What does it actually take to get a film off the ground — legally, creatively, and professionally?

Miles Alva is an independent film producer and studio executive whose award-winning films have been distributed by Disney, 20th Century Fox, Amazon, and Netflix. Most recently, he produced the A24 film Misty Green, written and directed by Chris Rock. In this episode, Anne sits down with Miles to break down the legal essentials every filmmaker needs to know — from the moment that great script lands in your hands — and to pull back the curtain on what it really means to build a career in Hollywood.

What we cover:

• The key legal steps every filmmaker should take at inception: incorporation, media insurance, and shopping agreements
• What "piercing the corporate veil" means and why paying your taxes on a production entity actually matters
• Chain of title — what it is, why every distributor will require it, and what happens when a lawyer gets it wrong
• The CAMA collection account: what it does and why the language in those agreements is critical
• What production attorneys actually do, and when you need in-house versus outside counsel
• How Miles broke into the industry — community college to USC film school to A24
• Misty Green: the star-studded cast, the Chris Rock you haven't seen before, and why Cannes is the target
• The Netflix/Paramount/Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition conversation — and what it means for independent producers

ABOUT MILES ALVA Miles Alva is an independent film producer and studio executive based in Los Angeles. His award-winning films have been showcased at prestigious festivals and distributed by major studios including Disney, 20th Century Fox, Amazon, and Netflix. Most recently, he produced Misty Green for A24, written and directed by Chris Rock, starring Adam Driver, Daniel Kaluuya, Rosalind Elazar, Anna Kendrick, Anthony Anderson, Busta Rhymes, Topher Grace, and Alexandra Shipp.

LINKS:

• Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts: https://mylawyerfriendpodcast.com/
• Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MyLawyerFriendPod
• Follow MLF on Instagram: @mylawyerfriend.podcast
• Follow MLF on TikTok: @mylawyerfriendpodcast
• Substack: https://mylawyerfriend.substack.com/

My Lawyer Friend is hosted by Anne Easton, entertainment and corporate attorney, and Brittany Ledford, serial entrepreneur. New episodes drop every other Wednesday. This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For advice specific to your situation, consult a licensed attorney.

What does it look like to sit at the intersection of Hollywood finance, guild compliance, and a deeply intentional inner life?

Heather Heukrodt has spent her career managing the financial infrastructure of major productions — ensuring writers, crew, and talent actually receive what they negotiated, even when the bureaucracy makes that harder than it should be. As Head of Production Finance at Boat Rocker Media, she operates inside one of the most complex roles in Hollywood. She's also the founder of Luminary Soul, an energy and sound healing practice helping high-achieving women break through the blocks that ambition alone can't fix.

In this episode, Anne sits down with Heather to talk through what production finance actually does, what WGA compliance looks like from the inside, and the conversation about masculine/feminine polarity that nobody is having at the office. This one moves between the boardroom and the soul — with zero apology.

What we cover:

• What production finance actually does and why it matters to every person on a production
• WGA compliance from the inside: what it means to genuinely want to pay people correctly
• When the machine makes it hard to be honest — bureaucracy, silos, and the reality of big productions
• How a production finance executive became a certified energy healer
• The masculine/feminine polarity conversation that high-achieving women need to have
• What it means for a man to be a true pillar — and why strong women need that more, not less
• The inner work that ambition alone can't replace

ABOUT HEATHER HEUKRODT

Heather Heukrodt is Head of Production Finance at Boat Rocker Media, one of the leading independent entertainment studios in the world, with credits spanning scripted drama, unscripted, animation, and documentary. With years of experience managing the financial infrastructure of major productions, Heather brings a rare combination of technical precision and industry fluency to one of the most complex roles in Hollywood.

She is also the founder of Luminary Soul, an energy and sound healing practice dedicated to helping high-achieving leaders and healers break through self-sabotage and align with their highest vision. Her work integrates intuitive energy healing, chakra work, and somatic practices to support clients in transformation that goes deeper than strategy.

🔗 Learn more about Luminary Soul: https://www.luminary-soul.com 📲 Instagram: @_luminarysoul | @heukrodt

LINKS:

• Boat Rocker Media: https://www.boatrocker.com
• Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts: https://mylawyerfriendpodcast.com/
• Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MyLawyerFriendPod
• Follow MLF on Instagram: @mylawyerfriend.podcast
• Follow MLF on TikTok: @mylawyerfriendpodcast
• Substack: https://mylawyerfriend.substack.com/

My Lawyer Friend is hosted by Anne Easton, entertainment and corporate attorney, and Brittany Ledford, serial entrepreneur. New episodes drop every other Wednesday. This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For advice specific to your situation, consult a licensed attorney.

What does it actually cost to not have a lawyer when you sign a music deal?

For songwriter and artist Parker Ainsworth, the answer was steep: a low flat fee for a song he wrote for a major motion picture — with performance royalties only, no mechanical rights, no sync income, no publishing revenue. And then the production company flipped his publishing to Concord.

In this episode, Anne and Brittany sit down with Parker to talk through exactly what happened, what he didn't know when he signed, and what he wishes he'd asked for. This one isn't hypothetical — it's a real deal with real consequences, and it's more common than you think.

Whether you're a musician, a filmmaker, a content creator, or anyone who's ever been handed a contract and told "it's standard" — this episode is for you.

Parker is also a student of Somatic Experiencing, trained in the tradition of founder Peter Levine, and is pursuing a path toward psychology with a focus on somatic healing, and we get into an insightful discussion about these teachings.

**What we cover:**

- What a work-for-hire clause actually means and why it costs you more than the upfront fee

- The royalties you're giving up when you sign without negotiating — performance, mechanical, sync, and publishing

- What the industry standard actually looks like (hint: $2,500 for a major film theme is not it)

- The one clause that would have changed everything for Parker

- How to know when you need an entertainment attorney before you sign

**Resource:** Download our Read Before You Sign guide, the first in the Series, specifically tailored for musicians, at the link below — it breaks down the key clauses every musician needs to understand before signing anything and includes negotiation scripts, red-flag clause explainers, and a step-by-step guide to reviewing your own deals. Get it at the link below.

---

**LINKS:**

- Read Before You Sign: Musicians ($37): https://mylawyerfriend.gumroad.com/l/rbys-musicians

- Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts through our website: https://mylawyerfriendpodcast.com/

- Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MyLawyerFriendPod

- Follow MLF on Instagram: @mylawerfriend.podcast

- Follow MLF on TikTok: @mylawyerfriendpodcast

- Substack: https://mylawyerfriend.substack.com/

---

My Lawyer Friend is hosted by Anne Easton, entertainment and corporate attorney, and Brittany Ledford, serial entrepreneur. New episodes drop every other Wednesday. This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For advice specific to your situation, consult a licensed attorney.