Who Gets Story Credit?
by Jaden
photo credit: jumpinjimmyjava – iKIVA …. you can KIVA too
Writing should be a fun, but sometimes, when you involve other people, it becomes legally messy and confusing as to who holds the rights to the story.
Story credit is not what you might think.
Per the WGA, here are some important points on which I will elaborate below with a fictitious scenario.
Story
The term “story” means all writing covered by the provisions of the Minimum Basic Agreement representing a contribution “distinct from screenplay and consisting of basic narrative, idea, theme or outline indicating character development and action.”
It is appropriate to award a “Story by” credit when:
1) the story was written under employment under Guild jurisdiction; 2) the story was purchased by a signatory company from a professional writer, as defined in the Minimum Basic Agreement; or 3) when the screenplay is based upon a sequel story written under the Guild’s jurisdiction. If the story is based upon source material of a story nature, see “screen story” below.
Screenplay
A screenplay consists of individual scenes and full dialogue, together with such prior treatment, basic adaptation, continuity, scenario and dialogue as shall be used in, and represent substantial contributions to the final script.
A “Screenplay by” credit is appropriate when there is source material of a story nature (with or without a “Screen Story” credit) or when the writer(s) entitled to “Story by” credit is different than the writer(s) entitled to “Screenplay by” credit.
“Written by”
The term “Written by” is used when the writer(s) is entitled to both the “Story by” credit and the “Screenplay by” credit.
This credit shall not be granted where there is source material of a story nature. However, biographical, newspaper and other factual sources may not necessarily deprive the writer of such credit.
WRITTEN MATERIAL PREVAILS
Decisions of Arbitration Committees are based upon literary material. Claims of authorship must be supported by literary material appropriate for submission to the Arbitration Committee. In the event of conflicting claims, literary material always prevails.
No Other Credits Approved
Any form of credit not expressly described in this (WGA) Manual shall be used only upon receipt of a waiver from the Guild. Fewer names and fewer types of credit enhance the value of all credits and the dignity of all writers.
Are You A Professional Writer?
If you are selling material to a signatory company, you must be considered a “professional writer” to be eligible for writing credit. The MBA generally defines a “professional writer” as a person who has received employment for a total of thirteen weeks as a television or theatrical motion picture writer; or received credit as a writer on a television or theatrical motion picture (including series); or received credit for a professionally produced play or a published novel.
To make story credit easily understandable, let’s use Alfred Hitchcock as our character in this fictitious story about story credit.
Alfred Hitchcock is sitting at his table one morning reading the newspaper. His wife brings him coffee mixed just the way he likes it. “Hey, honey, listen to this,” Alfred says to his wife. He reads the paper: “Crows, seagulls, and other birds rain from the sky all over Capitola. Unexplained, authorities say it may be related to poisoned shellfish. Before dying, the birds are reported to have gone crazy and attacked people.” Hitchock puts the paper down. “Wouldn’t that make for a unique movie, darling, don’t you think? Birds attacking people?”
Alma Hitchcock agrees and throws out some ideas. Alfred takes note of them. She’s always full of good ideas.
Alfred then calls his long time friend screenwriter Bob and tells Bob about the story. “So what do you think Bob, you want to work on the script with me?” Bob declines and says he is too busy, but agrees it is a great idea.
Alfred then talks to an old friend Charlie that he hadn’t talked to in a while, someone who has nothing to do with the film industry at all and has no experience. Out of normal friendship and conversation, Alfred tells Charlie about the new movie he wants to make in full detail, including the story arch, all the main characters, how the story will end, and what is the theme.
Loving the story, Charlie gets excited and starts throwing out all kinds of great ideas to Alfred. Alfred never thought of Charlie as a potential writing partner, but his ideas are so good, he says, “Hey Charlie, you want to work on this script with me?” Excited, Charlie says yes and starts researching real incidents right away.
Alfred writes a treatment based on his initial ideas and registers the story idea with WGA.
Charlie and Alfred have many talks about the script and start to flesh it out. Alfred writes out thirty pages of the script based on his own and Charlie’s ideas.
Alfred also finds this great book The Birds by Daphne du Maurier, which he incorporates into his overall idea.
Alfred then gets sidetracked for many months by his other film projects, including one script that he wrote from scratch beginning to end with Charlie that was rejected by producers. After a while, Alfred tells Charlie, “Ok, let’s work on the birds script again.”
