Hello All,

I've recieved two e-mails from people (outside of my country) who've read my shorts. The Novel and The Bench. In the e-mails, that said that they wished to film it. The first e-mail saying that I would recieve writing credits, the other did not mention it.

If I do let the guys film it "with my permission" and say they make make millions of dollars in their country, or whatever. I won't see any of it right? Even if I have them copywritten?

Highly unlikely situation I know, but just curious.

Unfortunately you won't get any money unless you sign some sort of purchase contract with them.

For me, when I get requests, they are mostly by students who want something for their reels, or amatuer filmmakers wanting to break the film festival circuit. For students, I only ask for credit where credit is due and a copy of the final film. For anyone who is looking to publically view the movie, I make sure that I have something in writing that enables me to get a cut from any profits ever made.

Remember, contracts not only protect you, but also the filmmaker.

I am more than willing to let people use my scripts (shorts), as long as both of our butts are covered.

Hope this helps.

haha writers always get screwed... without us there would be no movie.... but yet its the actors who get all the money....

sort of like the blue collar workers of society.

First off, hardly anyone makes money on producing shorts.  They're a way to showcase all the talents involved.  The director's just out of film school.  The actors are waiters and bartenders looking for something to put on their resume.  The writers are just dreamers who refuse to wake up despite the fact their wives are constantly bothering them to do something more productive with their lives  "Phil, come to bed!"  "Phil, you spend too much time at the computer!"  "Phil, we received another shut off notice from the electric company."  "Phil, when are you going to start looking for a job?"

SHUT THE FUCK UP BITCH!!!!

I'm sorry.  What were we talking about?  Oh yeah....

As I said before, don't expect to make money from a short.  It's something to put on your resume.  Just have the produceer draw up a contract saying that you want to keep the rights on the story.  You want credits on the film as writer.  Copies of the finished work.  These things should be a problem for the producer as sending you copies is the only thing that actually costs money (and it's not much).


Phil

Quoted from The boy who could fly If I ever said that to my girlfriend I would get no sex till I'm old and grey

Who said Phil was getting any sex?

Quoted from MacDuff Who said Phil was getting any sex?

Wait, what's all this talk about sex? Is that what happens if I go to bed BEFORE my wife goes to sleep? How will I get through all these posts, though?

Quoted from MacDuff Who said Phil was getting any sex?

Your girlfriend said.

Rimshot!



Phil

Oh Snap!


BTW - don't tell my wife about my girlfriend.

She knows about your girlfriend.  She was there with us.

DOUBLE SNAP!

Anyway, back to shorts.  Tell your wife I left mine in her car.

TRIPLE SNAP!

If someone wants to produce a short that you wrote, let him/her.  Even if it means you won't make any money.  Just get credit for writing it and keep the rights to your work.  If it turns out great, you have something to show people.  If it looks bad, you can just forget about it.


Phil

Quoted from Breanne Mattson So we’re not allowed to stand up for a fourteen year old kid when people gang up on him and bash his choice of subject matter but people can come onto someone’s thread and turn it into a bunch of obnoxious sex chatter?

Are you referring to the fourteen year old who wrote the Power Rangers story?  Or the fourteen year old who bashed the fourteen year old for writing the Power Rangers story?

Quoted from Breanne Mattson Okay, I see how it works now.

Can you explain it to the rest of us.  I still don't understand....

And I did try getting it back on track.


Phil

My bad...I couldn't resist, The door was left wide open for a remark and I couldn't resist.

You should hear me in company meetings....


PS - We both did offer some insightful review based on experience.

Quoted from MacDuff My bad...I couldn't resist, The door was left wide open for a remark and I couldn't resist. You should hear me in company meetings....

We would get in trouble for blatant sexual comments, but we are ripe with innuendo. Sometimes, the powers that be want us to create team names, and we keep wanting to use the "HR Issues" but they never let us.

Quoted Text Or the fourteen year old who bashed the fourteen year old for writing the Power Rangers story?

First of all, I'm sixteen, second, it was a comment, thrid of all, you're not helping to keep this thread on track.

