I'm preparing to write a script that has celebrities in it.

I know when John Malkovich heard about the Being John Malkovich script, he was thinking about suing Charlie Kaufman, but then he read the script and liked it.

Comedians also lampoon celebrities all the time and I'm sure they don't ask for permission to do it. South Park and SNL are just two examples.

So does anyone know what the likely ramifications are of writing a script that features celebrities as characters?

The difference is South Park and SNL are parody and other films are written for that person. For your question the answer is no, you will not be in any trouble. (You might have trouble trying to sell it but as a script it is fine)

Thanks Wes.

I'll press on then. I just finished watching a doco as part of my research for this script; I don't know if it'll end being any good, but at least I've got something to work on.



    

If you were to write a comedy about Lindsey Lohan learning that she's a space alien, that would be fine because it's obviously a goofy story.  If you wrote a comedy about Lindsay being an alcoholic, you'd be open for a defamation lawsuit.

In other words, it can't be a believeable story.


Phil

What about an alcoholic space alien?

Quoted from Takeshi But what if the story was believable but not defamatory?

Parady law can protect you when it comes to parody.  Using a real person in other ways may get you into trouble.


Phil

Quoted from The boy who could fly What about hated people like Hitler, osama bin ladin, and Jeffery dahlmer, is there any leeway there?

You have toconsider whether or not someone would want to sue you.  Hitler is a historical figure, bin Ladin and Dahmer are bad guys in their own right.  This is a far cry from using Pais Hilton in a script.


Phil

Quoted from The boy who could fly but do they have the right to sue you, well dahlmer is dead, but what about serial killers that r still alive and in prison like manson, could manson sue you if he felt he was defamed.

You have the right to sue anyone, but in a case like that he probably wouldn't win.  

Quoted from dogglebe Parady law can protect you when it comes to parody.  Using a real person in other ways may get you into trouble. Phil

I suppose you could live in the hope that the person would like the script and be happy to be in it.

Families of the deceased can always sue.  This hapened when Gene Kelly's image was used in a commercial.

If you were to write a script about a real person, it would have to be a parody of a factual piece if it's a historical figure.  If your script has Jeffrey Dahmer robbing church poor boxes, his family could sue you for defamation of character (believe it or not).


Phil