John August

Rights and Copyright

Finding a writer

QandA, Rights and Copyright

   I have this vision of a modern version of famed movie CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG. My vision has a multicultural cast with actor/comedian Wayne Brady playing the starring role (Dick Van Dyke’s character). I need a writer. How can I find one? And at what price?

–Les Williams

On the scale of marketable ideas, that’s not bad, although I suspect in this remake-crazy culture, someone’s already working on it. Regardless, I’m sure Wayne Brady and his representatives are happy that you’re out there, working to find him roles.

Ignoring for the moment that someone actually owns the underlying rights (probably MGM, but maybe Ian Fleming’s estate), I see two main paths which you could take in pursuit of a screenwriter to implement your vision.

First, you could find a screenwriter who is already somewhat successful. I’m not talking Robert Towne or Callie Khouri, but rather a writer who got credit on Eddie Griffin’s latest movie, or a Mandy Moore vehicle. Since you’re not bringing a lot to the project other than your enthusiasm, you may have a hard time convincing this writer’s agent to take you seriously. But I’d bet out of a list of 10 candidates, you’d find at least two writers willing to hear you describe your vision for the movie. And if it’s as good as you think it is, maybe one writer will say yes. Working together, the two of you either write the script as a spec, or approach the rights holder and convince them to commission a script.

The other option would be to find a screenwriter without any produced credits, and convince her to write the script for you. Maybe you pay her a few thousand dollars, maybe you don’t. Either way, you work together to create the best possible script you can, with some sort of written contract between you clarifying that you’re attached as a producer. When it’s finished, you approach the rights holder and convince them that your script will make the definitive multi-ethnic CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG for the new millennium.

How do you find this newbie writer in the first place? You might have luck with online screenwriting forums and workshops. As long as you can read the writer’s work, it doesn’t matter where they live. Another good option would be to find writers who’ve won (or made the final rounds) in one of the many screenwriting competitions, such as the ones sponsored by Final Draft or the Austin Film Festival.

Which way is better? Honestly, they’re both difficult. But a producer’s job is always difficult, and many of today’s top producers started their careers exactly this way, with nothing more to offer than their imagination and tenacity.

Registering ideas

QandA, Rights and Copyright

I think I have a great idea for good action movie (like SPIDERMAN)
but I live in Brazil, far away from L.A’s big movie industry. Who could
I trust to share
this excellent idea with without being cheated? Can I register an idea of a
screenplay before I tell anyone?

–Klaus

You can register written material that isn’t in screenplay form, both with
the WGA and through normal means of copyright (which
may work differently in Brazil). If you’re worried about someone stealing your
idea,
you could write up a fairly detailed version of it in prose form and register
it though one or both of these means. That’s plenty of protection.

Rewriting an old movie

QandA, Rights and Copyright

I have an old movie that I’d absolutely love to rewrite. I was wondering how
you go about doing it. How do you find out who has the rights to the original
screenplay, and is there anything else I would need to do?

–John

Start by looking for what
company made the picture. On IMDb, look up the movie’s page, then click on "Company
Credits." The top entity listed is usually the place to start.

If the studio still exists, such as Columbia Pictures, there’s a very good
chance that they still own the remake rights to that movie. Call information
in Los Angeles to get their main phone number, then call it and ask for the
rights department. (It may have a different name, or be a subset of the legal
department, but every studio has somebody who handles exactly these kind of
rights.) Whoever you end up speaking with will probably have you fax over your
information request, then promptly lose that fax until you call them back and
pester them some more.

At this point, all you probably want to know is whether the company owns the
remake rights for that picture. If they do, it’s up to you to figure out your
next step, be that approaching the studio with your idea, or buying the studio’s
remake rights (with your money or someone else’s).

If the studio doesn’t own the remake rights, hopefully they know who does.
Repeat the process of calling/faxing/waiting until you find out exactly who
controls these rights.

What if the company who produced the original movie no longer exists? If the
movie is available on videotape or DVD, start with whatever company distributed
it. Call their home video department (very likely based in Los Angeles) and
ask to speak with somebody in their rights department. In order to distribute
the movie, they had to secure rights from somebody. Find out who that was.

If you’re at a dead end, with no more numbers to call, start going through
the names in the credit block. You can track down contact information for writers
through the WGA, directors through the DGA, and producers (sometimes) through
the Producers Guild of America. Of these three, producers are most likely to
have information about who controls the rights for their movies.

Keep in mind that just because someone says they own the remake rights, doesn’t
mean it’s necessarily true. You’ll need to have an experienced entertainment
lawyer review the chain of title to make sure all the i’s are dotted and all
the t’s crossed.