Screenwriter sues popular producer and loses

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  • Screenwriter sues popular producer and loses

    I was talking to an up and coming screenwriter this morning who was mentioning to me how she is going through the process of suing a production company for using her material without consent. It was a feature screenplay that's now in production.

    Unfortunately she mentioned not having a lot of money to fight the case....just curious....what's the worst case scenario for someone in this position? What's the best case she can expect? If she wins is it possible she could still be black listed in some way?
    One must be fearless and tenacious when pursuing their dreams. If you don't, regret will be your reward.

    The Fiction Story Room

  • #2
    Re: Screenwriter sues popular producer and loses

    How did it get to the producer? Did she sign a NDA?

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    • #3
      Re: Screenwriter sues popular producer and loses

      There are so many factors to consider. Is this a huge production company or a tiny one? Is this a huge movie or a tiny one? Is there a studio involved, or is this an indie? Let's go with tiny for the sake of this post. Best case scenario, your friend wins the suit and gets shared screenplay (assuming the company didn't just go shoot her actual script). She gets half of the production/sale price, which at a small company means she's likely looking at 1/2 of scale - not a whole lot. She then will split residuals, which depend on the movie's success. I've seen a suit like this up close and my own friend spent a lot of money on a lawer and ended up with Story By on a movie that went straight to vod and tanked. Nice to have any credit if your friend doesn't have one, but financially, she has to weigh cost/benefit. If it's likely to be a big hit, maybe roll the dice. But don't expect to work with that company again.
      https://twitter.com/DavidCoggeshall
      http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1548597/

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      • #4
        Re: Screenwriter sues popular producer and loses

        Originally posted by brandonbaek67 View Post
        How did it get to the producer? Did she sign a NDA?
        She actually did not sign an NDA. That was the first thing I asked her.

        Originally posted by ProfessorChomp View Post
        There are so many factors to consider. Is this a huge production company or a tiny one? Is this a huge movie or a tiny one? Is there a studio involved, or is this an indie?
        She mentioned it was a mini major studio involved and the movie was going to be going into theaters as well as having international distribution. That's all she said in terms of how big the movie/production company was.

        Originally posted by ProfessorChomp View Post
        But don't expect to work with that company again.
        She was concerned about possibly being black balled in the industry regardless of the outcome. Thoughts?
        One must be fearless and tenacious when pursuing their dreams. If you don't, regret will be your reward.

        The Fiction Story Room

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Screenwriter sues popular producer and loses

          We can't possibly judge this situation without more facts:


          What is the writer's basis for the claim? Did Studio actually start to film a script for which they didn't have rights contracted? That's a mistake no executive would survive.

          Did they announce a film similar to the writer's script?

          Did they hear a pitch and run with the writer's idea?


          Is there any contract of any kind between the Studio and the writer? Have they ever even met?

          Etc.

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          • #6
            Re: Screenwriter sues popular producer and loses

            Originally posted by Pardack View Post

            Did they hear a pitch and run with the writer's idea?

            She had a few meetings and sent them a script. They told her they were going in another direction, but she got her hands on the script while they're in production (one of her good friends is acting in the movie) and recognized a lot of her ideas and story elements from what she told me how she found out.
            One must be fearless and tenacious when pursuing their dreams. If you don't, regret will be your reward.

            The Fiction Story Room

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Screenwriter sues popular producer and loses

              It sounds like the best she can win is partial story credit, roughly 15% of the writing $, split between her and whoever the credited writers are.

              Now, that's assuming she can prove that the other writers didn't come up with similar, predictable story events on the main spine.

              Is she saying the entire spine of it is hers?

              She needs to be honest- is there any chance that the entire script was written without consulting any script she submitted?

              Maybe she should have both drafts looked at by someone who's done a WGA credit arbitration before.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Screenwriter sues popular producer and loses

                "Ideas" aren't protectable by copyright. Only specific expressions of ideas are.

                "Story elements" are also problematic. For example, some story elements are considered Scènes à faire:

                "For example, a spy novel is expected to contain elements such as numbered Swiss bank accounts, a femme fatale, and various spy gadgets hidden in wristwatches, belts, shoes, and other personal effects. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit interpreted the scènes à faire doctrine expansively to hold that a motion picture about the South Bronx would need to feature drunks, prostitutes, vermin, and derelict cars to be perceived as realistic, and therefore a later film that duplicated these features of an earlier film did not infringe. These elements are not protected by copyright, though specific sequences and compositions of them can be."

                https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scènes_à_faire

                Your friend should consult a copyright litigator, who might be willing to take the case on a contingent fee basis.
                "People who work in Hollywood are the ones who didn't quit." -- Lawrence Kasdan

                Please visit my website and blog: www.lauridonahue.com.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Screenwriter sues popular producer and loses

                  Originally posted by LauriD View Post
                  "Ideas" aren't protectable by copyright. Only specific expressions of ideas are.

