Movie Deals: Sealed with a Handshake?

Competing studios are claiming the rights to the film “Thank You for Smoking,” which was recently shown at the Toronto International Film Festival.  The movie is a satire featuring Aaron Eckhart and Katie Holmes.

As the September 13, New York Times reports, movie deals “are commonly made on a handshake at film festivals, where frenzied competition and the numerous movies leave little time to iron out all the legal niceties.”  But now, one unidentified studio head commented to reporters that “with competition the way it is, I wouldn’t trust anything anywhere . . . I’d have something on paper, even if it’s just on a napkin.”  (Hat-tip: Jori Schwartzman)

[Miriam Cherry]