QandA

When doing research for a screenplay based upon an actual event, using various sources, at what point do you have to give credit or get rights?

–Melissa

The underlying issue here is “public domain.” Any writer is free to use the cold hard facts of an actual event, be it a Pennsylvania mine fire or the rescue of Jessica Lynch. Setting aside issues of defamation and the ill-defined rights of publicity/privacy — complications that may or may not apply — you have quite a bit of freedom to tell whatever story you choose. That is, as long as you’re sticking to the facts themselves, and not someone’s interpretation of these facts. But the dividing line is not always crystal-clear.

As an example, the recent film SHATTERED GLASS, which tells the story of disgraced journalist Stephen Glass, is based on the Vanity Fair article of the same name written by Buzz Bissinger. The article is non-fiction. But Bissinger’s interpretation and structuring of the real-life events — his storytelling — was meaningful, and the forces behind making the movie decided to buy the rights to his article and have their movie be “based on the article by…” rather than just “based on actual events.” (See earlier columns for discussion on how murky the definition of “actual events” can be.)

Could you write another movie about Stephen Glass without owning the rights to that article? Absolutely. TV movies do it all the time. The details surrounding the Glass case are widely available, and as long as you’re not using another writer’s interpretation of the events, you’re pretty well protected.

That said, a producer may decide to get someone’s rights anyway. Many times, producers will want to “lock up” a key figure’s film rights just to scare off rivals. For instance, if Producer A owns Jessica Lynch’s “life rights” (an incredibly vague term that’s used all the time, unfortunately), that doesn’t preclude Producer B from making a movie with a Jessica Lynch character. But it makes life for Producer B much more difficult. While Producer A has much more latitude in his portrayal of Lynch, Producer B must stick to whatever facts are generally known. That makes telling a compelling story more challenging.

If when writing a screenplay, you use a quote from a live person that you saw in a magazine article, do you need to get the rights from either the person or magazine?

–Russell

I should always preface these answers with: “I’m not a lawyer, so I could be wrong…” But I don’t.

I can imagine two different instances where this might come up. The first is when you’re using the quoted material in reference to the speaker himself. So if your scene has dialogue like:

TOM
Why sell yourself short? As Donald Trump says, “As long as you’re going to think anyway, think big.”

In this case, you’re attributing the quote to its creator. In my personal, non-lawyer opinion, you’re pretty well protected without getting any additional permissions from anyone. The only thing to watch out for is that the comment couldn’t be seen as defamatory in the context you’re using it. For instance, an otherwise innocuous quote used as a racist insult should set off red flags.

Another scenario might be using a quote without attributing its source. Here it gets a little stickier. For instance:

UNCLE PHIL
You can put wings on a pig, but you don’t make it an eagle.

It’s a somewhat funny line. It’s also a direct quote from former president Bill Clinton. While someone of his stature probably wouldn’t have the inclination to hunt down a screenwriter who stole his line, another man with more time on his hands just might. The question of fair use certainly has some merit here, though it’s hard to say exactly how you’d go about documenting your legitimate usage. An on-screen footnote? A bibliography printed on the back of the ticket?

Honestly, it doesn’t come up that much. While we’re all familiar with ugly cases of plagiarism in which book authors have lost a lot of esteem, that’s just not the movie business. My advice — which tends to be my advice for most of the rights-oriented questions I get — is to do whatever you need for your script. At the time anyone expresses interest in making a real movie out of it, bring up these concerns with whomever is handling the legal affairs on the film. Let lawyers handle the law. You have plenty to worry about as a mere screenwriter.