Why aren’t adaptations ok for competitions?
Why can’t I find any screenwriting contests that accept scripts that are adapted from another source — in my case a book that I’ve got the option rights to?
Do you know of any? It seems everyone I see only accepts ‘original’ material.
– Matisse
Two reasons:
Apples to Apples. With an adapted screenplay, it’s not altogether obvious what awesomeness came from the screenwriter, and what came from the underlying material.
Legal Awkwardness. Let’s say a screenwriting competition gives first place to an adaptation of the third book of the Twilight series. Do you think Stephanie Meyer (or her business people) would be delighted?
One exception to all of this: television. Writing spec episodes of current television series is an accepted industry practice, and several competitions feature this, including Austin.
Articles
April 14th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
That being said, I wish they’d at least extend the rules to include public domain works. A really kick-ass film version of The Faerie Queene would be a lot more interesting — and, dare I say, original — than another spec about a tormented hitman.
April 14th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Except Big Willie Shakes is public domain. You’d just end up with someone reformatting a Shakespeare play and complaining when the tormented hitman story did better than The Bard…
April 14th, 2009 at 10:25 pm
If someone managed to make a decent screenplay out of the material in the Twilight series, they might very well deserve the award.
April 15th, 2009 at 8:38 am
This from the Nicholl Fellowship people:
“Adaptations of any work (other than your own) are not eligible. The intent of the program is to identify talented new screenwriters. One of the difficulties of evaluating adaptations in general is determining the screenwriter’s contribution, especially if the source material is unfamiliar. As an extreme example, if the characters, dialogue, story and plot are taken in their entirety directly from a novel, the screenwriter’s contribution may be little beyond formatting. Given the thousands of entries that we receive each year, it is simply not possible to compare the talent exhibited in a well executed adaptation versus a well executed original script. Even in a separate competition exclusively for adaptations, it would be difficult to evaluate entries, given the fact that the pool of source material is virtually unlimited.”
April 15th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
@Mark:
The part about saying it would be “difficult to evaluate entries” in a contest for best adapted screenplay is interesting, given that the Nicholl Fellowships are overseen by the same body that awards a Best Adapted Screenplay each year and somehow is able to choose a winner from (in 2004) The Return of the King, American Splendor, City of God, Mystic River, and Seabiscuit (not to mention the hundred or so others that had to be voted upon in the nominating round).
April 15th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Right? I just feel like those of us who want to write a screenplay based on a true story (who usually end up having to secure rights to material the screenplay is derived from) should have a chance to enter contests just like everyone else. If your an unknown screenwriter who likes writing non-fiction based stuff, shouldn’t they give you some sort of fair opportunity to get it out there and judged.
April 15th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
@Nick:
A competition specifically centered around adapting public domain works feels like a good idea. Someone do that.
April 16th, 2009 at 7:56 am
You can submit scripts based on true stories to most competitions. They simply need to be researched and based on multiple sources. What you can’t do for most competitions is enter a script adapted from a sole source.
Unless their rules have changed, I believe Austin allows entries to be based on public domain work or work for which rights have been acquired. The Woodsman won Slamdance (or was it Scriptapalooza) early in the decade, and it was an adaptation.
Identifying talented writers in a competition is a considerably different enterprise than honoring the best achievements among produced films.
April 25th, 2009 at 10:35 am
Here are the ones I found and settled on: Slamdance, Script pimp, Writer’s Place, Story Pros, Filmmakers International, and Gotham Screen. All these comps take adapted works (some need proof you have the rights).