would I go back

00:55:09.230 –> 00:55:11.150
and rewatch it knowing that I have a limited

00:55:11.150 –> 00:55:14.550
amount of time right now? Um, and if the answer

00:55:14.550 –> 00:55:16.550
is yeah, then it, then it was a pretty good movie.

00:55:16.869 –> 00:55:19.949
That’s pretty good answer. Cause like I, I fluctuate

00:55:19.949 –> 00:55:23.650
between TV shows as well and films and I kind

00:55:23.650 –> 00:55:27.559
of weigh it based on, you know, I have this handful

00:55:27.559 –> 00:55:30.199
of things that I’ll actually still watch after

00:55:30.199 –> 00:55:33.280
I’ve seen it the first time, and part of it is

00:55:33.280 –> 00:55:35.800
I remember all the movies and TV shows after

00:55:35.800 –> 00:55:39.539
I watch them, and it takes years to filter out.

00:55:40.019 –> 00:55:43.000
He remembers all of them, and then he remembers

00:55:43.000 –> 00:55:46.659
all the ones that he got cancelled. Yeah, yeah.

00:55:47.840 –> 00:55:50.760
Because when I when I used to go to my in -laws,

00:55:50.880 –> 00:55:53.079
they would have the TV on 24 -7 and I’d walk

00:55:53.079 –> 00:55:55.119
in the room and within five seconds I would have

00:55:55.119 –> 00:55:57.679
the movie picked out that they’re watching. And

00:55:57.679 –> 00:55:59.420
they were like, how did you know? And I’m like,

00:55:59.460 –> 00:56:01.400
I heard five seconds of this or whatever. I just

00:56:01.400 –> 00:56:04.519
jog my memory in and then like I just keep going,

00:56:04.639 –> 00:56:09.639
you know. But yeah. So last question here. What

00:56:09.639 –> 00:56:14.409
are the. Top three questions any creator should

00:56:14.409 –> 00:56:17.230
ask a potential entertainment lawyer. Goodness

00:56:17.230 –> 00:56:21.250
gracious. Number one, how much do you charge?

00:56:21.369 –> 00:56:26.969
How much do you cost? Number two, are you the

00:56:26.969 –> 00:56:28.710
right entertainment lawyer for the job? There

00:56:28.710 –> 00:56:30.570
are a lot of different types of entertainment

00:56:30.570 –> 00:56:32.730
lawyers to do a lot of different things, right?

00:56:32.809 –> 00:56:35.909
Like I said, there are entertainment litigators

00:56:35.909 –> 00:56:38.960
who show up. court and they argue issues in front

00:56:38.960 –> 00:56:40.980
of a judge and they take people to court and

00:56:40.980 –> 00:56:43.480
they sue and they issue lawsuits and demand letters.

00:56:43.639 –> 00:56:47.280
I am not that type of lawyer. I am the, Hey,

00:56:47.340 –> 00:56:49.619
if you have a deal in hand, if you’re being offered

00:56:49.619 –> 00:56:52.880
a gig, whether that’s in an engagement or a merchandising

00:56:52.880 –> 00:56:55.300
deal or a brand deal or something to that nature,

00:56:55.460 –> 00:56:57.940
if you’re looking to make money off of your entertainment

00:56:57.940 –> 00:57:01.119
project and you have a buyer lined up that that’s

00:57:01.119 –> 00:57:03.880
where I come into play. So, so yeah, number two,

00:57:03.920 –> 00:57:06.119
know what type of entertainment lawyer you need.

