Entertainment Lawyers

 Last week, Amazon announced its intention to bring the opt-out Prime video ad-supported ‘upgrade’ to 5 new major markets in 2025. This will build on the once controversial but remarkably lucrative introduction of ads to Prime Video in key anchor markets that began this year. Our Blake & Wang P.A. entertainment lawyer , Brandon Blake, has all the details.                                                                                 Brandon Blake 5 New Markets Brazil, India, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and Japan will be added to the ad-supported version of Prime Video sometime next year. This tier already operates domestically and in Australia, France, Germany, Austria, Canada, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and the UK. As with these earlier rollouts, users who want to keep their a...

 According to the latest data from FilmLA, only a fifth of scripted projects released in 2023 were filmed in the greater Los Angeles area. However, more than a quarter of industry workers still call LA home. Brandon Blake, our entertainment lawyer Los Angeles and industry insider from Blake & Wang P.A., looks at this thorny issue in greater depth.                                                                           Brandon Blake A Talent and Incentive Mismatch As of 2023, 18% of scripted productions released were filmed in LA. This is a notable drop from 2022 (22%) and 2021 (23%). However, 27% of industry workers still operate from LA. Of course, some of that can be attributed to the strikes, but low tax incentives/rebates and high location costs are also key issues. Plus, the strikes weren...

 It’s been a year for competitive tax incentives, as both states and countries seek to compete with the “classic” choices and get themselves a share of the entertainment industry’s budgets and spending. Now Ireland is joining the fray. Brandon Blake, entertainment attorney  at Blake & Wang P.A., analyzes this latest competitor on the tax incentive scene.                                                                          Brandon Blake Boosting Homegrown Talent Dublin will introduce a 40% tax incentive for its 2025 budget. Interestingly, this incentive is aimed at mid-range and lower-budget films with a maximum budget of $22M (€20M) and will need a significant management presence from Irish talent. This would boost the existing Section 481 film tax incentive by roughly 8%. The broader Ir...

  Joker: Folie à Deux has managed to net itself a Chinese release date, which is still notably difficult for many newer Hollywood properties to leverage in the post-pandemic entertainment environment. This new development is, perhaps, most notable because the original Joker movie itself was never launched on Chinese shores. Brandon Blake, entertainment attorney at Blake & Wang P.A., has the full details for us.                                                                          Brandon Blake October Release The movie will open in Chinese cinemas on October 16, two weeks after its widespread release date, shortly after the so-called Golden Week for that market. The film, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, made its global debut at the Venice Film Festival, earning a 12-minute standi...

 Traditionally, the film industry saw appealing popular fare head to a default wide release, while more specialized, genre, and indie projects would seek out only limited runs. This dynamic seems to be shifting fast in Hollywood as we see more and more “specialty” projects conquer wide-release models. Industry expert from Blake & Wang P.A., entertainment attorney Brandon Blake, gives us some insight into this new development.                                                                                Brandon Blake A Year of Wide Releases In 2024 alone, we’ve seen Megalopolis , Conclave , The Apprentice , and now also The Substance opt for wide releases, even on short runs. Previously, these would have seen a Los Angeles and New York debut at best. In the case of The Su...

  In a year packed with box office milestones, another has fallen—this time, from a much unexpected source. The “little film that could,” It Ends with Us , has set its footprint in the record books. Our best entertainment attorney in Los Angeles from Blake & Wang P.A., Brandon Blake, has the happy news to share.   Brandon Blake Top-Grossing Romantic Drama It Ends with Us is now the top-performing romantic drama since the 2018 edition of A Star Is Born . With its total global ticket sales now sitting at a hair under $310M, it may even unseat the latter film’s global total if it continues to hold strong. This puts the film ahead of films such as Crazy Rich Asians, The Fault in Our Stars, and Anyone but You . Sony’s latest push into attracting more female demographics to its movies seems to be paying off for them. A Social Success? Some of this success can possibly be attributed to its remarkable quirk of timing. Releasing shortly after a much-anticipated blockb...

 The Toronto International Film Festival, finishing off a heady and booming 2024/25 market, has unveiled plans to launch its first-ever formal content market in 2026 alongside its traditional film festival program. This development marks a significant shift for TIFF, which has previously operated without an official bazaar for buyers and sellers. Brandon Blake, entertainment lawyer at Blake & Wang P.A., has the exciting news for us.                                                                          Brandon Blake Broadened Offerings In a story that broke late last week, TIFF’s chief programming officer, Anita Lee, announced the festival’s intention to diversify its offerings and establish itself as a robust platform for launching and marketing films and facilitating their buying and sel...