Situation with hollywood movie scripts - crazy story

[Rickmeer]

Jurisdiction

California

Hey all,

I've got a situation where someone took advantage of me and my time for two months, and I'm trying to see what I can do legally to get compensation he promised by word of mouth.

Crazy story- guy from hollywood posted ad on a website to get someone from HK to find help find funding for his movies. I responded and started working for him because he gave me hopes of working in Hollywood as his partner to the company. We exchanged emails every day. Every day we'd talk on the phone or Skype for about 3 hours, I'd take minutes, give him ideas for a new script he's writing, give him my thoughts on his main script, etc. I went to two meetings on his behalf. He never made a contract even though I asked him twice. He kept saying "I'll get some money over to you soon". He got some small funding for a movie on his side, and when it came in, he claimed the account was hacked (I actually believe him on this) and couldn't send the money.

Long story short, I felt the script wasn't good enough and he got angry. Via email, he said he won't work with me any more and won't pay me for my 2 months of work. He insulted me and deleted my website (I had helped him make a website and we were sharing the same account. He deleted my website that was on the account).

During this process of working with him, he kept trying to be very careful about who the script goes to, who I say to what people, etc. I met some connection in the industry and the industry is pretty tight here. I also have two of his scripts and one presentation for one of his projects. I didn't sign any non-disclosure agreement

I'd like some advise on if there's anything I can do legally to get him to give the money he promised (he promised it by phone conversation). He also has a powerful lawyer friend.

 

[army judge]

I'd like some advise on if there's anything I can do legally to get him to give the money he promised (he promised it by phone conversation). He also has a powerful lawyer friend.

Your first hurdle (and you have many, mate) will be to discover with whom you've been communicating these many months.

Next you'll need to discover where in the world your SCAMMER resides.

If its OUTSIDE the USA, there are no legal remedies available to you, so forget hurdle three.

If he's in the USA, you'll need to have PROOF of what you were doing, and how much you are owed.
That means you'll need a written contract, not some emails and text messages.

Before you do anything, mate, think about what your damages are, beyond sullied pride and ego.
What value monetarily can you attribute to the effort you expended for this SCAMMER?
However, without a written contract, or statement of work authorizing you do do X, Y, Z for this SCAMMER, I see no recourse under the law.

I'll await your follow up response.

 

[adjusterjack]

I'd like some advise on if there's anything I can do legally to get him to give the money he promised (he promised it by phone conversation). He also has a powerful lawyer friend.

From a purely financially practical standpoint (potentially tens of thousands in attorney fees that you would have to pay and not get back), you were foolish and got screwed.

Learn a healthy lesson from it, get over it, and get on with your life.

Next time you are tempted by one of those ads, get a written contract and money up front before you contribute any of your time on it.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

You can always come to California and sue in small claims court for anywhere from $5,000 to $7,500 depending upon the jurisdiction the defendant is located. And if you win you can try to collect. I doubt this Hollywood honcho's big time powerful attorney will represent him in small claims court. And you may even have a case - such as proof of a contract, quantum meruit or another legal remedy - good luck with collecting.

So yes, you may have a lawsuit that you can file. But doing so from afar is probably impractical and unfortunately no one is going to do the hard work for you and somehow compel this Hollywood person to make good to you.