Basing a Film on a music record?

D

dmitrizigany

Veteran
Hey!

I have an idea for a film I want to make. It's heavily inspired by a record by a rather famous musician.
What would be the implications if I use characters and quotations from the record?
I guess it would be a self financed, close to zero-budget non-profit affair. More like a fan movie, if you will. However, if the script turns out great and I find the right people to be involved I'm also considering to try crowd-funding...
 
Obviously the big issue is copyright – how will the musician and their music company feel about your film?

They may well choose to ignore a genuinely non-profit fan film, just as LucasFilm and subsequently Disney have done re the zillion Star Wars fan films out there. But equally they may choose to sue your ass off for breach of copyright, or more simply destroy your ability to show or distribute your film. Just because you intended your film as a respectful homage doesn’t mean they’ll see it the same way. See http://io9.gizmodo.com/star-trek-fan-film-makers-didnt-know-they-were-being-su-1750489337

So your references to possible crowd-funding make me very nervous. Those funders are going to be very angry if the film gets buried in copyright disputes. And the more money is involved in the project, the more unsympathetically it will be viewed by the copyright holders.
 
dmitrizigany said:
Hey!

I have an idea for a film I want to make. It's heavily inspired by a record by a rather famous musician.
What would be the implications if I use characters and quotations from the record?
I guess it would be a self financed, close to zero-budget non-profit affair. More like a fan movie, if you will. However, if the script turns out great and I find the right people to be involved I'm also considering to try crowd-funding...
Click to expand...

What is the adaptation you have in mind for your 'inspiration'... if it is not music then you probably have no problem... but if you need to use the music then you have a copyright issue.

In the case of the written word, adapted to screen copyright figures directly in as a 'derivative work'.

However, if you are listening to Grofe's "Grand Canyon Suite" and the decide to film a donkey on a path in a desert setting... whether you had gotten your inspiration from a musical work, or a picture postcard, 'ideas' can't be copyrighted...
 
Quotations from the record? Definitely a no-no.

Characters? Grey area at best.

In legal matters, it's always best to consult a qualified legal professional, rather than relying upon the opinions and experiences of people in an online forum.

Remember there are VERY severe penalties for copyright infringement, up to and including spending time in a federal prison. No doubt someone is going to say that the odds of you being prosecuted are slim. Maybe. Then again, I'm sure that's what Jammie Thomas-Rasset thought when she illegally downloaded 24 songs from the Internet. She got fined $1.9 million.

Can you afford to lose?

More importantly, if you're serious about making a career in this business, how do you think it will reflect upon you to be seen as guilty of stealing the creative work of others for your own use? Not every professional.
 
dmitrizigany said:
It won't be audio quotations. More in the line of "Oh, man, that's a highway to hell if I ever saw one", if someone made a movie that was a bit inspired by AC/DC. That should be well within the realm of what's legal, no?
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If AC/DC had trademarked the phrase 'highway to hell', then it could be a problem. (Just using your example.)

In your original post you asked, "What would be the implications if I use characters and quotations from the record?" That sounds like more than just using a random word or two.

But again, you're asking laypeople questions that others study for years to learn the answers to. The only sure answer will come from a qualified attorney. Anything else is a risk.
 
Write the story, take out all references to song and see if it holds up. Dazed and confused doesn't have the led zeppelin song in it, they couldn't get the rights but they were able to use the title because my understanding is you can't copyright a title. Now if you want to make a film called finding nemo you'll run into other issues. Call the film nemo and you would be fine (but it depends). Its always best to consult a lawyer before moving forward.
 
It's true that you can't copyright a title, but you can trademark one. It's not generally done except for real moneymaking franchises like "Star Wars", "Star Trek", "Raiders of the Lost Ark", etc. Not sure if "Finding Nemo" is trademarked or not, but it's likely.
 
lambert said:
Write the story, take out all references to song and see if it holds up. Dazed and confused doesn't have the led zeppelin song in it, they couldn't get the rights but they were able to use the title because my understanding is you can't copyright a title. Now if you want to make a film called finding nemo you'll run into other issues. Call the film nemo and you would be fine (but it depends). Its always best to consult a lawyer before moving forward.
Click to expand...
Song "quotes" I see no problems with as they will be generic enough but people who know the record will understand them, so to fans of the artist in question there will be numerous "Easter eggs", if you will, in the form of lyric references. Sometimes it will be lyrics turned in to visual references, so not quotes, as well.
At this point it's then name of the characters that's the main issue, I think.

Legalities aside, it's one thing to be inspired by something from another media than from the same. If I would make a film called Nemo and my main inspiration was Finding Nemo it wouldn't be very creative. Many songwriters are inspired by books for the lyrics, for example. Being inspired by a music album to make a film, I feel is within the morally defensible when it comes to creativity and not copying other people's work.

But the use of the character names could be a touchy subject. Without me telling you the exact details it's abviously hard for you all to really tell me that I'm right or wrong though.

Let's say one had a character in a movie called Sargeant Pepper who had a sad blues band. What would you say about that?

(not really trying to defend myself but just exploring the possibilities and opinions)
 
It's not about being morally defensible, it's about being legally defensible. The truth is, you can be sued by the owner of the song's copyright. Even if you feel you would prevail in the end, they have the resources to make it a very lengthy and expensive battle for you. The more you use their work, the greater your chances of being sued.

Again, is it worth it to you to take that kind of risk?
 
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