John August

John

The difference between homage and rip-off

QandA, Story and Plot

questionmarkYou knowing a lot about screenwriting and the law, I’ve got a question about ethics and rights; When is a screenplay an ‘homage’, as opposed to an illegal rip-off/unauthorized remake?

Let’s take [Seven Samurai](http://imdb.com/title/tt0047478/) for instance. It was remade officially and legally as [Magnificent Seven](http://imdb.com/title/tt0054047/combined), but then there have been other versions of the story made since then — most notably [Battle Beyond The Stars](http://imdb.com/title/tt0080421/combined) and, to an extent, [A Bug’s Life](http://imdb.com/title/tt0120623/combined). I might be mistaken, but I’m almost certain these films didn’t have remake rights. How was this done?

Is it all a matter of “shut your mouth about the source and you’ll get away with it”? For instance; I’ve noticed that despite it being blatantly obvious; [Tarantino](http://imdb.com/name/nm0000233/) has never been quoted as saying [City On Fire](http://imdb.com/title/tt0078976/combined) was an inspiration for [Reservoir Dogs](http://imdb.com/title/tt0105236/combined). However, [James Cameron](http://imdb.com/name/nm0000116/) came right out and said that some short works by [Harlan Ellison](http://imdb.com/name/nm0255196/) were the inspiration for [The Terminator](http://imdb.com/title/tt0088247/combined) — and then he got sued.

Is it a case of altering the situations, names and characters to the point where they are dissimilar enough to pass as a new work?

Or do you consider a pre-told story an ‘archetype’ from the point it enters the public arena? I could see that being the case for Seven Samurai — the story has been re-told so many times that the very core of the story (seven warriors defending a village from bandits) has now become an archetype. Would you agree?

Let’s put the theory in practice with a hypothetical: I write a script about a bank that hires seven police officers to guard them from a large-scale robbery they have heard rumored will take place (no, that’s not a script I’m working on…feel free to steal that idea if you want, people).

Would it really come down to the difference of me saying “I thought it was a great story and wanted to pay homage to the master; [Kurosawa](http://imdb.com/name/nm0000041/)” — as opposed to “I thought it was a great story, so I blatantly stole it.”?

Even if you’re not sure about the legal side of things, what would be your opinion on a writer working on an homage piece?

–Pete

answer iconThe great thing about your question is that it already did all the hard work for me. Observe and learn, dear readers: see the wonder of the self-answering question.

Basically, I think you’re right on all counts. An “idea” is essentially unprotectable, so seven guys defending a village can be done any number of times without owing a dime (or a tip of the hat) to Mr. Kurosawa. What is protectable is the execution: the plot, the characters and all of the details. The Magnificent Seven is a remake in that it took all of these elements fairly directly. The others are appropriating only the basic idea, or small details, and are thus labelled “homage.”

Regarding your theoretical bank-heist movie: yes, I think you’d be in the clear, but only to the degree you kept the characters and specific plot points far clear of Kurosawa’s film. And when you’re doing interviews, shut up about your influences.

Reading scripts at the WGA library

Education, QandA

I’ve been going through the past Q&As, and another place to read scripts for free is is the [library at the Writers Guild](http://www.wgfoundation.org/library.aspx), on Fairfax and 3rd in Los Angeles. While you do have to read the scripts there, it’s a pleasant environment, and the staff is very helpful.

–Blake
Hollywood, CA

I didn’t even know this library existed, so thanks for writing in. Another great resource is the [Margaret Herrick Library](http://www.oscars.org/mhl/generalinfo.html) on La Cienega, which is run by the Academy. In addition to screenplays, it has clipping files on many topics, and would be the ideal first stop for any research into Hollywood history.

The status of Barbarella

Dead Projects, Projects

Paul Wood from Essex, England writes:

I contribute to a Drew Barrymore fan site ([The Drew Barrymore Collective](http://www.drew-barrymore.org/)). I was looking for updates on Barbarella because that’s the film I want to see more than any other. Would you be so kind as to give us an update on how the script is coming along? I’d be interested to know how far along the line the production process is and if the film is still on the cards.

Alas, unfortunately, all of the cards have been played. The project is dormant, and quite possibly dead.

To briefly recap the tumultuous history of Barbarella:

1. Drew asked me to write Barbarella while I was working on the first Charlie’s Angels. Being a huge fan of Drew and the original Barbarella, I said yes immediately. This was in 2000.

2. The underlying rights have always been a mess. Ultimately, Fox 2000 and Warner Bros. agreed to pool their respective rights and develop the project together.

3. Based on the rights they owned, the studios could develop a movie featuring the Barbarella character, but not the plot of the first movie. This wasn’t really much a problem, though, because it’s not like the original movie had a masterful plot anyway.

4. I turned in my first draft in April 2001, and my second draft later that year.

5. I flew to France and met with Michel Gondry, who was Drew’s first choice to direct it. But he really wanted her for another movie (which hasn’t been made yet).

6. Everyone got busy. I did the second Charlie’s Angels with Drew. Laura Ziskin, the other producer on the movie, did Spider-Man.

7. In 2003, we got everyone back together to figure out what the next step was on Barbarella. Unfortunately, we learned that the rights situation had gotten much more complicated. Unless we could get the movie into production within the next nine months, everything would fall apart. We couldn’t, so…

8. Everything fell apart.

9. Now the script is in limbo. Unless someone budges, the movie can’t be made because it involves a character we no longer own. It would be a good writing sample for me, except that I have actual produced movies people can see.

So that’s the sad history of Barbarella. Hopefully, something will change and Barbarella will get her day in the sun.

Dead copyright holders, and being too young

QandA, Rights and Copyright

I read the section on your site pertaining to copyrights and adapting a book or novel to a screenplay.  My only question is, if the copyright hasn’t expired, but the author died some time ago, what is one to do?  I’ve started the adaptation, but I don’t know if I should continue due to my uncertainty. 

Also, I’m a young screenwriter, a teenager, and although I’m confident in my writing, will my age hold me back from breaking into the world of screenwriting?  Thank you very much for your time.

–Brandon
New York City

When an author dies, the copyright passes on to his heirs. For instance, Roald Dahl wrote *Charlie and the Chocolate Factory*. He died in 1990, but in order to make a movie version of his book, Warner Bros. had to negotiate with the executors of his estate to obtain the rights.

In your case, someone, somewhere owns the rights you seek. In all likelihood, the publisher is sending royalty checks to someone, so the standard advice (call the publisher’s “sub-rights” department) still holds.

[Reminder: It’s copyright, not *copywrite*; the past tense is copyrighted, not *copywritten.* I changed the spelling in Brandon’s question because it hurt my eyes. And yes, there is such a word as copywriter, but that’s a person who writes copy for advertising.]

As for your second question, yes, your age may hold you back from breaking into the world of screenwriting. But guess what? You’ll get older. Age is the only quality which increases without any effort on your part.