Screenwriting : "Fair Use" in a Screenplay by LindaAnn Loschiavo

Hi, LindaAnn. Me again. As a producer, I say use it. Later, when a producer signs on or a director, he or she (or they) will ask you why it's there or, more directly, why it NEEDS to be there. Then, once you've explained, you can leave it to them to figure out how to keep it in. I cannot say this enough to you and and your fellow writers: WRITE THE STORY YOU NEED TO WRITE. Tell the story in the best way you can. Let us producer types figure out how to pull it off (if it can be pulled off at the requisite budget level). The words on the page cost ONLY the time spent to put them there... so indulge yourself and your vision. When people like me come in and say, "no," you'll have the nice, passionate, creative back-and-forth about why and other practicalities. For now, don't worry about it. Your draft is going to evolve anyway. A lot will come and go. Don't worry. Just write.

LindaAnne shares my own research style -- asking the friendly folk at Stage 32! A perfectly legitimate source of information. Anyway, how much can you use for free? Unless it is a documentary, the chances are slim: I'm pretty sure if it is for creative purposes then you have to pay. But you really need to talk to a lawyer who specialises in it because only they will be able to advise you properly.

@Alle - What astounds me is those rare individuals on sites like S32 who constantly criticise and try and belittle people, there is nothing that you said above that couldn't have been said in a more polite and friendly manner. Responding to LindaAnn, or any other member, isn't mandatory - if you don't like the subject of the post why not bite your tongue. Given that you don't like most posts I guess we'd just have to come to terms with your silence. Just a thought.

Piece of work, ain't she?

Thank you. It's questions like these that circulate useful information. Also you find out who your FRIENDS are. A round of applause to all who took the time to reply to help me!!!

@LindaAnn - just a thought, have you checked that film hasn't fallen into the public domain? See http://www.prattlibrary.org/locations/sightsandsounds/?id=48804 Anthony

Wow! Thank you, Lisa. "Portrait of Jenny" (film starred Joseph Cotten as the artist who is inspired by a ghost named Jenny).

Anthony, thank you! I will do that. Fab idea. While I was exercising, a high-concept horror film flew into my head (even though I've avoided this genre all my life). Talking to my friends here gets my brain juice flowing!!!!

That's astonishing, Lisa. Thank you. NO RECORD of the film's copyright at all!!! When there is a team, I wonder if it causes confusion as to WHO is supposed to renew copyright?? Maybe Robert Nathan struck a deal that Selznick was not to interfere with his copyright as a novelist?? Anyway, they had quite a team there: "Portrait of Jennie" (1948) -- Writing Credits: Robert Nathan ... (novel); Leonardo Bercovici ... (adaptation); Paul Osborn ... (screenplay); and Peter Berneis ... (screenplay); David O. Selznick ... (uncredited); Ben Hecht ... (uncredited). One of my all-time favorite movies, by the way. Thank you again.

Lisa, I never owned a TV set, never watched "Lost." Never saw "5 Came Back" either -- -- but excellent detective work on your part. Brava!! "Legacy Management" is a dilemma that plagues every writer. My 13-line poem about this will be online until March 25, 2015 only - - http://thedoctortjeckleburgreview.com/temporal-writing-contest-giovanni-... Feel free to "like" or share on Facebook, Twitter, etc. :-D

No, Lisa, I've never seen "I Love Lucy." Being from a family too poor to own a TV had advantages. A window into my NYC childhood -- http://www.lideamagazine.com/remembering-great-licia-albanese/

Lisa, I don't know anyone who's only seen 1 or 2 of anything. :-D Fortunately, my family believed culture was crucial. When I was 4, my aunts and uncles started taking me to Broadway shows. We went every month to live theatre, Ice Capades, all the museums, numerous concerts, lectures, the aquarium, the Planetarium, etc. I was 9 when I wrote my first one-act play, which had a successful run when I was 10 years old. Exposure to the theatre since childhood made me confident I could write for the stage. Anyway it was drilled into me that the only valuable entertainment was LIVE. Happily, here in NYC, I go to the theatre at least 3X a week. I still don't own a TV set nor a microwave. Am I missing out? Am I happy? Yes, I am happy.

Lisa Scott wrote: "question: if someone told you they've seen 1 or 2 operas in their life and then decided to write an opera, do you think they could successfully pull it off?" I thought this was a rhetorical question, Lisa, but since it's not ---- if someone told me s/he had seen 1-2 operas, then decided to write an opera, I would suggest reading up and perhaps collaborating. That said, my friends and I hunt for little-known operas from the 1890s, buy the rights, restore the scores, and give them a grand USA premiere. Two years ago, we discovered a short opera from a composer who died very young; he had lived in a remote place --- not sure how many operas he had seen. When we presented his short opera, "Suor Angelica" by Puccini was the 2nd half of the program. Our unknown composer out-Puccini-ed Puccini. And so you never know how "talent" blooms or expresses itself. Our group is now selling the CD and the score. So some people love to sit and watch TV and some people like to excavate old operas, raise funds, reprint librettos. Vive le difference!

Lisa, oh, so then it was your way of slamming my writing talent then? Your opinion of my talent is merely your own opinion.

Back to the question (though Lisa should take a look at OUTWARD BOUND (1930) and the remake with John Garfield from the 40s BETWEEN TWO WORLDS), the problem with using any piece of an existing film is that you may not be able to get permission to use it at any price. Say you sell the script to a producer at Warner Bros, but your clip is from a movie made by Columbia.... one studio may not want to sell it to the other. It's better to find a public domain clip, or be generic (if it's a scene that pops up in a million movies, word it something like: "On TV, the big break up scene from FILM NAME" because if they can't use the specific film you name, they can find another film owned by the studio with that scene. The weird thing about stuff like this is that it's counter intuitive: if there are many films that have that scene or moment you can use the name of a specific film, but if only one film has that scene or moment I would suggest you find a different way to do it. The problem is: if your story requires that clip to work, and the producers can't get it?

@ Lisa Scott - - Never said I have NOT seen movies past 1940. What an odd statement.

@ Bill Martell - many thanks for taking the time to explain. Very helpful to me & all of us. It was a specific scene (an artist making his 1st sale). You're right: why add cost or complications? A teacher used to say: Make your reader fall in love on paper. Don't give the reader any reason to quarrel with the ms.