Real Names In Scripts

duranracing23

duranracing23

Well-known member
So i am making another feature. This time i want to write it im being paid by a music producer who has never produced a movie to make a movie involving his artists. He wants something like 8 mile, get rich or die trying type of movie. He told me he wants the characters names in the movie the same exact way they are in real life. This is not just for the main actors but for everyone in the cast.

Is this a good idea? What are some Pros and Cons to this? He doesnt really have a merit as to why neither do i.

I personally dont think its a good idea. What do you guys think?
 
Sounds like a bad idea to me. What if you have your characters killing people/doing drugs/etc.? I personally wouldn't want my real name linked to that.
 
I would stick with fictional character names, then if the Director/Producer wants to change them to real names on their own, let them do so but at their legal peril, let them get the legal releases from whomever plays the parts, etc. Simple enough for the Producer to do with screenplay software Find and Replace features these days. At least alter the names slightly, like John Cleese => Jon Klese or something like that, keep the names fictional. Ask a lawyer, but that is my take on the matter.
 
I agree with both of you. But like i said thats how he wants the story written. And acted out becuase the artists in the movie are a little famous.
 
So if I want you to go rob a bank, and agree to pay you, you will? I am being sarcastic, but the point is to watch your back legally even if someone wants you to do something that could get you in hot water. You do not want to get sued for character defamation. At a minimum consider getting legal releases from all people whose real names you use in the script, so you have protection should they sue you.

duranracing23 said:
I agree with both of you. But like i said thats how he wants the story written. And acted out becuase the artists in the movie are a little famous.
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So will these 'artists' be the actors in the movie, and the producer wants them to play characters with the actors' real names, even though they may not be playing characters based on themselves? And this is for some artistic reasons, not just because the producer thinks it would be a giggle?

Ok, that's not impossible. E.g. if Madonna's producer hires me to write a movie script in which the real Madonna will play a character called Madonna (even if the character may not be based on Madonna) - well, fine, so long as you're being paid....

BUT it only works if Madonna actually likes the script a lot - coz no way is she going to play a crap character called Madonna - why should she? For a few million bucks, just maybe she'd take the part if the character has another name - but why should she damage her own reputation with a crappy onscreen Madonna?

Now assume there are a dozen characters in the film - you now have to please ALL of them the same way. That will be an uphill struggle. And depending on how you're getting paid, you could waste a whole lot of time on rewrites trying to make everyone happy, only to end up with a pile of bland mush or have some actors walk off the project.

I'm not saying it's impossible, but most of the times I've seen it working are where the artists are artitically involved - e.g. in the TV series 'Flight of the Conchords' the two main characters play fictional versions of themselves, with their real names, but that works because they also write the scripts. And Jennifer Grey played a fictional version of herself in the TV series 'It's Like, You Know'. In the British series 'Extras', famous actors have a hilarious time playing dreadful versions of themselves. (Note that all of these are comedies - I can't think of any non-comedic examples)

So if you're being paid by the hour to write this, go for it, it's the producer's problem. But it's a potential can of worms, I can see the project collapsing very easily.
 
Bad idea. Whenever I write stories based on real-life situations, I always do a draft with the real names (so I can keep things in order) and then change them after (keeping a list of the corresponding persons). Unless you can get EVERYONE to sign off, don't do it (and, even still, it's risky - everyone is so sue-happy these days).
 
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