The Importance of Clearances with MARIA BLAIS O’LAUGHLIN

We get into the weeds with Maria Blais O’Laughlin, a veteran film and television clearance coordinator. We chat to Maria about what a clearance process looks like from start to finish on a film, all the steps that go into clearing one item, examples of where things have gone wrong, and why clearances are so important (spoiler: so you can deliver to your distributor!).

About the Guest: Maria Blais O'Laughlin couldn't decide between a law or art career, but luckily, life found a way to give her both. As a Clearance Coordinator for Film and Television, she liaises between production crews, studios, and legal counsel, ensuring that all third-party intellectual property (artwork, photos, books, etc.) is properly licensed for use onscreen. For this art history major who loves detail, negotiation, and the occasional argument, it's serendipitous!

Maria has worked on independent films with shoestring budgets and studio-backed projects with deep pockets; her credits include HBO Max's Gossip Girl series reboot, the Todd Haynes directed May December for Netflix, and Rebecca Miller's She Came to Me, and several others you probably should have heard of, but likely won't.  Along the way, she's had to think outside the box to get filmmakers the items they want to create the fictional world they envision​ - sometimes WAY outside the box - while ensuring no copyright is infringed, and no production is sued.  No two workdays are the same, and it makes for great stories!