                  "Story elements" are also problematic. For example, some story elements are considered Scènes à faire:

                  "For example, a spy novel is expected to contain elements such as numbered Swiss bank accounts, a femme fatale, and various spy gadgets hidden in wristwatches, belts, shoes, and other personal effects. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit interpreted the scènes à faire doctrine expansively to hold that a motion picture about the South Bronx would need to feature drunks, prostitutes, vermin, and derelict cars to be perceived as realistic, and therefore a later film that duplicated these features of an earlier film did not infringe. These elements are not protected by copyright, though specific sequences and compositions of them can be."

                  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scènes_à_faire

                  Your friend should consult a copyright litigator, who might be willing to take the case on a contingent fee basis.
                  Question for you on the ideas not being copyrightable. I think she understands that, but in a scenario where a production company accepted your screenplay and picked it apart for its ideas and scenes then changed the genre maybe. Is that fair game legally?
                  One must be fearless and tenacious when pursuing their dreams. If you don't, regret will be your reward.

                  The Fiction Story Room

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Screenwriter sues popular producer and loses

                    Originally posted by Pardack View Post
                    It sounds like the best she can win is partial story credit, roughly 15% of the writing $, split between her and whoever the credited writers are.

                    Now, that's assuming she can prove that the other writers didn't come up with similar, predictable story events on the main spine.

                    Is she saying the entire spine of it is hers?

                    She needs to be honest- is there any chance that the entire script was written without consulting any script she submitted?

                    Maybe she should have both drafts looked at by someone who's done a WGA credit arbitration before.
                    She mentioned certain scenes were lifted and applied to their story. Sort of what you would expect a studio to do with existing property or scripts they already own except they didn't pay her for the rights of her script.
                    One must be fearless and tenacious when pursuing their dreams. If you don't, regret will be your reward.

                    The Fiction Story Room

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Screenwriter sues popular producer and loses

                      Originally posted by Juno Styles View Post
                      Question for you on the ideas not being copyrightable. I think she understands that, but in a scenario where a production company accepted your screenplay and picked it apart for its ideas and scenes then changed the genre maybe. Is that fair game legally?
                      Your friend should talk to a lawyer directly and not rely on second-hand info from message boards.

                      For example, there could be issues of breach of contract (or "implied contract,") etc.

                      See, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buchwald_v._Paramount
                      "People who work in Hollywood are the ones who didn't quit." -- Lawrence Kasdan

                      Please visit my website and blog: www.lauridonahue.com.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Screenwriter sues popular producer and loses

                        Originally posted by LauriD View Post
                        Your friend should talk to a lawyer directly and not rely on second-hand info from message boards.

                        For example, there could be issues of breach of contract (or "implied contract,") etc.

                        See, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buchwald_v._Paramount
                        She's negotiating cost with lawyers. I have no idea if she's on any message boards.

                        I don't know the woman outside of the conversation we had about this...I was just asking moreso out of curiosity for myself.
                        One must be fearless and tenacious when pursuing their dreams. If you don't, regret will be your reward.

                        The Fiction Story Room

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Screenwriter sues popular producer and loses

                          I'm not trying to derail the thread with a n00b question, but how does making the producers sign a non-disclosure agreement play into all this?

                          What really stumped me was how you all made it seem like a no-brainer, when even getting to pitch to producers in the first place is something most unknowns find nigh-on impossible, let along telling them that they have to sign a contract up front not to talk about your script.
                          Cufk, Tish, Sips.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Screenwriter sues popular producer and loses

                            I wouldn't dream of asking someone to sign an NDA before reading a script, and that would be a total noob move, so I don't understand the NDA reference either.
                            "People who work in Hollywood are the ones who didn't quit." -- Lawrence Kasdan

                            Please visit my website and blog: www.lauridonahue.com.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Screenwriter sues popular producer and loses

                              Not sure what all this NDA talk is. In 15 years I've signed only one (for Marvel, because they give you upcoming story spoilers to incorporate into your pitch), and I've certainly never asked a producer to sign one.

                              It's all about cost/benefit. OP says the movie is going to be in theaters and have worldwide distribution, but that's premature to assume while it's still in production. If the movie turns out to be a turd and sits on the shelf for 5 years or goes to VOD, the writer in question is not looking at very much money at all, and a shared credit on a shitty movie. She might even want to wait a bit to see what happens with the movie before deciding whether to pursue this. Ultimately, we're not the ones to answer these questions, a lawyer is.
                              https://twitter.com/DavidCoggeshall
                              http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1548597/

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