Adam R. Mehr

Partner

Biography

Attorney Adam R. Mehr is a Partner in McCathern’s Los Angeles office and chair of the firm’s Media & Entertainment law practice. Adam is a veteran dealmaker in the entertainment industry with a long track record of guiding his clients and their projects to success in the dynamic world of modern media.

Adam’s clients range from independent production companies to major motion picture studios, focusing on all aspects of the financing, development, production, acquisition, licensing, distribution and other uses of content across multiple platforms including film, television, video games, music, publishing, online, and social media. In addition, Adam assists clients with corporate guidance, business planning, celebrity branding, endorsements and licensing.

25 Years in the Industry

Adam has deep experience in the media and entertainment business, including nearly a decade representing CJ Entertainment’s film division (“Parasite”) and more recently its TV division Studio Dragon in Korea.  Adam served for 9 years as the General Counsel and Head of Business Affairs for Gold Circle Entertainment (“My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” “Pitch Perfect”). Adam continues to oversee the company’s worldwide business, legal and financial affairs, as well as corporate, labor and employment matters.

Adam negotiates all aspects of film financing including bank loans, credit facilities, equity investments, completion guarantees, domestic and international distribution and sales agency agreements as well as music publishing and secondary rights deals and has often served as production counsel for his clients.  He has worked on over 150 films and multiple TV series.  He frequently advises his clients regarding cross-border tax structures, licensing, branding, merchandising and endorsement deals.

Prior to Gold Circle, Adam worked for producer Hunt Lowry’s production and sales agency company Gaylord/Pandora Films on the Warner Bros. lot where he negotiated the company’s co-development and co-financing deals with the studio.  Before Gaylord/Pandora, Adam worked in the business and legal affairs departments at New Line Cinema (overseeing franchises such as “Austin Powers” and “Rush Hour”) and at Warner Bros. where he worked with legendary cartoonist Chuck Jones and negotiated deals for live music events. Adam began his legal career working for the late Jon Furie at Montana Artists.

Adam is a 1996 graduate of Loyola Law School, where he was a member of the International Law Journal.  He earned a B.A. from Occidental College, where he graduated with honors for his thesis on Emily Dickinson’s poem “To Fill a Gap,” distinction on his comprehensive exams, cum laude and as a member of the Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Tau Delta honor societies.

Representative Matters

  • Negotiated multi-party international co-productions and complex sale and leaseback transactions for a US independent production company.
  • Negotiated multi-million-dollar revolving credit facility and multiple Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) funds (UK) on behalf of independent motion picture production company.
  • Consulted for cutting edge transmedia company in structuring split rights deals with major studios; advised and drafted private placement memorandum for transmedia company seeking capital raise.
  • Supervised film-related and general corporate audits and motion picture-related tax rebate programs, and worldwide enforcement and collection efforts, for independent production company.
  • Handled all aspects of financing for box-office hits Pitch Perfect 1 and 2.
  • Negotiated and drafted composer, music producer, music supervisor, and music license agreements, as well as soundtrack album deals, on over 100 films.
  • Negotiated worldwide publishing and secondary rights collection system to monetize an independent production company’s music publishing and secondary rights assets, resulting in more than $1m in revenue.
  • Served as counsel on over 50 films including Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Pleasantville, Rush Hour, White Oleander, Pitch Perfect, Because I Said So, Boogie Nights, Frequency, The Lord of the Rings, and My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2.
  • Negotiated single picture loan facilities, a revolving credit facility and ultimates-based loan facility for independent production company.
  • Advised a mini-major studio on complex chain of title issues with respect to remake rights.

Speaking Engagements

  • Panelist, Money Talks: Getting Real Film Finance, 2016 Catalina Film Festival, Avalon, California (September 2016)
  • Panelist, Creating and Exploiting Content in a Transmedia, Multi-Platform Environment, 2015 PBS Annual Conference, Austin, Texas (May 2015)
  • Frequent guest lecturer at Chapman University’s business and law schools on film financing.

Adam Mehr and Clients in the News