Helping Artists Tell Their Stories…Their Way

For over 30 years, Michael Donaldson has represented producers and artists and has established himself as a pioneer in the independent film and live theater communities. Michael and Lisa have been working together for over four years and as Donaldson & Callif, they maintain the same high level of personal service and relationships that Michael has fostered over the years.

Congratulations  to all of our clients selected for the 2012 Sundance Film Festival:

DOCUMENTARIES:

“Art of Rap”……………………………………………………………………………………….- Paul Toogood
“Atomic States of America”…………………………………………..- Sheena Joyce & Don Argott
“Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare”………………..-Matt Heineman
“Fierce Green Fire”…………………………………………………………………………….. – Mark Kitchell
“Invisible War”……………………………………………………………………………………- Kirby Dick
“Marina Abramovic The Artist is Present”………………………………………….- Jeff Dupre
“Room 237″………………………………………………………………………………………..-Rodney Ascher
“The Other Dream Team”………………………………….- Jon Weinbach & Marius Markevicius
“The Queen of Versailles”…………………………………………………………………..- Frank Evers

FEATURES:

“Pursuit of Lonliness”…………………………………………………………………………- Laurence Thrush
“Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie”…………………………………………- Abso Lutely Productions

SHORTS:

“Meet Mr. Toilet”…………………………………………………………………………………..- Elise Pearlstein
“The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom”……………………………………………..- Lucy Walker

SLAMDANCE

“Anarchy (The Dude)”………………………………………………………………………….-Michael Bernstein
“Getting Up”…………………………………………………………………………………………-Mick Ebeling
“Stan Lee: True Believer”……………………………………………………………………-Will Hess
“Wild in the Streets”……………………………………………………………………………-Peter Baxter

Power Lawyers 2011
Michael Donaldson
Donaldson & Callif

One of the fiercest advocates for documentary filmmakers and an expert on fair use law, Donaldson knows as well as anyone how much of a copyrighted work can be used without paying a license (although the answer, as he’ll tell you, is that no one knows for sure). He handled this year’s best documentary Oscar winner Inside Job as well as eight docs at Sundance. And he published the American Bar Association’s legal guide for independent filmmakers.

…SEE FULL STORY HERE

 

Hollywood Law: Up Next – Profiles
Lisa A. Callif – Partner – Donaldson & Callif
Southwestern University Law School, 2001

Callif’s central focus has been on repping independent filmmakers in areas ranging from financing to production to distribution. She also has extensive experience in an area key for documentarians — the fair-use doctrine as codified by U.S. Copyright Law. As a result, Callif spends considerable time doing clearance work as well as rendering fair-use opinion letters, making it possible for clients to use limited amounts of unlicensed material in their projects. Callif has worked on indie docus such as “I’m Still Here,” “Teenage Paparazzo,” “Waiting for Superman,” and “Inside Job.”

… SEE FULL STORY HERE

 

PROFILE
MICHAEL DONALDSON
DOC DEFENDER
Documentary filmmakers use thousands of images, trademarks and other intellectual property in their creations, often targeting for criticism the people or corporations that are the lawful owners of the material being used. So when threatening letters arrive at filmmakers’ offices, they often send an SOS to Los Angeles attorney Michael Donaldson, the “legal Obi Wan Kenobi” and fair-use guru of the documentary film set. READ FULL STORY HERE

 

 

 

LATEST RELEASE

“THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION’S LEGAL GUIDE TO INDEPENDENT FILMMAKING”

BY MICHAEL DONALDSON AND LISA CALLIF

EACH BOOK COMES WITH A CD-ROM CONTAINING ALL THE FORM AGREEMENTS IN THE BOOK

CLICK ON THE “BOOKS” LINK FOR MORE INFO AND TO ORDER A COPY

For more information about Michael C. Donaldson, including his lectures, books, and speaking engagements, please click on the link below:

http://www.michaelcdonaldson.com