Writing about real events
I’m writing a spec akin to The People vs. Larry Flynt or Catch Me if You Can that involves several real people, the FCC and a major U.S. company. There’s a lot on record regarding the incident in newspapers etc. I’ve hunted down the main character (a private citizen) and will talk to him about rights to his story. Assuming there hasn’t been a book written about the incident, what is the protocol for using real people (high profile like the former head of the FCC, etc) as characters?
I’m going to guess anything transcribed in a public hearing is available as dialogue but of course it’s the juicy stuff behind closed doors that I will have to infer to progress the story along. And what about using the major company’s name? Could I use, say Kmart, if the film is about an incident with Kmart?
– Matt
San Diego
John’s Standard Advice applies here: if you’re writing this as a spec, just write the best possible script you can. Yes, down the road, there may be some legal hurdles. You might have to change a company’s name, or lose/combine/alter a character for icky defamation reasons. But those are all making-the-movie concerns, not things to freak out about while writing the script.
However. You seem like a diligent guy, so there are things you can do now to save yourself some trouble down the road. First off, make a list of “facts” as you understand them. Who is who, who knew what, when things happened. For each of these facts, make a note of how you know this. Is it a matter of public record (i.e. you’re looking at court testimony), a newspaper story, or an interview you conducted yourself? Basically, pretend you’re a fact-checker working on a major story for the New York Times. Be detailed. Be obsessive.
Then tuck this list away. Don’t even think about it while you write.
A lot of what makes a script interesting isn’t fact. It’s the stuff in-between the facts: conversations that probably took place, motives that make sense but aren’t documented. While you’re writing about real people, you’re writing characters, and characters can’t be found in court testimony. You’re going to have to make some stuff up — so make it compelling. Find a point of view. You’re trying to create two hours of great movie, and great movies are rarely objective.
Do people sue when movies are made about them? Sometimes. But the fact is that no one is going to sue you, Matt Screenwriter from San Diego, for writing your script. It’s only when a script becomes a movie that the fear of lawsuits really merits any attention. And by that point, you’ll have more studio lawyers than you can handle. Hand ‘em that list you made and let them do their job.
See also:
Based on a true story
Third-party storytelling
“Fictional events” disclaimer
Articles
April 19th, 2005 at 11:14 am
Thanks a lot, John!
April 19th, 2005 at 2:55 pm
Could someone explain to me exactly what public record covers I know court testimony is but what else is? Newspapers?
April 19th, 2005 at 4:19 pm
From http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/recmgmt/general/countyglossary.html
Public Record - “Public record means a document, book, paper, file, sound recording, machine-readable electronic record, or other material,…regardless of physical form or characteristics, made, received, filed, or recorded in pursuance of law or in connection with the transaction of public business, whether or not confidential or restricted in use…�
As to what that mean for you, practically, I think you’re better off Amazoning a book on the topic, probably something journalism-related. This is one case where browsing your local Barnes and Noble may help; you can dig through books to see what really has the info you need.
My guess is that newspapers aren’t public record, per se. But if you have multiple newspapers with the same information, you can pretty well defend whatever point you’re addressing.
BTW: Googling “define: public record” (or whatever) is a good way to look up terms you can’t find in Wikipedia or elsewhere.
April 20th, 2005 at 2:17 pm
I only see an error for that site. Is it just me?
April 20th, 2005 at 2:20 pm
Oh, the colon.
(Fixed — John)
April 25th, 2005 at 7:48 am
Thanks for posting this topic. I am in the exact same pickle and now I’m very relieved.
April 25th, 2005 at 12:07 pm
Actually, I’m getting a lot of differing opinions on this one the more I ask around. I have one person telling me that I should get at least the permission of one family member via signed contract. This will make the project more appealing to any prod co’s as opposed to a script without any consent on the part of the actual people upon which the characters are based. Also, the person I wish to write about passed away about 30 years ago, so I would have to go to his son or his widow. Does this change anything?
June 5th, 2005 at 1:56 am
I would say newspapers aren’t any more “public record” than is a novel or magazine. They are copyrighted works from which you cannot borrow (except in fair use for criticism, commentary, and so on).
A real public record is one made for the public — generated by an official agency or government, as in land records, court transcripts, texts of laws and regulations, and so on.
February 13th, 2006 at 10:00 pm
My story is written directly from experiences at my office, and includes five of the weirdest people you’ve ever seen. If I change the names to protect the guilty, am I covered?