Quoted from TheUsualSuspect Hello All, I've received two e-mails from people (outside of my country) who've read my shorts. The Novel and The Bench. In the e-mails, that said that they wished to film it. The first e-mail saying that I would receive writing credits, the other did not mention it. If I do let the guys film it "with my permission" and say they make millions of dollars in their country, or whatever. I won't see any of it right? Even if I have them copy written? Highly unlikely situation I know, but just curious.

Just to get this thread back on track:

Copyright your screenplay by including the copyright logo (C) on the title page of your script or screenplay a date isn’t a bad idea also.. Movie Magic Screenwriter, Final Draft and Microsoft Word all have a  facility to include this copyright character so there's no excused to leave this off your script.

Copyright by registering your work with WGA it's $30 for 5 years in which time if it doesn't sell then re-new after the five years.

Any problems with a third party trying to rip you off get a lawyer and sue. If your script is registered with the WGA they will provide back-up in a court of law to prove your work has been copyrighted with them.

If a third party wishes to acquire your script then they may do this in one of a few ways:

#1 The script is that good they want to place an option in it. This means they will make you a provisional offer and usually comes with some kind of payment either a portion of the investment money and or together with a percentage of the gross profits. This is a very good deal and if a successful movie you could make a lot of money. Alternatively, you may be offered a cash sum and this can be as low as low or all the way up to a six figure sum - all depends on how good the screenplay is.

#2 A film-maker wants to acquire your script, similar to #1 but only has a small limited budget, all the legal paperwork will be the same but the offer will be more limited. You have to decide if this option is worth it and if you also get credit and a copy of your work on DVD say.

#3 a Student Film-Maker wants to acquire your screenplay and shoot it. Usually this will be a short but in some cases it may be a final year student who has a reasonable budget and can maybe pay you a basic fee for the use of the script, you will be offered screen credit and possibly copies on DVD for your show reel.

#4 A theatre group want to use your screenplay for a "read". This means they have discovered your screenplay and want to use it for a read through with live actors in rehearsals. There is no payment, this is done for free and what you get it a report of what dialogue works and what doesn't.

#5 Competitions - these don’t necessarily come to you since you as the script-writer enter your scripts yourself into these with the view you will win a prize. The prizes vary from $50 US, to Screenwriter software packages to prizes where the screenplay gets made into a short or a full-length feature such as the Greenlight Project. Alternatively, you may enter a script competition such as the Nichol Fellowship and if you get in the last 5 of this competition then you may be offered a scholarship for  two years to study screenwriting and they pay you to do it. You also get access to some of the top Hollywood agents, producers, directors and such, they set up pitch meetings for you, lunches and you get to live the life of Riley as a wannabe screenwriter and meet the right people - pretty cool stuff.. This last option can get you past go and enable you to reach your dreams.

#6 SCAMS - this is where assholes visit this board download a script and or screenplay and play con artist games with us writers. They send release forms with the view you will sign over your script to them then they send you a contract and offer you $50 and 5 per cent of the gross on a film that is not probably going to get produced. Instead, they mention in the contract that once purchased they will own the rights to the story and characters and they can do anything with it now or in the future because you sold the script to them on this legal basis. Once they have their paws on the screenplay they re-write it, give it a new title and low-and-behold, you don’t have a leg to stand on because you went and let them rip you off. Now you have no money, a contract that isn’t worth the paper it's a written on and now somebody has a better version of your original screenplay idea.

The moral of the tale is copyright your stuff, if you're in doubt about the 3rd party visit SimplyScripts for help  from another writer here or other writers and also consider consulting a lawyer.

Never take anything on face value, be careful, copyright your work, register it with WGA and watch out for he sharks out there, its a big ocean out there where you can not only drown but get bitten by fish with big teeth in the process..

If in doubt research these people and companies, get legal advice and don’t be too eager to sign on the dotted line. If everything checks out fine then great, good luck to you and me..

If the screenplay is not your masterpiece and you don't mind letting it out to become a very-low budget video movie then just make sure you retain the rights to the screenplay at least so a decent movie could be made from it one day. And don’t forget those copies on DVD for your showreel. Hey, screen credit too!

