> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Screenplay was worth $1,500 in judge’s eyes - URL: https://www.smdp.com/screenplay-was-worth-1-500-in-judges-eyes/ - Published: 2002-07-02T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T00:25:29.000Z - Author: Guest Author - Tags: Crime, Santa Monica, #archive-import *Screenwriter’s credibility damaged over contract signing* *By DAVE DANFORTH Daily Press Staff Writer* A Los Angeles film producer threatened to sue this newspaper over the story you are about to read. Producer David Dadon took advantage of a naive screenwriter, Chris Dickerson, in negotiating a screenplay fee, a Santa Monica judge suggested last week. Dadon, who produced the 93-minute film “Outlaw,” had resisted paying screenwriter Dickerson the $35,000 he wanted for the original screenplay. Dadon maintained that Dickerson had settled for $1,500 and had given up his rights to sue. However, Superior Court Judge Terry B. Friedman agreed with Dadon’s argument, ruling that Dickerson had signed an “assignment of rights” which covered the deal between the two. But Friedman noted in his ruling, “maybe a producer saw an opportunity to take some advantage of a screenwriter.” He called Dadon a “crafty producer,” while labeling Dickerson, struggling to get established, “naive.” The characterization had Dadon so angry he threatened to sue the Daily Press if it printed a story. Judge Friedman held that it made “no sense” for Dickerson to accept only $1,500 — which Dickerson said was merely the price to option his 100-page opus for one year. “But because it makes no sense doesn’t mean it didn’t happen,” he concluded in ruling for Dadon. He noted that Dickerson had succeeded in getting the all-important screenplay credit for the film. “He got his foot in the door in a very competitive industry,” Friedman noted. How competitive? “Getting a screenplay movie credit pretty much changes your life,” said Christopher May, an independent producer who spent seven years at CBS acquiring projects. In testifying for Dickerson, May noted such a credit — and the payment — are all-important milestones which break the ice in an extremely competitive business. The tale of “Outlaw” began in 1996, when Dickerson started marketing his screenplay. He first met Dadon in 1998, when Dadon offered him less than $10,000, which he turned down. Dickerson, 47, termed himself a “moderately successful playwright,” but not among the top 10 percent who might get noticed in the film or television business. “This whole business is about adding to your cinematic resume,” he said. Finally, he “took a meeting” with Dadon in April, 2000, and reached what he called a “compromise,” he said. He would sell Dadon a one-year option for $1,500\. The film had to be started during that period, Dickerson specified. If it was, he would receive $35,000\. But there was disagreement as to how the amount would be paid. Dadon’s lawyer, Michael Gregg, said the contract specified Dickerson would receive the amount in pay for taking a salaried job on the project. The affable May, who was brought in as an expert witness, said the deal was most unusual. The starting Writers Guild payment for a feature screenplay is $40,000, he said. An independent producer working on a film with a small budget of $500,000 might negotiate for less — say, $35,000, he said. But May had not heard of a deal in which the writer is paid for his work in salary for more work. “I’ve worked as an independent since 1988\. I’ve never seen a $1,500 screenplay. It’s a real red flag for me. That’s wrong,” he said, stressing that paying and locking up the screenplay starts a project rolling. He suggested $1,500 might work as a first-year option, which “takes it off the market, makes it yours to run with.” But in the same 15-page contract which establishes the option price, the purchase price would be established as well, May noted. “I couldn’t make that offer ($1,500), to a real screenwriter,” he testified, laughing. Dickerson said he wrote up a one-page contract specifying the $1,500 payment and the $35,000 work arrangement, requiring he be given the “screenplay by” credit. But the assignment of rights contract was a separate paper, he said, done for the benefit of the Screen Actors Guild, which wants to know that the projects for which its members work have been properly acquired. Dickerson’s problem, from which he couldn’t escape, was that the second contract signed away his rights to the screenplay, and also his rights to sue. Between the time the suit was filed and its trial last week, he spent much of the time denying he signed it, confused that a SAG contract was listed under the name of Dadon’s firm, Giants Entertainment, Inc. and convinced the signature was a forgery. By admitting shortly before the trial that he did sign it, he damaged his credibility, the judge noted. There was no jury in the case. May said that in deals with which he’s familiar, the screenplay price, the option price, the assignment, and the credit terms are all embodied in a single agreement. “This is a bill you want to take care of. The writer is the first one paid,” he said. “When you approach a writer, you’re figuratively starting to build your city. “It’s an industry built on relationships.” Dadon didn’t show up for the trial. But his attorney Michael Gregg maintained that Dickerson was anxious to get established and Dadon was an independent producer anxious for a project. He claimed that Dadon offered to introduce Dickerson to the world of film production and directing, but that Dickerson spurned the salaried job offered to him, selecting a $50,000-plus offer as a press aide to Los Angeles Supervisor Michael Antonovich instead. Dickerson said the $35,000 production job was never offered, and Dadon “threw a hissy fit” and became angry when, soon after the start of production in May 2000, Dickerson sought the first installment of the $35,000, but added that he could “re-negotiate.” Later, Dickerson offered to settle for $10,000. Rather than interfere with the ongoing production starring Michael Madsen and William Forsythe, Dickerson decided to let the film get made so that his leverage would be greater, according to his lawyer, Michael Challgren. “He handled it professionally and he should be thanked for that,” Challgren said in his final argument to Judge Friedman. “There was money being spent, and cameras being rolled.” The film is described on Dadon’s Web site as “A modern day gunslinger (Madsen) is hired by a boyhood friend (Forsythe) to discover the murderer of his father, a former mobster.” Dickerson is given the screenplay credit along with director Bo Svenson. Dickerson also is called “associate producer.” May noted that the name “associate producer” in the film business is bestowed for any number of reasons, and is often used as a negotiating point. In the television business, the credit describes an “actual job,” but in the feature business it could simply represent a “favor,” he noted. Dickerson quit working for Supervisor Antonovich last year to return to the lesser-paying creative arts. He is now working in Los Angeles as a playwright. Dadon’s Giants Entertainment, Inc. claims credit for 10 films, including “Very Mean Men,” “Savage Season,” “Bad Guys,” and “Dead Man’s Run.” Its Web site says he is a veteran of the garment industry. Contacted Friday, Dadon bristled when asked about the judge’s ruling and characterization. “I’d like you to print that so I can sue your newspaper. See you in court,” he said before hanging up. May, outside of courtroom, had his own opinion. “This non-payment stuff is what gives producers a bad name,” he said. Judge Friedman noted in his ruling that Dickerson had accepted a check marked “for all rights.” He ruled the main contract was not an option deal. It read, “purchase price for all rights to ‘Outlaws’ is $1,500,” Friedman said. *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 2, 2002.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/070202.pdf?ref=smdp.com)