Charlie says, “I’m not working on it with you unless you re-register the story credit to my name too.”
Alfred feels uncomfortable by this new demand from his old buddy, since it was indeed Alfred’s own initial idea. Alfred tells Charlie, “I can’t worry about this right now, I am too busy. Can we talk about this later.”
Charlie then says, “Well, it’s not your story idea. You read it in the newspaper. And you read that book. They should get story credit, not you. I gave you a lot of ideas and I want story credit.”
Alfred excuses himself from the conversation and hangs up, but Charlie calls him back 10 times in a row, insisting Alfred immediately change the registration of the story.
Alma asks Alfred, “What’s going on?” Alfred tells her. Alma says, “Goodness, I think I gave you more ideas than Charlie did, might as well give me story credit.” Alma and Alfred laugh.
The hostility and ignorance coming from Charlie makes Alfred not want to work with him at all, so he decides to shelve the project all together. Angry, Charlie never talks to Alfred again.
A year later, still too busy but still loving the story idea, Alfred takes out The Birds treatment and hires Evan Hunter to finish it. Evan re-writes the initial 30 pages that Alfred wrote, plus another 70 pages.
Five other writers are also paid and add substantial lines of dialog and story structure changes.
The Birds movie comes out in theaters and immediately, a series of lawsuits come down the line to Mr. Hitchcock. There is the one guy who wrote a similar story about birds attacking people and he mailed the script to himself in a sealed envelope. There is another guy who copyrighted his script about birds attacking people. A third guy read the same news articles and books as Alfred did and he also registered a very similar script. Then there is Alfred’s good ol’ friend Charlie.
Alfred, of course, never heard of these other guys or their scripts, but now they all want a piece of his pie and everyone is suing him. Did they do the work and bring their own scripts to the movie screen? No.
WHO GETS STORY CREDIT? Who gets screenwriting credit? And who gets paid?
1) The Wife?
No.
The wife gave lots of good ideas and support right from the beginning, as did lots of Hitchcock’s friends. Do they get credit or paid? No.
It was still Hitchcock’s initial idea to move forward and write a script and make a movie. Without Hitchcock telling people, “I want to make this movie about birds attacking people,” it would not have been made. People can offer Hitchcock ideas at their own discretion.
Hitchcock may decide to pay them or give them some kind of credit, but it is not mandatory, it would just be a consideration based on how much a person contributed to the final product. Over three screenwriting credits is frowned upon and generally forbidden by the writers’ guild.
Yes, the wife would get credit if…
Had the wife, in the kitchen that morning, said to Alfred, “I would like to write a script about that story,” or they had the idea at the exact same time and she then wrote a treatment or a first draft screenplay for Alfred, which she has in the past, then she would get a story or screenwriting credit, depending on what role she played and how much she contributed.
Giving ideas over meals or for lengthy periods of time does not earn story credit or screenwriting credit.
2) The buddy Charlie?
No, Charlie does not get story credit.
Charlie had lots of good ideas and they were going somewhere with it together, but it was not Charlie’s initial idea. As much as Charlie contributed, maybe 15 pages worth of ideas at most, the overall story arch that Hitchcock had in mind and pitched to Charlie in the first place, is still in tact and still the same. For Charlie to claim it as his own now, just because he worked on it and helped flesh it out some, is wrong. Charlie was working on the screenwriting phase and he did not carry out his part of the verbal agreement to write a full feature script together.
As time revealed, Hitchcock just had someone else write the script who was less confrontational and more pleasant to work with and who did not erroneously make a fuss about story credit.
Without Hitchcock, Charlie would never have had the idea to make a movie about attacking birds and was not even in the industry to do so. For Charlie to pursue the birds story any further as his own, would be fundamentally and legally wrong.
Since Charlie did not contribute a substantial amount of material to the final script and is not a professional writer, Charlie gets no credit.
3) The unknown Screenwriters from outer space?
No.
Alfred never heard of these guys and never read their scripts. Many people around the world may write similar screenplays — that does not give them the right, just because of coincidence, to get a piece of Hitchcock’s pie. People all live in the same world and have access to the same inspirations. No one lives alone in a vacuum of genius ideas that no one else had ever considered. We are all on the same vessel here, seeing and considering the same things. What matters is whether you take your idea to a finished product or not.
4) The Newspaper or its writers?
No, not usually.
Fiction stories usually do not give story credit to the non-fiction sources from where they may have initially been inspired or researched.
