Tom Leavens, from the Newcity Film 50 photo shoot/Photo: Joe Mazza-Brave Lux

Unless you’re writing your own material, one of the first things a film producer needs to do is to obtain rights to something to film, either a finished screenplay or perhaps some underlying work (fiction, magazine article, etc.). To do this right (meaning you’ll be able to distribute the movie you’ll ultimately make), you’ll need to find a lawyer, ideally someone specializing in such things. It turns out that making a film is a mountain of contracts (and legal bills), so this is an important decision. While Chicago is not the entertainment-law beehive that is LA or NY, we have some fine lawyers specializing in the practice.

To find them, I asked people I knew in the film and entertainment industry for referrals. I got a few from trusted sources, and set out to meet them. Read More