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How do y'all feel about screenplay adaptations? I noticed that there aren't any in the Unproduced Screenplay threads, why is that? If I submitted a screenplay adaptation of a popular book would people critique it? Just curious because I'm working on one right now and am pretty pleased with what I have thus far.
If you want to adapt a book in a screenplay you need to obtain the book rights, something very difficult , i think. I prefer to write original scripts .
But if you have the rights of a popular book its a great opportunity to write something good .
If you want to adapt a book in a screenplay you need to obtain the book rights, something very difficult , i think. I prefer to write original scripts .
That is actually incorrect. You can write anything you want. You can not make money off it though.
You would also be surprised how little you can buy the rights for unless it's a very successful book of course, but many smaller books you can get the rights to write a screenplay for almost nothing.
Well it's a popular fantasy series that has been going since the late 1980's. The author himself said he wished his books would be made into a movie series but nothing was ever announced. Anyways, I'm doing this more for learning and fun. if it turns out great then perhaps I can contact the author or his publishing company.
Protecting through WGA/LOC and/or copyrighting (they all are interchangable, to be honest) is not likely for any adaptation until you get the movie rights.
You would also be surprised how little you can buy the rights for unless it's a very successful book of course, but many smaller books you can get the rights to write a screenplay for almost nothing.
This is an excellent information. I was always thinking that noone will sell to you his rights unless you are allready a big name.
I started adapting a short story into a short screenplay a while back. But halfway through I got bored with it. I just felt like I was going through the story and picking and choosing the bits I'd use and the bits I'd discard, as opposed to coming up with ideas myself. It didn't feel the same as writing my own story.
Fatty_Lumpkin, I am working on an adaptation myself. I asked the same questions that you are asking. I am doing it for the experience, but also if it turns out well then I might approach the author about the rights. I also feel I am going through the book and picking out the pieces that I want to use. I want to be true to the book, but the book is too long to use everything. The name of my script is "All The Pretty Dead Girls" and it is posted in the WIP section. The author and the book are not well known, that is why I picked it. I think you should go ahead with the project if you like the book. Marvin.
thanks marvink, I'm doing this mainly because I love the stories and as practice for future screenplays I want to write. I'll post it here as soon as I have it completed and did some rewrites and corrections in later drafts.
Protecting through WGA/LOC and/or copyrighting (they all are interchangable, to be honest) is not likely for any adaptation until you get the movie rights.
Not true. Regardless of whether the script is an adaptation, a remake or an original, you can always copyright/register it. The fact that the script is based on previously released material does not change the fact that you (the author of the script) wrote it - and therefore own the copyrights to the script. You just can't sell the script without acquiring the rights for the source material.
Down in the hole / Jesus tries to crack a smile / Beneath another shovel load
I noticed it hasn't been brought up yet, so I'll mention it. There is one pure and sure safe bet.
"Public Domain"
And when I mention those two words I mean the intended definition thereof. i.e."in the context of intellectual property law", such as some work based on King Arthur, Shakespeare, a story from the Bible, Robin Hood (oh, wouldn't I just LOVE to read "Sheriff Of Nottingham" from a few years ago before H'weird got thier butterfingers all over it and turned it into that....thing...we witnessed last May....) but you get the idea.
I have noticed "fan Fiction" over here, and while I'm not entirely opposed to it, The way I feel about most of it is that if one has enough drive to write something that they do not have the rights to, then they should have enough steam to write something that isn't based, in whole or in part, on other people's characters. I thought about giving it a go myself, but if I did, it would be in terms of a short script so it could be filmed as a 'fan film'. But I would also treat it like an adaptation. I would also treat it under a general spec guideline.
I would also wonder, even if I was passionate about the characters, if it is worth my time. What is more useful to me - registering a "fan" script under WGA or the copyright office for 20 dollars or so on something that won't sell and (aside from a fan film short) will have no chance of being made? Or would I shell out the fees for something which, in the future, I CAN sell or show to an agent?
I forget who wrote it, but I do recall one spec of the DC character Wonder Woman that was being shopped around without prior consent. There was more buzz when WB and the producers of that still in limbo project bought that spec script. They did not intend to make it, they simply wanted to put a lock down on it so the writers (it was a writing team, if I recall) could stop showing it around. I think that is the exception to the rule. Those fellas probably hit the blackjack tables at Vegas shortly after and got zapped by lightning. It's that rare.
I'm not opposed to fan-based scripts regarding current TV series, because they should be regarded as specs- and there's also varied script comps that feature TV scripts. Thus people can workshop these items and get them prepared for such submissions.
I'm not trying to discourage anyone. I'm not attempting to shoot folks down with a volley of arrows. I'm simply weighing in some thoughts here.
If the novel, short story or whatever is not in public domain you need to check to see if the owner of the copyright is prepared to let you work on their story. Now the owner of the copyright may not be the author, they may have sold it.
Many film companies buy the rights and never use them, sometimes just to prevent competitors from access to the material.
Of course there is nothing to stop you from writing anything based on anything as long as you do so for yourself only and never show it or publish in anyway, even on a writer’s community website.
Nothing is what it seems to be even if it seems to be nothing.