An extreme example of this, that I found highly strange at the time, was Elephant (2003) by Gus Van Sant. Not long after the real crime occurred in Colorado, this movie emerges depicting an almost identical version of a high school shooting, yet the movie is categorized as fiction and Gus Van Sant is the only person noted for writing credit. So either he was having a psychic experience and wrote the story before it happened, or he quickly turned it out afterwards. Either way, this is a major news story turned “fiction” with one writer receiving credit.
Usually, writers will fictionalize their fiction stories that were inspired by true stories, but even in this extreme case where Van Sant’s story perfectly mirrors the true story, he still takes all writing credit.
News and true stories are public domain, available for everyone. Hundreds, thousands, or millions of people may read or hear or relay a true story, a crime, a natural disaster, or a news story. Therefore, pin-pointing one source for credit becomes difficult and unnecessary.
Yes, story credit…
If a substantial amount of information is taken from only one specific written source about the true story, with very detailed and specific information that only one writer attained, one may give story credit to the source. A good example of this would be a non-fiction movie based on an expose story produced by 60 Minutes, Vanity Fair, or a book like Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood (1965).
Usually only non-fiction movies will give credit to their non-fiction sources, be it an expose or a book. Fiction movies usually do not give credit to their non-fiction sources.
5) The additional paid Screenwriters who worked on the script?
No.
The paid screenwriters do not get story credit, even if they rewrote the entire script and the new version is essentially all attributable to one of the paid writers, they still may not get a screenwriting credit and definitely will not get a story credit. They are paid to do a job: write.
6) The Author of the Book The Birds or Alfred Hitchcock?
Yes. Both are eligible for story credit.
In this case, and often is the case, whether the book was the initial inspiration or not, story credit will be given to the book (fiction or non-fiction) that most closely resembles the final film because of its firm and indisputable existence in the world.
Let’s say that Alfred read the news article that inspired him. Had he written a fiction script entirely without any research other than the one news article he read, Hitchcock would take the Story By credit or Written By.
Since Alfred (in my fictitious example) proceeded to research the topic and read the book The Birds and he liked lots of the scenes in it and he wanted to use them, he and his lawyer decided to give credit to the author of the book.
Let’s say the author of the book The Birds was inspired by the exact same news article as Alfred and Alfred is not even using very many details from the book, Alfred’s lawyer still may choose to give story credit to the author just to get rid of the heat by all the other people who wrote similar stories and seek payment and credit. If you can point to a source and give credit, lawyers usually choose to do that as a technicality to alleviate pressure from other claims, and appease a judge or arbiter.
Paying the author of the book for story credit, whether it was the true inspiration or not, is like buying story insurance in Hollywood. Whether the book is the main source or not, it gives a safe legal place to say is the source.
STORY CREDIT versus SCREENWRITING CREDIT
Written By credit means that the writer both came up with the story idea and wrote a first draft of the script alone. Written By is a combo of both Story credit and Screenwriting credit.
Story By credit will go to the person who has the initial seed of an idea and the most tangible material to back it: that may be a screenwriter inspired by some observation in the world or it may go to the author of a book.
Story credit does not go to the many screenwriters and people with good ideas who helped develop the script along its journey to the big screen.
No more than 2 people may receive story credit.
Screenplay By credit will go to whoever contributed the most to the final script, or whoever had the best contract. Often there may be 20 writers on a blockbuster movie. How many credits do you see on the screen? Usually just one to three screenwriting credits will appear; they are:
- The initial writer, the person who wrote the first draft or whose story idea it was
- The writer who physically wrote the most material in the script
- The writer who has the best lawyer and agent who best negotiates on his behalf for credit and royalties
If the movie is a WGA sanctioned major movie, the other screenwriters will get paid to union writers’ scale, but they won’t necessarily get a credit, even if they worked a year on the script!
It is impossible to give credit to every single source and every single person who offers ideas on a script. Giving too many credits is considered tres gauche and unprofessional. Whoever had the initial idea that got the ball rolling is obviously key and essential. Beyond that, credit is debatable.
This article provides fictitious scenarios based on some real people to give you a general idea of how story and screenplay credit work; please consult a literary entertainment lawyer if you have real concerns and require legal advice.
Comments
32 Responses to “Who Gets Story Credit?”
Got something to say?
