First-look deal

When an actor enters into a first-look deal with a studio, they agree that any new project they get offered or develop can be bought or developed first by that studio before any competitors. This actor often also works as a producer or executive producer on such projects.

For any industry, in more legal language: a first-look deal is any contract containing a clause granting, usually for a fee or other consideration that covers a specified period of time, a pre-emption right, right of first refusal, or right of first offer (also called a right of first negotiation) to another party, who then is given the first opportunity to buy outright, co-own, invest in, license, etc., something that is newly coming into existence or on the market for the first time or after an absence, such as intellectual property (manuscript, musical composition, invention, artwork, business idea, etc.) or real property (real estate).