Got any problems then mention them on SimplyScripts and one of the older writers can provide you with advice and support..


Kev

Fourth, I was one of the first, and the most recent, to say anything about selling a script.


Phil

Anyway, if your're not a serious Hollywood writer already making money, I doubt that there's much reason to draw up an elaborate contract for how much money you make.  Just ask for the credit, and if the short does make a million bucks, point that out to a Hollywood producer and for your next short you'll get two million.

Quoted from Kevan he moral of the tale is copyright your stuff, if you're in doubt about the 3rd party visit SimplyScripts for help  from another writer here or other writers and also consider consulting a lawyer.

And of course, let me mention that advice given from any of us on here probably coan't be considered sound legal advice unless that person is a bona fide lawyer. You can get some good advice here, but if you need to hard and fast legal stuff, please consult a lawyer. We would be considered friends.

Quoted from jerdol Anyway, if your're not a serious Hollywood writer already making money, I doubt that there's much reason to draw up an elaborate contract for how much money you make.  Just ask for the credit, and if the short does make a million bucks, point that out to a Hollywood producer and for your next short you'll get two million.

I usually get asked for a feature length, but I'm still okay with credit and a copy since I like to write and it's usually fo their specific project. Then again, Bert calls me a freak of nature...

Some day soon George, I can see you most of all getting paid for your contributions to the world of writing.

Quoted from Kevan Copyright your screenplay by including the copyright logo (C) on the title page of your script or screenplay a date isn’t a bad idea also.. Movie Magic Screenwriter, Final Draft and Microsoft Word all have a  facility to include this copyright character so there's no excused to leave this off your script.

Writing copyright 2006 by Joe Blow, in an of itself, means jack shit.  This was brought up a few months ago and will probably be brought up again before the year's end.

Supposing you completed 'Blood-Spitting Cats' and wrote 'copyright 2006' by Joe Blow on it.  I read the script, redo the cover to say copyright 2004 by Phil Clarke Jr.  What proof do you have that you had it first?

Quoted from Kevan Copyright by registering your work with WGA it's $30 for 5 years in which time if it doesn't sell then re-new after the five years.

Or you could copyright a script for $30 at the US Copyright Office which last for seventy years AFTER YOU DIE!! bwah-ha-ha.  Okay, wait.  That's not funny or evil.

But it's true and it's the better deal.

Quoted from Kevan Any problems with a third party trying to rip you off get a lawyer and sue. If your script is registered with the WGA they will provide back-up in a court of law to prove your work has been copyrighted with them.

Same with the copyright office.



Phil

Quoted from Old Time Wesley Some day soon George, I can see you most of all getting paid for your contributions to the world of writing.

Quoted from tomson I'll Ditto that and it will make me very happy. Couldn't happen to a nicer person.

I seriously need some decision makers to read this board... Thanks for the kind words. I'm honored that you would think that way. I'm hoping for that day to come soon. I really want out of my day (night) job.

Hey, look, I received a piece of advice from a friend, a produced writer from Canada. He sent me it in order I have an idea how to deal with a director/Pro that asked me  about one of my short scripts. I think this may help you:

"Regarding your points, yes, what we could do is enter into a basic option/purchase agreement, which outlines the various rights you described/require, screen credit, etc. We could set the option period for, say, six months. That way, if for some unforeseen reason you're unable to commence principal photography, the rights would then revert back to me and I could shop the script elsewhere. Since no upfront money is involved, we could perhaps structure in a very small deferred compensation percentage, should any revenue be received from the exploitation of the film (like the sale of broadcast rights, etc.) If that sounds like a reasonable route, let me know and we can proceed from there. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Regards,"

Wouldn't it be cheaper and easier to just mail yourself a copy of the script and never open it?

Quoted from TheUsualSuspect Wouldn't it be cheaper and easier to just mail yourself a copy of the script and never open it?

Yes, but it is questionable as to how well that would hold up in court if it came right down to it. Sometimes, writers have been know to steam those puppies open and add in some stuff. You know how it is. The bad guys make all the rules and don't follow any of them. Library of Congress or WGA is a better alternative if you're really worried about your work being stolen.