Information and Resources

Imagine you’re the producer of a big-budget supernatural thriller that’s opening in one week. The film, which is about a man tracking his wife’s killer with the help of his dead son’s ghost, is getting great buzz and looking like a sure hit. Then your phone rings. It’s the agent of the nine-year-old who plays the ghost. She informs you that her client is hereby disaffirming his contract and revoking all rights to use his Read more…

All states restrict the amount and kind of work that can be done by persons under the age of 18. But those restrictions vary drastically from state to state. As the center of the world’s entertainment industry, California has a complex regime of labor rules designed specifically to protect the interests of minors who work in film, television, and other entertainment arts.  These rules carefully restrict and regulate minor performers’ working conditions, work hours, work permits, Read more…

In 1939, California implemented the nation’s first law requiring employers of child entertainers to set aside a portion of the child’s pay in a trust until the minor’s 18th birthday. This so-called “Coogan Law” (named for a famous child star whose parents stole all the money he earned in Hollywood) was designed to ensure that even kids with less than scrupulous parents would have something to show for their work when they reached adulthood. Today, Read more…

In most instances, a contract made between an adult and a minor is not binding on the minor. This means that a person under 18 years of age is generally allowed to void any contract they enter into at any time, with or without good cause. This legal reality creates significant problems for producers, production companies, studios, and other entertainment industry employers who hire minor performers. Imagine, for example, a child actor walking off the set half-way through Read more…