Is it risky to spec something in the public domain?
Lately I’ve been adapting novels and shorts stories that are in the public domain and I’m worried that some producer I query could just forget about me and hire someone else to adapt the same novel after my query letter puts it in their head it would make a good movie.
Now I know stealing ideas rarely happens and there isn’t anything I can do to protect my rights on a story in the public domain, but if a producer I query decides to adapt the same novel I have, without using my script, well then my script is pretty much dead in the water, right?
Basically I was curious to find out if you think I should stop worrying and pitch these adaptation, or should I focus on pitching the other two scripts I’ve written (which are based on true stories I control the rights to) and then pull out my adaptations once I forge a working relationship with a producer?
– Rob
Ohio
Would it suck if a producer, upon reading your query letter (or hearing your pitch), decided to go off and use the same public domain material as the basis for a different writer’s script? Yes.
Is it likely? Not really.
Let’s say you wrote an adaptation of some lesser-known Christopher Marlowe work. Say, “Dido, Queen of Carthage.” The producer is unlikely to know anything about the story, so if your pitch (or query) is interesting enough that he wants to know more, he’ll read your script. At that point, you’ve succeeded in getting a producer to read your material, and that’s the whole point of pitches and queries at this stage in your career.
Sure, you hope he loves it and wants to produce it. But that’s all dependent on his reaction to your writing. If he likes your writing, and he likes the idea, you’re golden. If he doesn’t like your writing, his loss.1
Either way, I think it’s unlikely that your script would suddenly kindle an interest in a long-ignored literary property. I’m sure there are cases where that’s happened, but it feels like the exception, rather than the rule. So if the best script you have available is an adaptation of a public domain piece, by all means show it around.
- As a reminder, I assume that everyone writing in with a question is a fantastic screenwriter. This is an absurd postulate, but lets me sleep better at night. ↩
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August 27th, 2007 at 1:03 pm
John is right.
Besides, if they want to steal your idea… They will. Be it in public domain or not.
Suppose some producer’s pitched ‘Seven’. He likes the theme, but not the actual screenplay. Nothing can stop him from hiring another writer and ask him to write a script about people murdered according to the seven deadly sins. You cannot copyright that. Anyone can change your characters, places and events and “steal” the premise. That’s perfectly legal.
In fact, I suspect there are people out there doing that @ craiglist. Lots of folks interested in scripts of any genre and any bugdet there. That’s odd.
August 27th, 2007 at 2:10 pm
A friend of mine has had bad luck with PD material – he tries to find PD material with he most exposure, so the original material is a selling point. Unfortunately, after he finishes his scripts some studio announces they are making a movie based on the same material.
This is why I like to use my imagination and come up with my own ideas.
August 27th, 2007 at 2:36 pm
You can also do an updated version of a property that is in the public domain. Such as “Ten Things I Hate About You” and “Clueless”. That way the screenplay is more unique to the writer and not just anybody could adapt it. But even if you don’t, if your script is excellent I don’t see why they would waste time and money hiring someone else to rewrite it when you’d probably sell it to them for less. It’s not like you’d be commanding high six figures to sell or option it.
BTW I love the “If he doesn’t like your writing, his loss.” way of thinking. Now if only I could convince myself of that about my work.
August 27th, 2007 at 2:48 pm
Hey John,
Any details on your appearance at the Nuart this Friday? Will there be a Q&A, etc? Should I bring my autograph book? :P
Thanks…
August 27th, 2007 at 6:10 pm
But what if the book Rob has adapted isn’t some lesser known Marlowe work? What if it’s a well known book in the public domain that could be due for another run at the multiplex? Say he’s banged out a new take on Treasure Island, hoping to cash in on the pirate mania among kids in the wake of Jack Sparrow. Classic book. Title with built-in public recognition. Hasn’t been done on the big screen in a good while. Would the producer still want to read an unknown writer’s script or just run with the idea? I’m not sure. Just thinking out loud… And I’m too busy to adapt Robert Louis Stevenson, so anyone who wants to steal this idea, have at it. I don’t even know for sure he’s public domain. But he’s sure been dead long enough.
August 27th, 2007 at 7:33 pm
It comes down to the same thing – whether you are using a popular PD book or just have some kick ass high concept idea: is the writing good? If the script is well written, they’d rather buy it from you than steal it and have to pay John August to write it (he gets paid more that we do). It’s always cheaper for a producer not to steal.
But if the script just sucks? Well, why pay you when the material is PD?
My friend’s problem was that any well known PD title, like TREASURE ISLAND, is probably being developed somewhere.
August 27th, 2007 at 8:44 pm
Thanks John, and everyone who commented. I was pretty much thinking the same thing as John, but I needed to hear (can you hear a blog) say it for it to really sink in.
August 27th, 2007 at 9:18 pm
Paranoia seems to be the hallmark of the novice.
August 27th, 2007 at 10:01 pm
Adam – I tend to agree, although more so with fears about original ideas being stolen. With public domain stuff, there really is no reason anybody can’t “steal” your “idea” to adapt it. And Bill you make a good point about the price of Augusts.
August 28th, 2007 at 7:12 am
Disney probably has the copyright on Treasure Island, seeing as how they made the last adaptation (has it really been fifty seven years since anyone did Treasure Island?) and never give up anything they could possibly wring a few more pennies out of.
August 28th, 2007 at 12:10 pm
What about my Marlowe bio-pic
GET THAT KNIFE OUT OF MY BACK
August 29th, 2007 at 12:34 am
An old thread, but I want to address Keith’s point about Treasure Island.
Disney owns their version of Treasure Island, but the book itself is public domain, and anyone is free to make a film from it. The only time Disney would raise an objection (okay, an objection with legal merit) is if you included an element that was original to the movie, and didn’t exist in the book.
Disney may have MPAA title rights on “Treasure Island,” precluding another film from using that exact title. But that’s not copyright.
August 29th, 2007 at 12:20 pm
John, I have a related question.
I’m working on a crime/mob script and I was doing some digging on folklore stories related to old mafia crimes (like Nicholas Pileggi and Scorcese did in GOODFELLAS). It seems like if these stories are public knowledge, then I could include them no problem. On the other hand, you hear all the time about people selling the film/book rights to their story. So what’s fair game and what isn’t when it comes to stories like this? Is a specific incident okay and a life story off limits? Thanks.
Good luck with THE NINES. Bring it to Chicago!
August 29th, 2007 at 1:34 pm
Robert Louis Stevenson is PD as is anyone who has been dead for seventy-five years.
Mickey Mouse was about to make it into the PD until the change in copyright laws from 50 years after the death to 70/75 years.
August 29th, 2007 at 2:29 pm
If you’re going to do Frankenstein, don’t put bolts in the monster’s neck.
That’s Universal’s trademark (James Whale’s “Frankenstein” and “Bride of Frankenstein”, Stephen Sommers’ “Van Helsing”, etc.). Mary Shelley never (to my knowledge) specified how the creature came to life – subsequent filmmakers came up with their own versions.