how to do a film "based on" an asian tv series

justmarvin

justmarvin

Well-known member
Ok, so i'm loving the concept of an old asian series, and so I was wondering what the process is in order to do a movie based on similar story concept, obviously not the exact same thing since it will be a standard one hour movie, whereas the series ran for many episodes. The film industry does remakes of asian flicks all the time, and I was wondering if anyone knows what one does to get permission to do this.

JM
 
justmarvin said:
Ok, so i'm loving the concept of an old asian series, and so I was wondering what the process is in order to do a movie based on similar story concept, obviously not the exact same thing since it will be a standard one hour movie, whereas the series ran for many episodes. The film industry does remakes of asian flicks all the time, and I was wondering if anyone knows what one does to get permission to do this.

JM
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You have your entertainment attorney contact the rights holder for the series you are interested in. He/she negotiates the rate and you license their concept. Hope you have a large budget ;-)

Dan
 
Is it "based on" or "inspired by"? You can do something with the same plot that's but totally different. "Wages of Sin" was inspired by "Kiss of the Dragon" but is totally different, while the plot is very much the same. If you're going to do some form of adaptation then Puredrifting is right on the money.

Things like "Forbidden Kingdom" you can also remake (but you'd have to retitle it) because it's based off of an old story. Obviously you'd have to write your own script and all. You can also buy old shows and cut new footage into it. That's how Power Rangers stayed around (and is still around) so long. So far it's one of the longest running action television shows around.

-Nate
 
I agree with Nathyn, regardless of how you are adopting an existing work, consult with an entertainment attorney. Lawsuits are the cause of many projects never seeing the light of day, best to know when, how and if you can do something before you get very deep into it.

I deal with the studio lawyers on a daily basis and if there is a way to instigate litigation, cease and desists and trying to get money out of people, these are the people who live to do that. They have to justify their expensive salaries somehow and they have interns and assistants whose job it is to just web surf and try to find people infringing on their copyrights. Imagine a whole staff of web surfers just looking for stuff to sue us on as their full time jobs. These people exist.

Dan
 
thanks guys,

ok, so the inspired by route is the best way to go..and without necessarily having to state that it was inspired by something, yeah?

Dan, can you recommend any good entertainment lawyers for indy filmmakers in the hollywood, CA area?

thanks
 
When going with an "inspired" type of story I think it is best to still try to be as original as possible. Another way would be to combine a couple of similar concepts, plus add your own ideas and try to make it fresh and somewhat personal by including something of your self and adding your unique sensibilities to it as well.

You could also research mythology and folktales/legends for inspiration. Akira Kurosawa's Ran was inspired by Shakespeare's King Lear, but told in a feudal Japanese setting. Also, a lot of films, TV series, novels, and comic books are just variations on archetypal stories... hence my suggestion of mythology. Plus nearly all mythology is so old and primal as well as copyright free.

You might also find some inspiration through the use of the 36 Dramatic Situations. Maybe find out what series you want to use as inspiration and try to match it to a story type or dramatic situation. No one can sue for copyright infringement based off the use of a story template or basic dramatic situation.

I'll give you my own example: recently I rented the action film Bangkok Dangerous starring Nicolas Cage. I liked the film and the overall look and atmosphere. The colorful nighttime scenes reminded me of the darker and grittier night scenes from the Miami Vice TV series. I then thought that someday I would like to make an action film with a similar feel and atmosphere, but with my own story. I've always liked the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus, about a musician that travels to the underworld to rescue his slain wife. So I decided that my film would be a loose retelling of the Orpheus myth, but in the modern day underworld of organized crime. The myth even helped inspire the title, Lords of the Underworld.
 
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