Two months ago, I recruited to negotiate with Tony S. posing as a script consultant. I asked him how much the rewrite service cost. He told me the price, but he conditioned me to be a co-author. I paid him $ 200 dollars in advance and resumed negotiations with him.
After giving up any business with him, I asked him to pay me back the money I paid him in advance for a service he did not do. Since then, the gentleman in question has not responded to any of the emails I sent him.
As a member of Stage 32 since April 2014, I ask those in charge of the site to remove the gentleman from our community. I also warn all members not to engage in any business with Tony S.
1 person likes this
Tony,
I've sent you a few emails telling you I'm not interested in your services. You didn't respond to any of my emails. How come you respond right now?
If you had replied to many of my emails I would not have communicated with you publicly. Obviously, you're not a pro when you don't intend to reply to emails.
Yes, I'm from Serbia, but I'm not stupid. I am 56 years old and have thirty-nine years of writing experience.
I didn't sign any contract with you.
I didn't give you permission to do anything on my Pilot!
On the contrary, I told you that I did not want to cooperate with you. For what service did you keep the $ 200 I paid you?
So I'm asking you to pay me back the $ 200 I paid you for something you didn't do, nor did I give you permission to do anything on my pilot!
1 person likes this
56-years old and you're still making rookie career decisions.
1 person likes this
Dan,
Thank you! I still believe in good and honest people, because I've worked with such people my whole life.
Tony,
I'm not accusing you! I'm just stating the facts. We have not reached ANY agreement. We were negotiating the job you were supposed to do.
Rewrite is a paid service. Collaborating on rewrite is not the same as co-authoring. World renowned directors and screenwriters worked rewrites and never appeared as a co-author because they were well paid for this work !!! You did not offer uncredited rewrite service, but only requested to be a co-author when I had already paid you $ 200.
After that proposal, I gave up your offer and we didn't even start any cooperation.
That's what I wrote to you in emails you never found appropriate to answer, and now you're publicly spitting on me.
Stevan Serban <belka.heljda@gmail.com>
Fri, Aug 23, 8:07 PM (6 days ago)
to screenwriter
Tony,
Unfortunately I cannot accept your offer.
Please return my money to me.
Thank you,
Stevan
Stevan Serban <belka.heljda@gmail.com>
Sat, Aug 24, 9:48 PM (5 days ago)
to screenwriter
Tony,
I don't understand why you don't reply to my messages?
Best,
Stevan Šerban
Stevan Serban <belka.heljda@gmail.com>
Sun, Aug 25, 8:24 AM (4 days ago)
to screenwriter
Tony,
I'm not interested in your services. Give me back the $ 200 I paid you in advance.
Best,
Stevan
Stevan Serban <belka.heljda@gmail.com>
Mon, Aug 26, 8:24 PM (3 days ago)
to screenwriter
Tony,
I see you're on the internet every day. What's your problem with not replying to my messages?
Since you didn't do me any service, pay me back the $ 200 I paid you in advance.
Best,
Stevan
Stevan Serban <belka.heljda@gmail.com>
Tue, Aug 27, 10:01 PM (2 days ago)
to screenwriter
Tony,
What is your problem?
I want to know if you intend to pay me back the money I paid you for a service you DID NOT do?
Best,
Stevan
1 person likes this
Jeff,
This is not about money at all. I certainly won't go bankrupt if Tony doesn't pay me back for a service he didn't do.
It is about the principle of fair business relationship. When Tony offered to rewrite my screenplay and pay him $ 450 for it, despite signing up as a co-author, I did not agree.
This is where our negotiations end. Tony didn't even get my permission to get started. Then he didn't reply to any of my emails. In the end, he valued me and asked me to pay him another $ 250 !!!!
Sounds like this about ethical behavior, not money, not legal issues or contracts.
JD,
That's right, but there's something else. I am from Serbia, but it is not right for anyone to consider me stupid.
Thank you for understanding what this is all about!
Polish = proofing.
Rewrite = notes. That isn't a collaboration, co-authorship.
Dan,
God bless you!
I was already worried about not understanding English.
Does anyone agree with Dan?
Stevan Šerban I just sent you a private message and I look forward to hearing from you.
Tony,
Now it seems to other people, too, what a delusion you intended to bring me.
I thought hard about your offer and consulted with my lawyer.
Tony,
So, what about my $ 200? Forgive you? I have no intention, because of principles. What do you think?
Tony,
I didn't give you permission to do anything on MY script!Who approved it for you?
Tony,
It's sad that you think people in Serbia are stupid. You yourself told me your father was a Serb.
Can any member comment on this post? It would mean a lot to me.
