Want to write a screenplay loosely based on an internet article. Questions.

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I recently read a little (like 6 paragraph) article on a web-zine type site and it gave me an interesting idea for a screenplay loosely based on the article. And when I say loosely I mean quite loosely because the article basically has little narrative or anything that you could really call a story. But there are some "key terms" if you will, that I would love to use in a screenplay.

What would be the professional thing to do in this situation and when do I know if I have crossed a line wherein I must/need to contact the writer and ask permission to make a screenplay loosely based on the article and how does that typically go for anyone who has experience with something like that?

I want to do the right thing here and I apologize if my questions are vague and stupid.
 
You're probably safe legally - concepts and ideas can't be copyrighted. Ditto for 'key terms', I'd have thought. But that won't stop a grumpy writer trying to sue and potentially leaving you with a big legal bill even if you win.

If you can contact the writer, I suggest doing so. They may be delighted to give you further helpful information, so long as they're credited. And equally, if they are grumpy and hostile, that's better to know now rather than after you've spent months writing a screenplay.
 
Thanks Clang. I'm going to attempt to contact him and see what comes of that. Either way I will probably still attempt to write something. If he is grumpy and hostile (based on his writing at least, he doesn't strike me as the type) I will take even greater pains to further distance my screenplay from the article.
 
I wouldn't open up that can of worms. If you contact them and they feel like being asses they could cause you trouble for a while. In this case you don't need to do anything. Do you think stories just come from the ether? They are spawned from ideas taken from pop culture and everyday news. You can't possibly go and get permission from everyone and everything that inspired you. Heck, I wrote a whole feature inspired by true events in the 30s. I'm not going to track anyone down to see what they think about my very loosely based story.
 
Chris_Keaton said:
I wouldn't open up that can of worms. If you contact them and they feel like being asses they could cause you trouble for a while. In this case you don't need to do anything. Do you think stories just come from the ether? They are spawned from ideas taken from pop culture and everyday news. You can't possibly go and get permission from everyone and everything that inspired you. Heck, I wrote a whole feature inspired by true events in the 30s. I'm not going to track anyone down to see what they think about my very loosely based story.
Click to expand...

While I whole heartedly agree with this... I have read of cases where a certain Harlan Ellison has made claims on various films, and due to the fact that he has been adapted 'heavily' in many cases he prevails because that 'twiligh zone' story you saw when you were six years old burbled up into your now 45 year old mind... (or whatever...).

In other cases it seems that Ellison slaps on a court action just because 'he can'...

Perhaps I should write a Twilightzoneesque short script about a writer way past his prime, who is reduced to only writing legal briefs, as he fades into the collective unconsciousness...
 
Your questions are neither vague or stupid. If what you want to write is not based directly on this article and if what you want to write can be transposed and if you could have come across the same material or idea or concept without having read this article, don't open that can of worm by con
tacting them. Unless this article uses such very special things and terms you really need to use. Then, of course, you need to find some sort of arrangement.

but: I had a project of mine killed by getting in contact with a writer about an historic event, experienced by a lot of people in that time (my father and an uncle amongst them). The moment we contacted the writer about his research about this event - one aspect, interesting but not necessarily what we were looking for - he thought he would own the event and us and any movie that may or may not have come from it. He thought it was appropriate to meet us only after we signed a ton of papers - thus establishing a very basic distrust and an eagerness to let lawyers speak before the makers did. We skipped the whole project, knowing that legally we were completely safe, but wouldn't like to start it with a pending law suit.

Talk to a lawyer. Anything anybody says here - me included - is just a hint.
 
j1clark@ucsd.edu said:
Perhaps I should write a Twilightzoneesque short script about a writer way past his prime, who is reduced to only writing legal briefs, as he fades into the collective unconsciousness...
Click to expand...

Ah! What an Umberto Eco'ist concept. Do it. And Of course I will sue you for having stolen an idea of mine that was sitting in my subconsicience for years. Only realized that when reading your posting....
 
Thanks for the advice everyone. I have yet to contact the writer. I don't know if I will.

On one hand those "key terms" are great and I would dream of a screenplay with them in there verbatim. On the other hand I can easily think of ways to conceptualize the whole thing in my own words. The reality is that even if the writer miraculously gave me unfettered access to this article it still constitutes nothing more than the opening 1-2 pages of a screenplay. I still have to actually make it into a story and the only reason I know I can do that, and have the desire to do so, is because I already have many similar ideas floating around in my head. The article was the lightning bolt that struck my subconscious into self-awareness of what already existed in my head.

How do I explain that in court?? :)
 
Chris_Keaton said:
I wouldn't open up that can of worms. If you contact them and they feel like being asses they could cause you trouble for a while. In this case you don't need to do anything. Do you think stories just come from the ether? They are spawned from ideas taken from pop culture and everyday news. You can't possibly go and get permission from everyone and everything that inspired you. Heck, I wrote a whole feature inspired by true events in the 30s. I'm not going to track anyone down to see what they think about my very loosely based story.
Click to expand...

I have to agree with Chris. Anything the article writer offers to you in writing can be potentially used against you. I wouldn't risk it. Just write what inspires you, make it your own, and get an entertainment lawyer.
 
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