Half the Iron Pigeon contract is settled, but legal costs keep rising

Context: The studio and Iron Pigeon had been discussing their collaboration terms for some time, and the contract was now in the detail-closing stage. The team wanted to clarify each side's responsibilities soon, but legal costs were beginning to squeeze an already limited art budget.

Today: Half the Iron Pigeon contract details were settled. Negotiations had moved forward, but the agreement was not ready for signature. Legal fees were rising faster than art costs, forcing the team to weigh which clauses deserved continued line-by-line review and which wording could be simplified without leaving gaps in responsibility.

Impact and next: Compared with the earlier negotiation stage, half the boundaries of the collaboration were now set, and discussion had moved from principles to specific responsibilities; the cost of review was becoming more conspicuous. The lawyers and team still needed to close the remaining terms, while finding a way to keep the art budget from being squeezed further.