What do you think about this?

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  • What do you think about this?

    Hi everyone,
    As writers we all have probably worried about one of our stories being "pirated", that is one of the risks when putting our work out there.

    I put a link below to a story about Guillermo del Toro's new upcoming film The Shape of Water. The article states that there are striking similarities between his new film and a short film from 2015 entitled "The Space Between Us" which is about a woman in a post apocalyptic world that works in a research facility that finds out about an aquatic man (who does look very similar to Abe Sapien) and develops feelings for him and decides to save him.

    Now I have seen the short film, which was made by some people in the Netherlands, and noticed it is very similar to Guillermo's Shape of Water trailer.

    But I would hate to think that Guillermo (whom I admire and I love his films and film style) would take another's story and change it slightly. To me that just seems underhanded.

    I prefer to think that maybe Guillermo had this story idea in his head for decades and that maybe he and the people who made the short film just happened to tap into what I call the "idea ether" out there at the same time. You know, like when you think of something and find out others had the same thoughts as you at the same time, or like when there are trends of similar films all coming out around the same time.

    So I was wondering what everyone here thinks about it?

    Here's the article:
    http://awardswatch.com/2017/08/18/is...ce-between-us/

  • #2
    Re: What do you think about this?

    I highly doubt that del Toro knows this film exists. It's not like he's some hack that lacks creativity. This is Guillermo f*****g del Toro. The Shape of Water has a lot of classic influences and this short film likely had the same influences. It's not inconceivable for multiple people to have this same idea. It's the execution that counts.

    I never really understood this fear that aspiring writers have about their ideas being stolen. If no one wants to touch them in the first place then who would bother stealing them?

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    • #3
      Re: What do you think about this?

      Originally posted by TheConnorNoden View Post
      I never really understood this fear that aspiring writers have about their ideas being stolen. If no one wants to touch them in the first place then who would bother stealing them?
      Maybe that is exactly the reason, the execution is utter shyte but the concept is something else.

      I've known a few people who could tell one hell of a mean story (raconteurs) but they'd never be able to write a screenplay to save themselves.
      I heard the starting gun


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      • #4
        Re: What do you think about this?

        I'll bet Guillermo del Toro got the idea for this movie while filming "Hellboy" (2004).

        In Hellboy, Abe Sapien is shown as sophisticated and cultured, reading books, etc.. In the trailer for "Shape of Water" it shows a similar creature who appreciates music. (Although, not yet as familiar with humans as Abe Sapien).

        From the little bit I saw in the trailer the creatures from Hellboy and Shape of Water seem more similar than the creatures from Shape of Water and The Space Between Us.

        But that's just my opinion, based a short and a trailer.
        "I just couldn't live in a world without me."

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        • #5
          Re: What do you think about this?

          Originally posted by TheConnorNoden View Post
          I never really understood this fear that aspiring writers have about their ideas being stolen. If no one wants to touch them in the first place then who would bother stealing them?
          Because it can happen. Studios can see an idea/script and then they pass on it only to have their lower paid studio writers take it and make it into something similar but different enough that it can be considered 'theirs'. That way they don't have to pay the original writer/creator for it.

          Case in point: J. Michael Straczynski took his Babylon 5 bible and all artwork to Paramount and they passed on it. Then Paramount made Star Trek DS9 and Voyager and Enterprise which were very similar and had the same stories/plots throughout. If you watch DS9, Enterprise, Voyager and B5 side by side you can see the eerie similarities.

          Straczynski even took them to court over it. But he lost because they changed it 30% which by law is all they needed to do.

          But on the positive side, we all got to see 4 great series out of it.

          But what a crime, (if it is true of course, I wasn't there and have only read about it) they took his work, changed it and B5 suffered for it and was called "too similar to Star Trek" because Paramount cranked it out faster than B5.

          Again, before anyone starts bashing me, as I stated above I wasn't there and have only read about this situation. But if it's true, it's shameful and it puts that fear into every writer, even if only in the back of their minds.
          Last edited by Darthclaw13; 09-05-2017, 09:43 AM.

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          • #6
            Re: What do you think about this?

            Originally posted by Darthclaw13 View Post
            Because it can happen. Studios can see an idea/script and then they pass on it only to have their lower paid studio writers take it and make it into something similar but different enough that it can be considered 'theirs'. That way they don't have to pay the original writer/creator for it.

            Case in point: J. Michael Straczynski took his Babylon 5 bible and all artwork to Paramount and they passed on it. Then Paramount made Star Trek DS9 and Voyager and Enterprise which were very similar and had the same stories/plots throughout. If you watch DS9, Enterprise, Voyager and B5 side by side you can see the eerie similarities.

            Straczynski even took them to court over it. But he lost because they changed it 30% which by law is all they needed to do.

            But on the positive side, we all got to see 4 great series out of it.

            But what a crime, (if it is true of course, I wasn't there and have only read about it) they took his work, changed it and B5 suffered for it and was called "too similar to Star Trek" because Paramount cranked it out faster than B5.

            Again, before anyone starts bashing me, as I stated above I wasn't there and have only read about this situation. But if it's true, it's shameful and it puts that fear into every writer, even if only in the back of their minds.
            I should stress that I mean the unproven amateur with no credits or buzz to speak of. Straczynski already had a bunch of credits at that point and so it is feasible to steal his ideas because he was proven to have some ability. His career that followed proved that. Ignoring Spider-Man: One More Day of course.

            I'm on about those trying to break in but haven't yet. 99% of them never will yet a big portion of them fear having their ideas stolen. Most of that 99% can barely write, let alone come up with one golden idea that someone would risk a lawsuit to steal. The vast majority of the loglines I see are muddled action or sci-fi "ideas" with no heart or thought in it. Nobody is stealing that. And if they do then great because you have a good lawsuit on your hands.

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