The Facts

John and Angie are childhood friends who have not seen each other in years due to their respective personal and professional lives. John is an author who has published several bestsellers and is in the midst of looking to obtain a movie deal for his signature novel, “Bird.” Angie on the other hand, has become a successful director of a big film production company “Reel.”

Recently, “Reel” has decided to take on the movie production of “Bird” but the details of the deal have yet to be worked out between the film company and John. Angie is excited about the project but is worried about a few issues. She is concerned as to whether she can successfully adapt “Bird” as a film. Angie has an upcoming deadline in November by which she has to present a suitable movie script and budget to her bosses. Given the ambitious scale and scope of “Bird,” Angie is aware that faithful reproduction of the novel may encounter several production problems. One of the problems is coming up with a suitable script before its deadline. In the worst-case scenario, Angie can pitch an indie film, “Rooted,” to her bosses. However, she is well aware that “Rooted” will likely be far less successful compared to “Bird.”

Angie is determined to keep her production costs low. She has a budget of $2 million and is concerned that she will not have enough money to produce a quality film if too much of the budget is spent purchasing the rights from John for “Bird.” Angie wants to achieve her latest smash hit film and thinks that “Bird” has the potential to be it, given the right production costs. As such, she is hopeful of securing the rights to the film. In addition, Angie hopes to showcase her talents as an actress too, if given the chance, even in a cameo. Secretly, Angie is also hoping to rekindle her friendship with John through this work process.

As John prepares for the negotiation, he is concerned that any film adaptation of “Bird” should remain faithful to the novel. After all, John feels that his reputation as an author should remain untarnished. Also, he wants creative control over any script of the film adaptation. If a deal cannot be worked out with “Reel,” John thinks he can speak to other film companies about a deal; however, he does not have any offers on hand. If it is at all possible, he also hopes to be friends again with Angie.

Further, John can use additional income at the moment given that he has recently purchased a new expensive home without the necessary finances to do so. To that end, he hopes to be paid at least $500,000 for the rights to “Bird” and some guaranteed future income from the film proceeds. However, John is willing to compromise and be paid at least $200,000 if any deal guarantees him at least 10% of the film’s ticket sales – this is how much he believes in the success of a faithful adaptation of “Bird.” In any event, John needs to secure a film deal before end October otherwise he risks losing his new home.

Prior to the meeting with “Reel,” John realizes that without a film deal, he may have to publish his yet unfinished book, “Cat,” to try and make ends meet. However, he knows that “Cat” is unfinished and rushing it to publication will likely diminish his reputation as an author.

Question 1
List all the elements of interest-based negotiations (i.e. provide details of each element). (14 marks)

Question 2
Develop, demonstrate and analyse the Interests of:
(i) John
(ii) Angie
(40 marks)

Question 3
Apply the idea of the Zone of Possible Agreement for the screen adaptation of “Bird” (i.e. what are the ranges the parties can agree on?) (6 marks)
[Not more than 100 words]

Question 4
Analyse 3 possible options for John and Angie. Apply what you have learnt in this course to discuss why each option is plausible for both parties. (30 marks)

Question 5
Develop and analyse the Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement for John and Angie, respectively (i.e. state the BATNA for each party and explain your answer) in their negotiation. (10 marks)