Rights and Copyright

I have submitted a book to a producer. This is my first book,
but they are wanting to make it. What can I expect as far as monetary compensation
for the
rights to the story being that I am an unknown author?

–Alma

The short answer is, not a lot. The long answer is more complicated.

When a producer buys the rights to a short story or book, usually what is
being purchased is the option on the rights. What this means is that the producer
is buying the right to buy the rights at a later time. He’s saying, "I’m
gonna pay you $1000 today. In exchange for that $1000, you promise you won’t
sell anyone else the rights during the next twelve months. Also, any time during
these twelve months, I can pay you $25,000 and you’ll sell me all the film
rights to the book."

In this example, $1000 is the option price, and $25,000 is the full purchase
(or buyout) price. But those are completely arbitrary numbers. Often the option
price is just $1. Sometimes the full purchase price is $1 milllion. And the
length of the option can vary as well, from six months up to two years or more,
perhaps with a clause allowing the producer to renew the option at fixed price.

In short, the dollars and dates can be anything, but the basic structure of
the deal is the same.

By why does a producer bother with an option? Why not just put down the full
purchase price at the start?

Because it’s a risk. Lots of things can and will go wrong in the process of
trying to make a movie, and the less a producer has to put down up front, the
safer it is. And in many ways, an option protects the original writer as well.
If the producer isn’t able to get the project made, the option expires and
the writer gets all claim back to her work. She even gets to keep the money.
She can set up the book with a different producer and do the whole thing all
over again.

So how much can you, Alma, hope to make from the book this producer wants
to buy? Unless there are a lot of other buyers interested in it, nothing is
going to drive the price up. And since you don’t have any track record of being
paid a certain amount for your work – what’s called a quote – there’s really
no minimum to expect.

At this level, you should expect a low option price, with the possibility
of a bigger full purchase price. I can’t see any advantage to selling out all
rights to the book at this point, because you’d then be giving this producer
the rights forever, and for not a lot of money.

In this situation, you’re mostly just dealing with how much faith you put
in this producer to get the movie made.

A lot of movies purport to be "based on a true story," even
when the finished product is highly fictionalized. Are there any rules or
guidelines
that govern the use of this label?

–Ellie Kane

Not really. The "based on the true story…" tagline has become something
of a cliché for television movies-of-the-week, along with its insidious
variants: "inspired by…", "in the vein of…" and the
rest. You’re right in assuming that the phrase means almost nothing anymore.

I suppose a very bored, very litigious television viewer could sue a television
network claiming false advertising if the movie was really nothing like the "actual
events" it was based on, but what are the damages, really? Two hours wasted?

The only person who could legitimately claim damages is one of the "real
people" portrayed in the movie, under libel law. That’s why a network
legal department is careful to check out both the script and the marketing
to make sure that none of the portrayals could bring on a lawsuit.

I had some questions about copyrighted materials. I
know you have to pay the recording companies for the rights to songs. What
if I have a character singing
Foreigner’s "Urgent" in the shower? Will I get sued?

In the same vein, can I have a character argue the
merits of McDonald’s Big and Tasty or will I have Ronald’s team of lawyers
calling me up? I know different
films have portrayed companies negatively before, most memorable (in my mind)
being RAIN MAN, which had Tom Cruise proclaiming "K-Mart sucks!" But
I don’t know if that was somehow approved by K-Mart or not.

–David Scott

Here’s the difference between writing a screenplay and making a movie: as
the screenwriter, you can do anything you damn well please. You can have your
hero urinating on the Pillsbury Doughboy while smoking crack with Mr. Clean.

Now, when the time comes to actually make the movie, there may be a legal
team offering very cogent arguments for why that can’t happen. The Pillsbury
folks might sue, and even if they wouldn’t win, the threat of a lawsuit might
be deterrence enough. And in the case of Foreigner, they might ask for too
much money. It happens.
But by the time it comes to make the movie, you’ll hopefully have strong producer and director who are so entranced by your brilliant writing that they’ll help
you fight to get your vision on screen. (More likely, they’ll cower and capitulate
and blame other people, but let’s just pretend.)

In short, David, worry about writing the best scenes and not about lawsuits
or song rights.

I’ve written a screenplay adaptation of a young adult novel.
The rights to the novel are available, and a one-year option can be had for
a not-cheap but do-able fee. Does it give me any advantage or protection to
option the book myself before shopping the script to studios and production
companies? Obviously what I want to avoid is introducing a buyer to the book
by way of my screenplay and then seeing them pursue the story without me. Would
buyers be just as likely to wait out any option I have if they like the book,
but not my script, as they would be to "steal" the idea if I don’t
option it?

–SP

Most
scripts don’t become movies, and a hundred things could go wrong
in the process. You might end up shouting at people, suing people, or
being shut out. But if you’re really interested in making a movie
from this book, go for it. The only way to never get hurt in the film
business is to never get in the film business.

Have you tried to option the book yourself? Even if it’s out of your
price range, it may be worth trying to forge a relationship with the author,
or at least the author’s agent. If they like your approach to the
material, they’re much more likely to stick up for you down the
road.

If you can’t get the agent to take you at all seriously, then you’re
going to have to get someone more powerful involved. A producer/production
company is one option, as is an attorney working on your behalf. Whatever
happens, remember that a good screenplay has value beyond its produce-ability.
Even if your script never gets made, it may open up other opportunities
for you as a writing sample. But it won’t if you never show it
out of fear.