So, I recently read a non-fiction book from the turn of the century. It's a fairly rare book and the story is unfamiliar to the vast majority of people, I'm sure. It was the first hand account of an English family who survived political upheaval in China and managed to escape after multiple near-death experiences. Just when it looks like everything has turned out alright in the end, there is one final heartbreaking blow when their daughter dies of a sickness.
It has all the makings of a good movie, but I never know where to go after that! I emailed one production company, but they said on their website they that never read any unsolicited emails, so I doubt that will go anywhere.
I've never written a for-film screenplay myself (just audio dramas), so I'm not sure I should dare attempt it. Unless, of course there is no expectation of a perfect, polished script...Is that sometimes the case? I'm a decent writer, so I could probably put together something halfway acceptable.
What are your thoughts?
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Lawyer up and get the movie rights, at minimum it’s a 5-year process from idea to screen.
Do you have the rights for the book? If not, you can write as an exercise, but don’t expect it to be produced. If you have the rights, you can write a first draft and call an experienced writer to do a rewrite on a spec.
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Get the rights and do it yourself, why not? After that go network and find matching producers and or companies. Its long hard road, it will take years and there are no garantees. My experience is that if the story is worth the trouble it will be time invested in the develpment of your own creative and possibly also business abilities. Aim somewhere in the middle, many projects do not see the light of day.
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I think BLACKKKLANSMAN and ARRIVAL movie rights cost $1 each. Anything is possible if you put in the effort
Just do it! The book is probably in the public domain, depending on which century.
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Btw anything published before 1923 is in the public domain. 1924 pub. will be in the public domain 2020.
The book was published around 1910, so I believe it is in the public domain. However, it was published in the UK, so maybe they have longer copyright restrictions...
The book was apparently published by two separate publishers. One has been merged over the years into what is now Harper Collins and the other is a charity that no longer does publishing. The fact that a charity's history has ties to this story makes me think that could potentially be a place to get support for the idea and helpful resources. They would benefit from increased exposure in turn. What do you think?
In Europe, it is 70 years after the author's death when it enters the public domain. The whole trip is otherwise getting permission. If the original publication is in the public domain, then your screenplay would be a derivative, but you can copyright your new work. It will be under "Dramatic work and Music, or Choreography."
You should approach the charity if you think of moving forward with this. Not sure if they will have the time to help you out, but it seems a good approachable place for ventures like this.
Paulette Pearson film is a global industry, and copyright depends upon countries of the author's nationality and residence, even if it is "published" in the USA. A lot of books here say, "not for sale in the USA," because of copyright restrictions.
Very few American films are made for just a US audience. European copyright goes until 70 years after the author's death, Russian and Mexican is closer to 100, and if they died in battle or were victims of war crimes, then French copyright is extended. (There are other exceptions too.)
Pierre Chlebaque Look up the author. The publisher does not retain copyright, the author does (or the author's heirs.)
Try searching for a "who represents" and the author's name to find an agent. A lot of literary agents handle estates. Also, look up obituaries of the author, perhaps you can find some heirs (or foundation) through that.
I am having a very hard time finding more information about the author of the book, so I'm not certain about the author's lifespan. Given that the first edition was published in 1901 and the author was probably in his early to mid forties, then I could estimate the author lived another 30-50 years which would place his death sometime from the 1930's to the 1950's. 70 years ago is 1948, so there is a strong chance that this would be public domain in the EU, too.
One chapter was written by the author's wife... Would the copyright also extend from her lifetime if she lived longer than he did?
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So I contacted the charity and they informed me that they have recently partnered with a film company to do a movie on their founder which would take place in the same part of the world and same time period. So they already have all the connections and support they would need to make my film idea happen! The timing couldn't be better. Now I just have to see if the film company ever gets back to me... It's a smaller company, so I have some hope.