Rights and Copyright

I wrote and shot a 10 minute short film. In one scene a character is listening and dancing to the song “Car Wash” by Rose Royce. It is important that the song is played in the scene. Will I get in any legal trouble if I use this song in my short without permission? Or would it be alright to just go ahead and use it. I plan to go to festivals with it and sites like ifilm.com and do not plan to make any money off of it.

–Al
Hollywood, CA

Using an unlicensed song is pretty common in short films, most of which never get any real release, and therefore no real legal exposure. Some festivals require that you show legal clearance for all music you use. Some don’t.

If it’s important, you may be able to get a “festival license” for the song. Basically, it’s a cut rate that lets you use the song in your movie, provided it never gets a commercial release. Call the record label and ask to speak to their rights department.

What is the average option price short stories are optioned for? Just to get an estimate of what I should be offering/accepting. Where else can I do research about these confidential matters?

–Tricia Lee
Toronto

There’s no average price. If I were in your place, trying to option a story I didn’t think anyone else was after, I’d offer $1000 for an 18-month option, renewable at least twice for the same fee. Total purchase price should be more than $10,000, less than $50,000.

I’m pulling these numbers out of thin air, by the way, so anyone out there who disagrees is just as likely to be right.

Much more important than the money you offer is how competent you seem. The story writer needs to believe you’re going to get a movie made, and made well. Many literary works have been optioned for $1, strictly on the faith the writer had in the filmaker’s vision.

I was reading the insert page to the [Stand By Me](http://imdb.com/title/tt0092005/combined) DVD and it mentioned that the writers were unable to afford the price of obtaining the rights to Stephen King’s novella “The Body” and so they set about pitching it to various studios.

I understand that the point would be to have the studio purchase the rights and then have the writer(s) work on it. But what guarantees that the studio will let them?

–Josh Caldwell

There’s no guarantee. The studio could say, “Thanks for bringing this great book to our attention,” option it, then turn around and hand it to another screenwriter. I’m sure it’s happened.

In the case of [Big Fish](http://imdb.com/title/tt0319061/combined), I took the book to the studio and asked them to get the option. They certainly could have hired a bigger writer — at that point, I had only written [Go](http://imdb.com/title/tt0139239/), which is certainly not a great writing sample for it. But they were gracious enough to say yes, because they liked my writing and were willing to take a chance.

Standard advice applies: doing anything puts you at risk. But doing nothing will get you nothing. If there’s a book you can’t afford to option yourself, it’s worth trying to get someone to option it for you.

I have an idea for a script that was inspired by an album by a virtually unknown band. In a perfect world the script will eventually be produced and soundtrack scored by the band’s music. But let’s take things one step at a time.

Do I have any right writing a script inspired by the words and sounds created by someone else? Do I have any right borrowing titles? Do I have any right writing their music into the script? (I know that’s normally frowned upon anyway.) I think you get where I am coming from. I don’t want to write a script heavily involved with specific music unless I know my rights.

–Michael

You don’t have any right in a legal sense, but that shouldn’t necessarily be your first concern. If this is the script you really want to write, just write it. Just make sure that on the title page or a page thereafter, you give full credit for things that aren’t yours.

Obviously, if your script can’t be made without this band’s music, you won’t be able to sell it until they’re handled. But by your description, it doesn’t sound like the world is breaking down their door, so it’s always possible they’ll read your script and say hell yes.