A Case Study: Guild Residual Calculations – Studio vs. Independent Film Finance Models

The Writers Guild of America (WGA), Screen Actors Guild (SAG), and the Director’s Guild of America (DGA) track the international box office, DVD, VOD and television revenues of films around the world in order to assess the correct residual amounts for their members. The challenge facing the Producer however is that the Guilds utilize the same accounting methods to assess royalties with independently financed films as they do the studio financed films, and therefore the producer can be overcharged dramatically on an indie film.