00:57:06.190 –> 00:57:10.730
And number three, you want any relationship with

00:57:10.730 –> 00:57:12.510
a lawyer to be a good fit. You want to be able

00:57:12.510 –> 00:57:15.409
to actually speak with that lawyer as a human

00:57:15.409 –> 00:57:19.150
and make sure that they understand what your

00:57:19.150 –> 00:57:22.789
needs and interests are and that you can communicate

00:57:22.789 –> 00:57:27.139
that to them effectively. Because really, we’re

00:57:27.139 –> 00:57:29.599
hired servants. We’re hired on behalf of the

00:57:29.599 –> 00:57:33.360
creators to carry out and advocate their wants

00:57:33.360 –> 00:57:35.559
and desires and what they want to see in terms

00:57:35.559 –> 00:57:39.329
of a deal. Don’t be afraid to ask. Don’t be afraid

00:57:39.329 –> 00:57:42.110
to give direction. Work with your lawyers. Correspond

00:57:42.110 –> 00:57:45.449
with your lawyers. Figure out what is truly the

00:57:45.449 –> 00:57:48.590
best deal for you because we are kind of the

00:57:48.590 –> 00:57:52.110
race car, if you will, but you guys are the drivers.

00:57:52.530 –> 00:57:54.110
Yeah, that’s great. That’s great information

00:57:54.110 –> 00:57:58.449
to remember for really anybody that’s in creating

00:57:58.449 –> 00:58:02.530
content. Yes, most definitely. All right. That’s

00:58:02.530 –> 00:58:05.329
going to do it, I think. Would you like to give

00:58:05.329 –> 00:58:07.389
out your social media? You don’t have to if you

00:58:07.389 –> 00:58:09.590
don’t want to. Yeah, no, I’m really easy to find.

00:58:09.650 –> 00:58:13.429
You can find me at my website, LastingEntertainmentLaw

00:58:13.429 –> 00:58:17.550
.com. You can find me on Instagram, at LastingLaw.

00:58:17.550 –> 00:58:20.250
I think it’s the same handle for TikTok, although

00:58:20.250 –> 00:58:23.170
I don’t check my… tiktok very often i don’t

00:58:23.170 –> 00:58:27.789
even know what tiktok is uh me either no find

00:58:27.789 –> 00:58:30.769
me on find me on instagram looking forward to

00:58:30.769 –> 00:58:33.090
you know hopefully creating the next wave of

00:58:33.090 –> 00:58:36.110
animated series and live action nerdy stuff for

00:58:36.110 –> 00:58:39.110
all of us to uh enjoy and consume absolutely

00:58:40.429 –> 00:58:42.469
Yep, yep. All right, folks, that’s going to do

00:58:42.469 –> 00:58:45.090
it for this one. This is Geek Cast Radio episode

00:58:45.090 –> 00:58:50.710
345. 15 years and only 345 episodes of this show.

00:58:51.150 –> 00:58:53.190
We’ve got other ones that have a higher count,

00:58:53.289 –> 00:58:58.309
but that’s because I’m insane. So any other geeky

00:58:58.309 –> 00:59:00.949
type things you want to say, Joshua, before we

00:59:00.949 –> 00:59:07.340
get to the closing? No, just stay nerdy. Keep

00:59:07.340 –> 00:59:11.960
pumping out ideas and follow your heart in terms

00:59:11.960 –> 00:59:13.900
of those ideas. And if you have something really

00:59:13.900 –> 00:59:15.780
cool, just try to get it made. It’s never been

00:59:15.780 –> 00:59:18.920
an easier time to get stuff made now with AI

00:59:18.920 –> 00:59:22.820
and all the apps and everything. So find your

00:59:22.820 –> 00:59:25.159
passion and follow it. Absolutely, absolutely.

00:59:26.299 –> 00:59:28.519
Well, thank you for joining us on this episode

00:59:28.519 –> 00:59:31.179
of Geekcast Radio Presents, and thank you to

00:59:31.179 –> 00:59:34.059
our guest, Joshua Lastain. Be sure to check out

00:59:34.059 –> 00:59:36.860
his website at the link in the episode’s post.

00:59:37.519 –> 00:59:40.119
Steve, thank you as always. Next time, folks,

00:59:40.219 –> 00:59:45.559
I have no idea. I really don’t. Geekcast Radio,

00:59:45.780 –> 00:59:48.639
the flagship podcast, has always been, oh, actually,

00:59:48.639 –> 00:59:50.579
I do know what the heck we’re doing next time.

