I just received an e-mail from someone stating that they are an aspiring actress/filmmaker seeking permission to use one of my scripts that they came across on this site to produce as an amateur independant film.

At this point that's about all I know.  I'm inclined to give her my blessing but before I do so I thought I'd ask if anybody here has any advice for me on how I should proceed?  

Short film or feature?

It's a feature length script Mike so I assume that's what she's planning to do.  I've yet to respond to her e-mail so I basically know very little at this point.

Tell her no means no.

Well if it were me, I would ask her what she plans on doing with the film once it's completed.

Is she going to enter it into festivals, attempt to make money off it, etc.?

Since she's basically asking for your permission, I'm assuming that she's not offering anything up front to film it, which can be alright and is pretty standard in regards to short films, but features are a different ball game entirely.

Also, I'd try to find out what kind of budget she's working with, and make sure that your script can be filmed with it, but based on what you've laid out as far as her being an aspiring actress/filmmaker, she's at least trying to get exposure if not a nice turnaround on profit (features are gonna cost a pretty penny regardless), and I'd make sure you get a piece of that in the form of a writing credit and back end percentage points.

Sawyer,

It never hurts to assess the situation before saying no.


There's a handful of other writers with produced/sold work that may be able to help as well, but that's what I would do.  Actually, I'm doing something like that right now, so at least you know I follow my own advice.

Mike:

Thanks for that.  It's always nice to get advice from the swinginest screenwriter in America.  She did mention her intention was to enter it into festivals.  In terms of writer credit and back end percentage, I assume then that a third party would have to be brought in to draft something up?  

Not exactly.

She could write up an agreement for something like that, and you could sign it.  Just make sure when you do sign it, make sure that whatvever you want is in there.

It's actually a moot point since, realistically, if she is not purchasing the rights from you, she shouldn't be able to profit on it as well, but that's all legal stuff that I'm not familiar with.

Good to know Mike - thanks.  This legal stuff isn't alot of fun but I guess is important for us to know about.  I wasn't expecting to see any profit from this anyway.  Just covering my bases.

That's definitely the best thing to do, just cover your bases so if she does attempt to profit, you're covered.

May I ask which script it is?

It's 'The False Road' - a script I thought had died a slow and painful death.

Checked out the synopsis, and it does seem like it could be done on a pretty tight budget.  I'll try to give it a read at some point, but I'd say go for it.  If nothing else, you'll have some produced work to put on your resume which is worth a lot when just starting out.

Thanks again and good luck with your own script.  I'll be sure to check it out at some point.

Most of the shorts that I've written are in some stage of production.  FWIW, I'm not making any money on them as they are being done by film students/first time movie makers who don't have a real budget to work with.

Don't worry about making money right now.  Concern yourself with getting your work out there where you can make a name for yourself.

Make sure you keep the rights to your script, since they aren't paying you for it.  Also, see what this filmmaker has done in the past.  Any demo tapes somewhere?


Phil

Phil:

You're right, exposure is the most important thing.  Hanging on to the rights is another good point.  Intellectually, I feel like I can claim ownership over my work but, of course, legally that's another matter.

Just out of curiousity, did you have some sort of agreement written up for each of your shorts and, if so, did you do it yourself or did you get someone else to write it up for you?