I’ve written many screenplays and teleplays and have not always performed the requisite research to vet a concept. In most cases, I care little if someone else has written a similar idea. What I do care about is whether or not I can face legal action for writing a biopic about a living or recently deceased person. For example, one of my earliest screenplays was about activist and educator Angela Davis, a story I wrote while working with a producer. He eventually passed on the project, and I pitched it to several other interested parties, but none of them would proceed with a film project without Angela’s blessing. I reached out to Angela's representative, who promptly informed me Miss Davis was not interested in reading my script or making a film about her life. I also wrote a project about the disappearance of Michael Rockefeller, which was read by two executives at a “Big Six” studio. However, their primary objection was that Michael had a living sibling who might object to the subject matter. Finally, I adapted the work of a super famous but deceased novelist. I’ve attempted to connect with the person in control of her estate but with no success. Currently, I use this script as a sample for folks looking to adapt a novel.
Nowadays, I stick to fictional topics or public domain properties that are legally available. Most recently, I discovered someone using the same title as one of my horror scripts and checked the author’s copyright, and mine preceded theirs by several years. And though a low-budget movie was made using a similar idea in 2018, I convinced a producer that their plotline did not resemble my screenplay. Additionally, my story copyright precedes theirs by two years.
What kind of research do you do before writing your spec screenplay?
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It's really hard to find out what is out there in production, already optioned, the ones waiting. That is what worries me. I am working on an idea currently that doesn't appear to have been done (with my twist) before. Don't want to be just throwing it around because then five others at least will be working on it. I wish there was a way to find out. So far, my logic has been to continue writing it. But recently I shelved a different completed spec because a similar idea had just been released. So there's that.
I research things like the main topic of the script, the characters' jobs and skills, details about the environment, and the title (I check IMDb and search engines to make sure there aren't too many movies with the same title).
"It's really hard to find out what is out there in production, already optioned, the ones waiting." Amanda Michel, there's no 100% way to know, but you can know some of them by reading the trades (Variety, the Hollywood Reporter, Deadline Hollywood) and Trackingb (https://trackingb.com/).
I worry about this too. I mean...I've started writing a prequel to "Close Encounters" by Steven Speilberg. It it noted on the title page that is is "Based upon..." but outside of that, am I just rolling the dice in wasting my time? Great question!
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Amanda: When you say "similar project" what exactly do you mean? Same people? Plot points? Did you watch the similar movie before deciding to scrap your project?
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I love writing historical stories based on real people of a time period and work to stay within the rules of "public domain". Generally, if something was published before 1927, it is in the public domain. If it was an unpublished work and the author died over 70 years ago, it is in the public domain. If it was written by an anonymous author over 120 years ago, it is in the public domain. Here's a nifty site that tells you what is about to hit public domain: https://publicdomainreview.org/features/entering-the-public-domain/2022/
You can check IMDB Pro to get a good sense of what projects are out there, regardless of status. Public figures are usually relatively safe to write about, and I always have the caveat that it is "based on true events".
For research, heck yeah... once I have a story idea, I research everything: clothing, speech patterns, colloquialisms, transportation, moral values of the time, and so on. For instance, I'm outlining a project now that relies, in part, upon a long-deceased Native American, how he spoke, his beliefs, and the spiritualness of the people in general. To me, it brings authenticity to your story, it can help your characters sound true, and it helps build the backstory. For me, once I get all this information written down and saved, I find that I constantly refer back to it as I work on the story; it helps keep me grounded and maintains continuity from page 1 to 100.
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I research clothes also, Clark Ransom. One time I spent a lot of time researching what a security guard wears and what his equipment/weapons are.
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I used to write historical scripts based on historical events (The Stolen Kingdom depicting the taking of Hawaii in 1891 or The Hooded Summer. a romantic story between a Catholic girl & a Protestant boy -under the watchful eye of the KKK wrapped in the politics of 1924). Faithfully Executed, a love story (and much more) is set in 1945 as the Red Army swept through Poland. There is a lot of research involved in getting the time/place set out accurately but the characters are fictional. A lot of research is involved in creating compelling stories that ring true with the audience. Can you imagine the amount of research required to make Lincoln?
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Nope. I usually use my own experiences and dramatize them...trying to keep things simple and entertaining...of course someone engages me to write an WWII epic, I'll get onto some fact's gathering...
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I tend to write what I know and research areas I'm hazy on. I'm often working to a tight time limit (a couple of weeks) so have to rapidly Google stuff.
In my book on Screenwriting, I talk about Joe Eszterhas and how he stopped throwing up every morning and wrote more fulfilling stories when a producer told him to stop researching everything so intensely and feel free to make stuff up.
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CJ Walley; good point. You do have to realize when enough is enough or you can get sucked down the research rabbit hole. I also write what intrigues me, keeps me motivated every day to write, and use fact-finding to put on that extra layer of believability.
Yes, the research rabbit hole is real.
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Darn right I do the research on my screenplay concepts...and it's all because I want to be as accurate as possible. I Google a lot, and I love it!
And where possible, I write what I know.
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Phillip E. Hardy, Prolifique I mean the twist (BIG IDEA) that I haven't seen in numerous other movies about the subject. The "high concept" part that will sell it.
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Thank you Maurice Vaughan for the link. I think I have already been there early on.
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Amanda: Thanks for clarifying.
You're welcome, Amanda Michel.
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You can call the FBI and they'll answer your questions (for a movie or TV show). I did it when I was researching the FBI.
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i was tempted to phone the FBI after watching the first series of 'Quantico' in order to ask them if their screening process for recruits was really that flawed.
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It was for a novel rather than a script, but I once spent at least an hour (but probably more), trying to find out how long photographs would take to develop inside a 1930s photo booth.
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I research a bit. But I find that when I learn some deeply intriguing information that the average person doesn’t know. It takes longer to make it work in a story than the value it brings. I come across as “look at the big brain on Craig, who gives a shit”.
I just try to avoid breaking the laws of physics or have guns that hold 100 rounds.
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Mark, when you call the FBI, the person who answers will transfer you to the department that handles questions about a movie or TV show that you're writing. I had questions about the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team.
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Hey Cheik, posting stuff like this asking for money is an abuse of the rules and you have been reported. Not to mention you sound like a complete and utter scam. Not the brightest bulb in the box.
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We should have a longline contest on Cheik’s lousy message. “Bloodthirsty to waste everyone’s time, The Prince of Proton seeks to scam online creatives when his plan backfires leaving him grooming goats in Mongolia.”