Professional Experience
Mr. Ara is counsel in Manatt’s Los Angeles office. Mr. Ara focuses his practice on entertainment industry transactions, intellectual property, and entertainment labor and employment matters. Mr. Ara counsels and represents a diverse entertainment and media industry clientele, including feature film studios, television networks, production companies, financiers, Internet and mobile-based content producers and distributors, and entertainment-related technology companies.
Mr. Ara has provided film finance counsel for multiple independent production companies and producers, including negotiation of agreements for equity investment (placement memoranda and offering circulars), single picture and slate bank financing, gap loans, interparty and collection account agreements, completion guarantees, state and regional government investments, and tax credits and rebates. He has also represented a major film and television distribution company in the structuring of its investment in a film slate vehicle, its acquisition of important distribution rights in slate films, and the creation of a co-finance and co-distribution arrangement intended to cover a large and diverse assortment of feature films and television content. Mr. Ara has represented America’s largest investment banking company in the structuring of its private equity division’s joint ownership of the “CSI” television franchise, and the transfer of international distribution rights and operations for this industry-leading TV franchise. He also negotiated a cutting-edge library acquisition deal for exclusive digital rights to more than 45 critically acclaimed feature-length films and documentaries, represented a purchaser in a transaction to acquire a home entertainment distribution company and over 400 of its film and television titles and structured international joint venture and licensing agreements for one of the world’s most sought after comic book properties. Mr. Ara advises clients at all stages of feature film, television, and new media development, production and distribution, including high-level talent agreements, development agreements, production legal services, copyrights and trademarks, Hollywood guild agreements, music placement and licensing agreements, and domestic and foreign licensing and distribution arrangements. His projects include, “Dancing with the Stars,” “Benefactor,” “Muppets Special,” “Disney Channel Backstage,” “Princess Ka’iulani,” “Rest Stop 2: Don’t Look Back,” “Otis,” “Alien Raiders,” and “Teenage Paparazzi.”
Education
Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, J.D., 1999.
Editor, Loyola Law Review.
San Jose State University, B.S., 1996. Honors & Awards Profiled in Variety’s “2009 Dealmakers Impact Report,” a prestigious annual feature that identifies key dealmakers - studio executives, producers, managers, agents and lawyers - who are making things happen in entertainment. Mr. Ara was one of only five lawyers designated “Dealmakers Up Next.”
Memberships & Activities
Admitted to practice in California.
Also admitted to practice in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, and the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
Member, American Bar Association.
Member, California Bar Association.
Member, Los Angeles County Bar Association.
Member, Beverly Hills Bar Association.
Member, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
Member, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
Publications
Author, “Hollywood Casting Directors Seek Unionization,” Labor & Employment Law, May 2005.
Author, “Sonny Days for Mickey, Donald & Friends: Supreme Court Upholds Copyright Term Extension Act,” Media & Entertainment Insights, June 2003.
Author, “Free Speech vs. Free Press. The impact of Nelson v. McClatchy Newspapers, Inc. on the Rights of Broadcast Journalists,” Loyola Law Review, 1999.
Speaking Engagements
Panelist, “International Formats and Rights Panel,” WestDoc: The West Coast Documentary & Reality Conference, Santa Monica, CA, September 14, 2009. Speaker, “Non-scripted Programming Issues,” Univision Communications Inc. Legal Department, Los Angeles, CA, September 28, 2007.
Panelist, “The Entertainment Law Forum Panel,” Winter Music Conference, Miami, FL, March 2007.
Moderator, “Beyond the Wheaties Box: The Future of Sports Representation,” Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, CA, November 2006.
Panelist, “Music Law and Finance,” Winter Music Conference, Miami, FL, March 2006.
Panelist, “Entertainment Law,” University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, November 2005.
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