Sorry if there is another thread about this but i am in a hurry lmao have to run out the door in 5. Firstly there is an amazing novel i have read and i know the rights would cost a lot of money but i am just wondering, say i did a great adaptation, and sent the script to the author - that being if he owns the rights - and he liked, where could you go from there lmao? Do tou think that would be a good way to go?

Do you need the rights if you want to write a sequel and are trying to get it produced?

Thanks.

Sending your adaption to the author of the book can't hurt. I don't know where you would go from there..

If you were doing a sequel you would need the rights of the previously created characters. That is if you get it produced.

Well sending your stuff into an author could hurt. It could get you sued. If the author is an asshole, that is. I adapted a couple of pages of a novel called Ice Station a few years ago and e-mailed it into the author. And I never heard a thing. I think your biggest problem is actually getting the author's attention long enough for him to actually read it. If it is a particularly popular novel then imagine how many other people maybe have had a crack at adapting it.

And in the case of the sequel, you would probably needs the rights. I'm not what you would call an expert on copyright laws and what not, but you're using someone else's characters. Their property, their rights, just like a novel or another story. I would be careful about proceeding though, especially if you're trying to go public with the whole thing.


Cheers, Chismeister.

If it's a sequel to a popular film, then sorry to sound pessimistic, but don't even waste your time trying to get it produced. It just won't happen. Most likely the studio has a sequel in the works, even if it hasn't been announced, and even if you churn out an amazing script they won't look at it, but hire Avika Godsman or some other "brilliant" screenwriter to pen the screenplay. That's just how it works.

If you are in love with a particular novel, you might try to get in touch with the author to see if the rights are even up for grabs before writing the adaptation. In all likelihood, the author wouldn't option the rights to you until you write a script first anyway. I know I would want to see your take on my work first. You can write anythin on anything and as long as it's not for sale, it's fine. The author is not going to sue because you wrote what amounts to a "fan adaptation" of his work. It's when you tr to sell it without his permssion that you get into trouble.

Where to go with it? Once you have the script and the author's blessing, you can shop it around. Actually having the author's blessing on your adaptation is a HUGE bonus. Producers like adaptations; there are more of them than any other kind of movie. This is because they can read the book and etermine whether it has legs, and then read the script to see how it compares. If the book has a fan base, that's even better because there's a built in audience -- but that might also mean someone has already optioned the rights.

Bottom line is that it can't hurt to contact the author before you start to a) see if he is even interested and b) make sure you're not too late. You might not even need to buy the option. Get the author's blessing and make the studio pay for it when they buy the script...of course, you'll need that in writing. Think that can't happen? Maybe you're not the only one trying to break in to the industry.

As for sequels...yeah, you're SOL. If a movie is popular enouh to warrant a sequel, the studios will hire their own writers. They're already in. It's nothing like an adaptation. A sequel had a film already and that film had a screenwriter. If he doesn't want to write the sequel, it's sunk already.