“Screenwriting credit will go to whoever contributed the most to the final script
…
The initial writer, the person who wrote the first draft or whose story idea it was ”
So, if someone writes a script from beginning to end with original ideas for the story, and then sells it to a studio, and then someone in development gets a new writer to re-write it, does the original writer get ‘story by’ credit?
(Have heard ‘anecdotal’ reports, that once it’s ‘sold’ and re-written, the re-writer got the sole credit, and the original screenwriter who got paid and signed a ‘release’, couldn’t do anything about it.
Is this accurate, or just ‘exaggerated anecdotal reporting’?
Thanks!
dustin asch
Hi Dustin!
For an original screenplay that has no other source material, the original writer should get both Story By and Screenplay By credit. The Screenplay By credit may be shared with 1 or 2 more writers who come on afterwards.
Now, if somewhere in the fine print of the original writer’s script sale agreement, it says that original writer may have to forfeit credit, then that could happen.
Also, I’m not sure how it works out, but per the WGA, if a person is not a “professional writer” it looks like they could get pretty screwed too.
That all said, reading the fine print, having a great lawyer, and dealing with people who respect you are very important.
The original screenwriter will want to make sure that it says in their agreement that no matter what, they will get Story and Screenplay credit and the related royalties.
Since no one is born a “professional writer,” the people who become professional writers are the ones who make good deals and have good agreements.
There is also nothing wrong with accepting a big chunk of change for your script and kissing it goodbye, if the money is more important to you than the credit and potential royalties. Sometimes, being anonymous has its benefits. Maybe you need money now to take care of some life emergencies. Do you want to make a quick buck or do you want everyone to know your name? Do you think your script has potential to continue making money over the years and you could make money in royalties? Everyone has different wants and needs.
Whatever your specific screenwriting goals are, you just want to make sure they are clearly expressed in your final agreement of the sale of your script.
Hi Jaden. . .
I’ve just come across this site. There are some pretty good articles here.
For a couple of years, up until January of this year, I worked with a professional photographer/videographer/producer. He wanted me to analyze some of the inventory of scripts he wants to some day produce.
I get paid to analyze scripts online, but I worked for free with this guy because I wanted to concentrate on the business side of screenwriting, and make new contacts in the industry. I also write screenplays.
Anyway, at one point I suggested that we work on a screenplay together. He thought that would be great because he liked my writing. And it was decided to write the story partly about the producer. But it wasn’t, and isn’t, a biographical screenplay based on this guy’s life. So, we decided to write it together, I’d be a gun-for-hire, but we would split the profit from the script fifty-fifty. He and I signed a contract.
But what eventually happened was that I ended up writing the entire screenplay, without any actual help from the producer. So, what I did was that I registered the script with the WGA, with my name as sole screenwriter and both of us with story credits.
The producer was furious, threatened me with a lawsuit if I ever tried to have the script represented and/or sold and told me the contract gives us both equal writing credit and a split of the money from the project. He repeatedly wanted me to change the registration.
I thought about it long and hard. And I acknowledge my naivete in this whole sorry mess, but I just thought that the producer breached the contract by never actually writing any of the screenplay and he shouldn’t get credit for it. it’s a point of integrity for me.
What I’m wondering is, is the script in contractual limbo right now? He can’t do anything with it either since I’m the only registered screenwriter. What I learned later was that this producer can’t actually write at all. But he brings in writers works on something new or old material and latches himself on as a co-screenwriter—-and the hapless writers agree to all his terms even though they did the heavy lifting.
So, again, do I have any control over this screenplay?
Thanks for your help.
Phillip
Hi Phillip — I am sorry to read about your situation. It is rather common.
Legally, I cannot advise you, but unofficially, this is my understanding of it:
Yes, most likely the screenplay would be in limbo until you both signed off on it. If you can prove you wrote the entire script and if your screenplay harkens back to his original story idea, then you would get the pay for the screenplay and story, and he would get pay for his portion of story credit per WGA guidelines.
Yes, I would guess that the screenplay legally cannot be produced into a movie until the producer agrees and is paid for “story” credit, which is fine and not a big deal. Your lawyers would handle it and you don’t even have to talk to each other.
If you love the script you wrote and someone wants to buy it, swallow your pride, make some money, pay him his share, and move on to the next thing.
OR, sometimes it is better to scrap the whole project, consider it as writing practice, and write something greater that has no legal bindings to anyone but yourself.
Moving forward, I would suggest writing screenplays that are based solely on your own ideas and inspirations so as to not have these complications.
Thanks for visiting.
