anyone read 'cabin in the woods'? great horror!

L

linter

Member
last night i read joss whedon's 'cabin in the woods,' due out in movie form next year, and man o man is it great. kids in peril in the woods with more than their lives at stake. script has lots of attitude and a perfectly clear structure, if you ask me. and though a couple of characters talk too much alike for me, the writing in the script shows plenty of fun attitude. a real instructive read. great complications and reversals and all that.

one thing i liked is that in many horror movies, you have good kids and asshole kids. in this one, you basically like all the kids; consequently, when one gets the ax, you really feel bad about it.

anyway, the night before last, i read 'cherry falls' -- almost an equally compelling bit o' fun but, in terms of the writing, pretty amateurish compared to what whedon's done, especially where the actions lines are concerned. it was interesting to read them back to back and notice the differences. again, instructive.

so ... if you haven't read em and you're a horror fan, go to! and let me know what you think, if you want.
 
Sounds like an interesting read. Where did you find the script? I did a brief google but didn't come up with much. I'd be happy to read it and discuss it with the forum here.
 
well, i can't remember where i got the script but it's somewhere out there, obviously, and from the looks of things, certain folks aren't to happy about it. after my post, i got the following PM from an MGM attorney, threatening me with legal action for "distributing and/or offering to distribute" 'The Cabin in the Woods'. I guess "Ben Davis" didn't read my post, since nowhere in it did i offer to distribute the script, blablabla. But I guess I understand what he's saying. Ooof!

Dear linter,

I am an attorney for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. and its affiliated companies (collectively, "MGM").

MGM has just learned that you are distributing and/or offering to distribute or otherwise exploit a confidential and proprietary version of the screenplay entitled “The Cabin in the Woods” (collectively with all versions or derivatives thereof, the “Work”) via email, internet postings, uploads and/or other methods of electronic and/or tangible distribution.

MGM is the exclusive owner of the applicable rights in and to the Work and you are not authorized to upload, offer to email and/or otherwise distribute or exploit the Work in any form anywhere in the world. Any unauthorized uploading, emailing, distribution or other exploitation of MGM’s intellectual property constitutes, among other things, an intentional violation of MGM’s rights and interests under the laws of copyright, trademark and unfair competition and subjects you to criminal and civil liabilities.

If you continue to offer to email the Work to any third party or otherwise distribute or exploit the Work, MGM will have no choice but to proceed with a legal action against you. Demand is hereby made that destroy any and versions of the Work in your possession, custody or control. MGM further demands that you disclose where you acquired your version(s) of the Work. Please confirm in writing by tomorrow that you have complied with the foregoing demands.

Nothing contained herein shall be deemed a waiver of any of MGM’s rights, claims, remedies or defenses, in equity or at law, in connection with this matter, all of which are expressly reserved.

Sincerely,

Ben Davis
Legal Department
bdavis@mgm.com
 
Yikes Linter! Sounds like you might need to run and hide in a Cabin in the Woods! I guess just don't do anything to further upset MGM and I am sure they will not bother you again.

But this brings up an interesting and important point. It is so easy these days to whisk away an electronic copy of a screenplay to collaborators, friends, family. Making it possible for an electronic copy of a script to go renegade on the net, either from an email with an attachment accidentally sent to the wrong person, or a trojan worm/virus seeking such bounty to loot. Not so much an issue with a paper copy of a story. Of course I am not sure how one could avoid electronic sharing of a screenplay over the net these days; just requires care and security software I guess.
 
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I guess I have been warned! I just reread the notice and see MGM wants to know where I got the script. Well, good luck w/ that, since I don't know where half the stuff on my hard drive comes from. Truth is, I'm not skulking around looking for this stuff; I go to the sites everyone else goes to; so if 'ben davis' wants to find the source, and since he found me alright, he should have no trouble.

i know he sent me a form letter email. still, with all its particulars and flamethrower-type overkill language, it is pretty unsettling. sheesh. that'll teach me to rave about new scripts!
 
Sorry for helping you into hot water Linter! While that scare-tactic PM was a little unsettling, it is kind of cool that a purported attorney for MGM accesses the board. I suppose it's possible that this "Ben Davis" just stumbled upon your post through a random google search... but I'd like to believe that he's a lurker.

Who knows? Maybe this Ben fellow will give one of our DVX writers their first big break? :laugh:

Next time I'm circulating one of my scripts, I'm going to make a post here about a newly leaked marquee screenplay and only talk about my story. I think it could work! :bath:
 
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