Dan,
What do you think about this offer:
AUTHOR COLLABORATION AGREEMENT
Co-Author Name, Address, Phone, Email:
1 (me).......
Co-Author Name, Address, Phone, Email:
2 X.......
HEREWITH we the above-named two Co-Authors (hereinafter also referred to as the "Parties") are simultaneously entering into an Agreement to sell certain publication rights and any other marketable rights in and to a script (hereinafter referred to as "the Work") with a working title and based on or about:
WACKY WITNESSES, a half-hour Sitcom. When four diverse criminals in witness protection are thrown together in a safe house – a VIP drug rehab in Queens – they must run the facility under the meddlesome eye of a disgruntled marshal who might not be able to protect them.
The following shall set forth our understanding with respect to our respective rights in the Work and the royalties and other considerations to which we may be entitled pursuant to said Agreement.
1. The copyright in the Work by mutual consent shall be secured and held in the sole names of
Co-Author (me)
and
Co-Author X
for the term of the copyright and for any additional or new copyright which may hereafter be embodied in any copyright law throughout the world. On any copyright registration, both Co-Authors are to be listed as authors of the Work and as copyright claimants of the Work, and their names are to be positioned first and second on such copyright registration as indicated herein.
2. All monies, advances, proceeds, and other considerations which may become payable to us with respect to said Agreement and from the sale, lease, license, or other disposition of any and all rights in and to the Work now or which may hereafter come into existence shall be apportioned between us as follows:
Co-Author Name and Percent (me) : 50%
Co-Author Name and Percent X : 50%
3. It is expressly understood that we hereunder do not intend to form a partnership company nor shall this agreement be construed to constitute the creation of such a business entity.
4. Expenses for which we are mutually responsible shall be incurred only with prior written mutual consent. Either Party may elect to absorb an expense in order to advance the production or promotion of the Work and in such instance the Party making the expenditure cannot later
Parties’ Initials: ________ ________
demand full or partial compensation for such expense from the other Party.
5. The authorship of the Work shall be and shall appear on the Work, and on any other material, including, but not limited to, advertising, in an equal font size and color as follows:
by (me) & X
We will inform our agent (if applicable) and the production company of this requirement.
6. Each Party hereto warrants and represents to the other that any material written or provided by him or her in connection with the Work is not in any way a violation of a copyright or common law or right of privacy and that it contains nothing of a libelous, obscene, or illegal character, and each party agrees to indemnify and hold the other harmless against any loss or damage arising out of a breach of any of the foregoing warranties and representations described in this clause.
7. In the event that either Co-Author is unable or unwilling to continue or complete work on the Work, the other Co-Author may complete work on the Work without the assistance or advice of the remaining Co-Author. In that event, we agree to discuss modifying the relevant clauses of this Agreement to reflect the new proportion of work we each will have contributed to the completed Work, and, if we are unable to reach an agreement, to submit these negotiations to binding arbitration. This Agreement is for a one-time collaboration only and does not cover any sequels to the work, which shall be subject to a new agreement. Said new agreement for any sequel shall take into account the shared copyright ownership of the material contained in the original Work.
8. For purposes of convenience and expediency,
Co-Author X
shall be the primary spokesperson and contact point in matters regarding the Work and the publication process. Each Co-Author shall keep the other Co-Author informed in a timely manner in matters and required mutual decisions regarding the Work.
9. The terms and conditions of this Agreement shall be binding and inure to the benefit of the executors, administrators, and successors of each of us. Our respective signatures herein below shall constitute this to be a complete and binding Agreement between us. This Agreement may not be assigned or modified by either party without the prior written consent of the other. Any of the terms of this Agreement may be modified by a written amendment signed by both Parties.
10. This Agreement shall be executed in three original copies so that one fully executed copy may, and shall, be delivered to each Party, and the agent representing the Work, or the publisher, whichever is applicable, and the latter only if requested. The Co- Author identified as spokesperson in clause nine of this Agreement shall have initial possession of the third executed copy.
11. The terms of this agreement shall be in effect continuously with the life of the Work.
12. Notices by mail shall be addressed to each Party's address as given above, or to such other address as such Party may hereafter specify by notice duly given.
Parties’ Initials: ________ ________
13. The Co-Authors shall have the right to make known or reference the occurrence of this collaboration, even if publication or other disposition of the Work does not occur. There is no time limit imposed in efforts to achieve publication or other disposition of the Work.
ACCEPTED AND AGREED this __________ day of ___________________, 20____.
____________________________________
Co-Writer Signature
____________________________________
Printed Name
____________________________________
Co-Writer Signature
____________________________________
Printed Name
Yes, you just changed the credit, but you left the money split 50-50 and everything remained the same, your main role in everything related to MY script!