Good luck on your writing journey.
Thanks Jaden. . . .
I suppose I can send the script out to potential buyers? I have no problem compensating the Producer for story ideas. We collaborated on those. And the screenplay wasn’t based on the guy’s life.
I don’t want to just dump the project and I suppose I will release it to be seen by agents, production people, etc., when the time to do that comes. I have other screenplays. But it is a cautionary experience. There are a lot of people out there without any scruples
Thanks again for your help. It’s much appreciated.
Phillip
I was contacted several months ago by a producer that liked my writing. He suggested that I write an action movie somewhat like “fill in the blank”. I fleshed out the characters, plot, etc, and began writing. The producer has supplied numerous sets of reader’s notes. The screenplay is now very solid. Now after all my hard work, the producer informs me that he wants 30% of any potential sale, as well as “story by” credit. Okay, the money is fine. But, “story by” really? His only contribution to the idea was that it be somewhat like “fill in the blank”. Is that adequate for a “story by” credit?
For example: If I were a producer, and I suggested to a writer that they should write a romantic comedy similar to “When Harry met Sally”, then the writer does the hard work of accomplishing that goal. Should I, as the producer receive a “story by” credit?
Thanks
Tim — Hi. I am sorry about your experience. That sounds like a fun one for the lawyers and Writers’ Guild Association to figure out what is legal and fair. In a situation like that, you really need to have a clear discussion BEFORE you start writing. Now it is too late for that. You can either not sell the script or work out something that works for both of you.
If the producer has the connections to sell it and you don’t have the connections, then that has a value you should consider in all this too. Often, producers get the money they do because of their ability to get the script sold, it makes up for their lack of creativity and writing talents.
In theory, the producer and writer should have a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship, both doing what they do best: the producer sells and the writer writes. Hopefully your script’s selling price will put you at peace.
Good luck.
Hi Jaden:
I just found this page and i think this site its interesting and it’s very important what you do.
I have 2 questions:
First, I´m from South America, Perú to be exact. Is there a way to a Non-American writer or “not part of the Guild” writer can sell a screenplay to the U.S? (In English, of course)
And second, me and my friend’s (6 in total) are writing screemplays together as a team and we want to know: If there is a chance we all get screenwriting credits even though we are more than 3? We are all doing our share and putting a lot of time on this so i think is unfair to take someone out of the credit.
Thank you in advance for your response
Keep up the good work!
Sorry for the typos up there, it’s 4 am here.
Walter E. — Hello. I have been to Peru and it is wonderful!
I will answer your questions to the best of my understanding:
Yes, Hollywood can and does buy scripts and stories from around the world.
You don’t have to be American, but you do have to have an agent or to know someone in Hollywood or have some kind of connection to be able to sell it. Without connections, selling can be extraordinarily difficult for an outsider.
Screenplay competitions and film festivals are one way to receive recognition for international writers. Script competitions often require no more than 2 writers though. You would have to read the rules of each competition.
For major studio productions like Disney, Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, I think they are pretty strict about writing credits up to 3.
For instance, on TV, you will only see 1 or 2 writing credits when there is actually a team of 20 writers. There may be 1 writer who adds the most actual material to the TV show, yet his name never ever appears in credits. He gets a very big paycheck though.
If it is an independent movie, then you can do credits however you like. There are lots of independent movie studios and producers. Usually, they just don’t have the same kind of money available that the major producers have.
So that is another question, how expensive is your movie to make? The less it costs, the more creative options your group will have.
Some things you could do are:
1) Make the movie yourselves! Raise the money and attach a producer, director, and actors. If you make the movie yourselves, you can put the credits of 100 writers if you want.
2) Sell to an independent producer who is willing to put the 6 writing credits.
3) Create a fictitious name to represent your group: Jack Peru or The Peru Guys, for instance, and one writer represents you all and speaks on behalf of the group.
Some Hollywood film industry people may feel that working with 1 writer is difficult, so the idea of working with 6 writers will probably not be a very good selling point to a lot of film people. Too many cooks in the kitchen!
If you cannot make the movie yourselves, you might want to choose one name while trying to sell the script, and deal with credit options later.
You want the script to be as enticing as possible. Any potential problems will turn buyers away from your script. Too many writers could be a negative deterrent.
Let the story be great and speak for itself.
Avoid seeming difficult or presenting any issues to your prospecting buyers. Having 6 writer names on the script might be unappealing to some buyers.
