I have a client whose been working on a project for sometime. Much to my total amazement after our first discussion about this project she went off and learned about the art of screenwriting and is now tackling such topics as shot blocking. She gets 11/10 from me!
So now she's explained the story to me, it spans continents and decades and it is based on a recently published book. Clearly to do the original work justice entails a budget and production way outside her budget and my level of competance. So we discussed how this story could be told effectively on a much smaller scale and budget.
During the discussion the whole copyright thing started going off in my head but I sure didn't want to dampen this ladies considerable enthusiasm by prematurely putting speed bumps in her path. More to the point I haven't a clue how copyright works in this case. Morally the author has a right, his work is the inspiration, at the very least he deserves credit for the inspiration. My question and concern is how far does it extend beyond that. This isn't a unique story by any means and by the time it's been hacked down to fit the budget it maybe quite unrecognisable. On the other hand does the author have the right to say 'no, I will not let you tell my story that way'.
Pardon my rambling a bit here, can't really get my head around this issue. Any comments to help clear the fog appreciated. Once / If I get a clearer understanding of the issues I'll probably bounce this of our local copyright council but at the moment I'm unsure of what to even ask.
Bob.
So now she's explained the story to me, it spans continents and decades and it is based on a recently published book. Clearly to do the original work justice entails a budget and production way outside her budget and my level of competance. So we discussed how this story could be told effectively on a much smaller scale and budget.
During the discussion the whole copyright thing started going off in my head but I sure didn't want to dampen this ladies considerable enthusiasm by prematurely putting speed bumps in her path. More to the point I haven't a clue how copyright works in this case. Morally the author has a right, his work is the inspiration, at the very least he deserves credit for the inspiration. My question and concern is how far does it extend beyond that. This isn't a unique story by any means and by the time it's been hacked down to fit the budget it maybe quite unrecognisable. On the other hand does the author have the right to say 'no, I will not let you tell my story that way'.
Pardon my rambling a bit here, can't really get my head around this issue. Any comments to help clear the fog appreciated. Once / If I get a clearer understanding of the issues I'll probably bounce this of our local copyright council but at the moment I'm unsure of what to even ask.
Bob.