Silence does not signal acceptance or agreement. Proceeding without it means you have chosen to give your time freely with hopes that the agreement will be accepted.
JD,
I do not live in the US, but I have signed many contracts in Serbia. Our legal systems are different, but the basic postulates are generally the same.
Thank God someone understands me!
Since Toni's offer was VERY unfavorable to me, I had to think hard.
I'm not looking for an excuse for not being a US citizen, I just want to fight for my rights equally, because I'm a good writer, like all of you.
Thank you for your understanding JD!!!!
Dear Tony,
In what vocabulary have you found that collaboration is the same as co-authorship?
Dear Tony,
"Oh, yeah. Silence means consent."
Maybe in sex, in the legal system NO. Neither Anglo-Saxon nor European!
Dear friends,
Does anyone else see what this is really about?
Just look at the contract the man offered me!
Dear Tony,
So why didn't you reply me to the six emails I sent you?This is certainly not silence by any law!
You obviously thought I was a stupid Serb, and you don't have to pay me back for something you didn't do!
Dear Tony,
So what do we do with my $ 200?
Or can't you do so much without them?
That speaks to your script consultant expertise. I see you're not even aware of it!
My opinion is that all members should think well if they want to hire Tony S. and his consalt service.
It's now past midnight in Serbia. I have to go to sleep.
I sincerely ask the other members to comment on this issue, and I will respond to your comments as soon as I wake up.
Who suggested “co- authorship”?
Dan,
That was Tony's hellish plan, because he considered collaboration = co-authorship.
I realized that when he sent me the contract.
When I read the contract, I realized what his intention was. I thanked him and said I did not accept it.
And that is the true truth of this conflict.
Stevan Serban
Jul 16, 2019, 11:47 PM
to screenwriter
Tony,
I greatly appreciate that you as a professional realize that my Wacky Witness series has great potential to be accepted all over the world, and therefore also to be very interesting to serious producers, but also cable television and streaming services. It's a great sign that this story will find the way to serious customers. This is a great compliment for me.
I have worked on this series for a long time and seriously and have invested my decades of experience and skills in this work. Your opinion is just another confirmation that my work was not futile in the end.
If you remember, I offered you to be involved in the series as executive producer, co-executive producer or executive consultant after polishing the script of the pilot episodes of Wacky Witnesses. I think this is a fairly fair offer.
You said you could find a manager for me, as well as to know the people I could offer my script to.
I very much appreciate your offer to be a co-author on the Wacky Witness series. This is just another indication that this is a very good series, but unfortunately I can not accept that offer.
A pilot episode was registered as my copyright work in WGA West under the number 1944152, so I do not want to share with you credit "Created by".
Therefore, what I can offer to you is:
- Your script polishing service
- To find a manager to deal with my career (you said you knew who it could be)
- One of the production positions in the production level
Wish you all the best,
Stevan Šerban
I think now everyone who has read this e-mail is clear what it is all about!
1 person likes this
Tony S. - - this man nearly scared me. Thanks you've put in some words here to explain what happened. I believe you, Sir. I will be sending my script for coverage soon. All the best, buddy.
Tony S.
Take your friends for a drink, into my account for $ 200, if you're not ashamed!
Best,
Stevan Šerban
I waded thru this whole thread (no idea why). I used to think that Tony S. was a pretty straight shootin' good guy; but now ... I still do.
Cheers! Enjoy your drink.
Stevan, I know Tony S. going on a while and he provides multiple different services. What it looks like is there is a misunderstanding and that you think Tony S. should work for free.
Taking an ESL script and providing and English Polish isn't free.
Collaboration where you ask someone to help you write, rewrite or develop and idea or TV show isn't free.
You can get people to read your writing and provide free feedback (it's basically free advice and varies from worthless to valuable).
You paid Tony S. $200 as a partial fee for what service?
What work did Tony S. provide for that $200?
What do you think Tony S. should be paid for the work he already provided to you even if you decline to acquire further services from Tony S?
I'm beginning to think it's a misunderstanding in one person thinking they were going to have someone Ghost Write a revision of a script, collaborate and give them ideas to improve the script, etc. for $450 but I'm not aware of anyone who provides those services at that price.
I do know Tony S. provides coverage and notes services of that kind.
Am I understanding that correctly? That for $450 you believed you were purchasing a rewrite, collaboration and someone who would basically screenwrite a new version of your screenplay but not have any credit other than the $450?
Chad,
Obviously, you didn't read the whole discussion well, or you didn't understand what this was really about.
I wish you all the best!
Nobody really knows anybody through social media, a platform like S32 or a jobs board. Unless you have worked directly with the person face to face, it is all conjecture.and hype..
@stevan Maybe I did miss something. If so, my mistake. Good luck!