Good luck!
Thank you very much for your respone, we will try to put a group name for our script and also write a couple more so we can get mor atention for an agent. I have a couple connections in L.A. but better to have more than one script to show them.
We are writing a horror movie right now so maybe that would be apealing to some independent studios. We would give it a try.
Thank you again and I’m glad that you liked your experience in my country!
Hi Jaden –
Here’s a (possibly not completely) hypothetical situation I’d like to run by you…
A Writer comes to a More Experienced Writer with an idea: “Hey, did you know that there was this woman in the 50s who discovered a new way of —-bleeep—- that revolutionized the industry by way of some very nefarious and dramatic business practices?” The Writer has done some internet research and has been working on it as a biopic about this obscure real-life figure. The Writer wonders if the More Experienced Writer would be interested in helping develop it (of advantage to the Writer because the M.E.W. has experience, representation, etc.)
The M.E.W. likes the milieu a lot but isn’t wild about the biopic angle. Instead, the M.E.W. starts developing a fictional drama script set in the world of 50s —-bleeep—-, referencing the Writer’s research and using the obscure real-life figure as a minor character. The Writer isn’t crazy about this approach. The two writers decide that each will flesh out their own take on the idea and then they’ll discuss the best direction in which to take the script, which they’ll write together.
When the time comes to discuss their approaches, however, the two can’t agree on the direction to take. The Writer wants to stick to the biopic. The M.E.W. wants to go with the drama. Collaboration isn’t going to work out.
My question is this:
Does the M.E.W. have the right to continue to develop the drama script? With the exception of the obscure real-life figure, there’s no overlap of characters, plot, etc. The Writer wrote none of the M.E.W.’s script, but did make the M.E.W. aware of the milieu and the obscure real-life figure and the M.E.W. has used the Writer’s research (though it’s all available via a basic Google search).
Curious what your thoughts are — thanks for the website! It’s a great reference.
Hi Tom,
What a great question!
I have bleeped the story concept to keep the idea private for your protection.
As I am not a lawyer, I can only tell you my assumption based on working in the industry. For correct legal advice, you must seek council. But here is my take…
As you may have noticed by news stories, anyone can sue anyone for anything, but that doesn’t mean Writer 1 has the legal right or that s/he would win. It would be up to the lawyers and judge to figure out who is in the right.
Hopefully the MEW isn’t out to screw over the Writer who had the initial idea. There are so many millions of story ideas, it would be a shame for a person to go out of his/her way to screw over a trusted friend.
As you may have also noticed, sometimes a documentary will come out around the same time as a live action fiction drama on the same topic, which is actually great for both parties because the movies provide momentum and traffic for each other while the topic is hot.
For instance, often the History Channel or Discovery Channel will do a documentary version to capitalize on the profits of some popular film or book, or vice versa, a drama will want to capitalize on a great documentary or true news story.
Such as…
….Documentaries:
Inside the Da Vinci Code (Video 2006)
The Real Da Vinci Code (TV 2005) (Discovery)
Time Machine: Beyond the Da Vinci Code (TV 2005) (History Channel)
….and the Fiction Drama:
The Da Vinci Code (2006) based on the fiction book
Another good example of this is the skateboarding documentary:
Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001),
and then it is followed up with the biopic drama:
Lords of Dogtown (2005).
All movies were great and had different things to offer.
The Dogtown drama made 5 times as much money as the Dogtown documentary, but usually, the documentary makes far far less than that.
The Da Vinci fiction drama made $217 Million! Meanwhile, the Da Vinci documentaries may have not even broken $1 million.
Usually fiction drama films can make millions of dollars, whereas documentaries often don’t even make enough money to cover the costs of making the film, which is probably why you friend wanted to go the fiction route: more freedom to write and create and more money.
As a viewer, I love watching both the fiction and nonfiction version of the stories.
It would be nice if both Writer and MEW could move forward and succeed with both films.
If Writer 1 wants to make money, s/he should work with MEW on the fiction version. If Writer doesn’t work on the fiction script, Writer might not have any rights to it.
Written material evidence is the deciding factor for who has the rights.
Since it is someone else’s life (and not the life of the writer), there are all kinds of other rights to consider, other than just the writer’s rights.
I think, first, for either the drama or the documentary, writer might need life story rights from the actual person or their descendants.
Who owns life story rights is always a fun challenge to figure out.