00:59:51.579 –> 00:59:54.940
I do know. I can’t believe I know this, but I

00:59:54.940 –> 00:59:58.539
know. Steve will be back. We are going to be

00:59:58.539 –> 01:00:03.480
doing a… Which, I can’t believe this happened

01:00:03.480 –> 01:00:06.039
all in the same year. I was shocked. Literally,

01:00:06.139 –> 01:00:09.199
I almost fell out of my chair. But we will be

01:00:09.199 –> 01:00:14.940
doing the breakout roles of Jim Carrey. Ace Ventura

01:00:14.940 –> 01:00:17.699
wears a mask and gets dumb and dumber. Because

01:00:17.699 –> 01:00:21.820
all three movies came out 30 years ago in 1994.

01:00:24.380 –> 01:00:28.619
February, July, and December. February was Ace,

01:00:28.880 –> 01:00:33.000
July was Mask, and December was Dumb and Dumber.

01:00:34.099 –> 01:00:36.739
I was shocked, because I could have sworn those

01:00:36.739 –> 01:00:39.440
movies came out at least a year apart from each

01:00:39.440 –> 01:00:44.400
other. Ooh. Technical difficulties. Let’s move

01:00:44.400 –> 01:00:46.539
on, shall we? All right, folks. Well, everybody

01:00:46.539 –> 01:00:52.099
left. Everything is fine. It was just a time

01:00:52.099 –> 01:00:54.579
crunch, that’s all. But, thank you for listening

01:00:54.579 –> 01:00:57.619
to this episode of Geekcast Radio Interviews.

01:00:57.760 –> 01:00:59.860
Coming up soon, we will have more interviews

01:00:59.860 –> 01:01:03.019
on Geekcast Radio, as well as more topics on

01:01:03.019 –> 01:01:05.699
the flagship show. I have been TF2 and Mike,

01:01:05.880 –> 01:01:09.219
Steve Megatron, and transactional entertainment

01:01:09.219 –> 01:01:12.920
lawyer Joshua Lastine. We’re on this episode

01:01:12.920 –> 01:01:16.260
with me. Steve is always with me, obviously.

01:01:16.280 –> 01:01:18.139
He’s co -creator of the network. Thank you so

01:01:18.139 –> 01:01:21.000
much to Joshua for all his information. Such

01:01:21.000 –> 01:01:24.619
a great interview, folks. Amazing, amazing information.

01:01:25.300 –> 01:01:27.480
Something everybody in the entertainment industry,

01:01:27.699 –> 01:01:29.460
no matter what part of it you’re listening to,

01:01:29.579 –> 01:01:31.260
or what part of it you’re listening to. Wow,

01:01:31.360 –> 01:01:33.420
I can’t talk. No matter what part of it you’re

01:01:33.420 –> 01:01:36.920
in, you should listen to this interview. Unleash

01:01:36.920 –> 01:01:39.199
the geek in you, and we will catch you next time.

01:01:42.539 –> 01:01:45.639
You’ve just heard a podcast from the Geekcast

01:01:45.639 –> 01:01:48.820
Radio Network. If you enjoyed this discussion,

01:01:49.059 –> 01:01:52.500
head over to geekcastradio .com to check out

01:01:52.500 –> 01:01:55.340
this episode’s post for more insights and links.

01:01:55.639 –> 01:01:59.079
Interact with the show. Feedback at geekcastradio

01:01:59.079 –> 01:02:02.719
.com or interact with us on X at Geekcast Radio

01:02:02.719 –> 01:02:06.599
and on Facebook at Geekcast Radio Network. Don’t

01:02:06.599 –> 01:02:09.019
forget to subscribe to the Geekcast Radio Network

01:02:09.019 –> 01:02:11.900
podcast on your favorite podcatcher. So until

01:02:11.900 –> 01:02:14.619
next time. Next time, I bleach the cake at you.