Sometimes, a studio might already own the rights to a person’s life story and that studio will hire writers or buy the script from someone, if someone writes a great version of it and proposes it to them.
Without life story rights, I believe the fiction drama will have to be significantly different and fictionalized from the real person’s story.
“referencing the Writer’s research”
Yes, if proven, Writer would have some rights here.
“using the obscure real-life figure as a minor character”
If the real life person is only a minor character in the MEW’s fiction script, at best, maybe the MEW could give an agreed small sum of money if the script sells, otherwise, there’s not much of a fight to have.
Also, maybe the MEW already knew a lot of what the Writer shared? It’s hard to know what a person already knows. Maybe the Writer is taking more credit than is due?
Gosh, big long topic… hope that is a helpful start to understanding it?
Best of luck. Sounds like an interesting story!
Hello! I was contacted to write a series pilot script from a freelance writer site by someone who has a great idea. From reading some of the above, I write, get paid something but have no rights to the work I’ve completed. Is that more or less the gist? The person with the idea intends to own the entire project so should I not bother copyrighting? I’m working towards being a credited writer and are new to this….
Any advise is appreciated!!
Thanks!
Jamie
Jamie — Hi.
BEFORE you write anything, make sure you clarify what the deal is.
Normally, the person whose idea it is would get Story Credit, and in theory, you would get Writer Credit, and you copyright the material with both names.
BUT If you are a “ghost writer” for the person, then you get no credit and are essentially paid to be invisible! In such case, you do not register the material, s/he would register it.
You need to have a very clear conversation with this person as to what your role is and what sort of credit you will get, if any.
Your rights are based on the agreement you have with the person and you MUST get your agreement in writing, signed by you both, otherwise, it can get very ugly later.
Just be honest, clear, and direct with the person.
If you need writing experience and money, then a ghost job could be good.
But if you don’t need those things and you need to start building a name for yourself as a writer, you may want to put your energy towards your own projects that you can take full credit and full money.
Good luck!
Great article, thank you.
I have one question:
I came up with a very vague idea for a script and my wife helped me turn that idea into a clear story. I then proceeded to write the whole script on my own, occasionally bouncing ideas off of my wife and getting suggestions from her.
…what credit(s) should be given?
Liam — Hi.
The marriage comes first and foremost, so whatever makes the wife happy is the right choice! ;-)
Are you a professional writer? Is your wife?
It depends whatever your agreement with your wife is.
What are each of your aspirations? Does she want to be a writer? Is it, “let’s write a script together”? Then it would be Written by Mr. & Mrs. Liam.
(just using these names for simplicity)
Or are you the writer and she is an accountant? Or a full time mother? Would you have written the script with or without her help? In such case, maybe a Special Thanks to Mrs. Liam would be good.
It just depends how involved in the script she is, what your agreement together is, and what each of your aspirations are.
For instance, in my situation…
My partner has great ideas and I love bouncing ideas off him, and with my friends too, but I am the one sitting at the computer writing all day and night for months and years. They all have different careers and are not looking for writing credit. They are happy to help me and enjoy having a little something to do with it. I always put them in the dedications and special thanks area. They are happy with that. They never would have written any of the things I write, and yet, I would still write my stories, no matter who ultimately helps to influence and shape the stories.
In your case, from what you write, I would say either:
Story by Mr. & Mrs. Liam
Screenplay by Mr. Liam
OR
Written by Mr. Liam
Special Thanks to Mrs. Liam
Remember that the WGA is going to have specific guidelines, and so will the producers who buy the script who will have additional writers work on the script.
If you go with Written by Mr. Liam, then make sure that in your script selling agreement that a Special Thanks will go to your wife in the film credits. If it is not in your agreement, it might not happen with your later request.
Hope this is helpful.
Have a good day.
Hi Jaden,
I really like these articles! Really informative!
I was approached by a producer to option my script.
They asked that I do a rewrite, using some of their
notes, before they can take my script to a production
company.
I did the rewrite and then the option they presented to me
was a ‘dollar option’. I declined.
My question is: can I leave the changes from some of
their notes in my script, or will they get credit for it?
-The notes affect about 10 pages of a 115pg script (less than 33%percent right? according to WGA)
-From those notes, I didn’t use their suggestions to the ‘T’.
-I physically wrote everything.
Any advice on this would be much appreciated!
Thanks!
Daniel- – Sounds like you got some free script coverage and feedback. Nothing wrong with that. You wrote the script AND you wrote in the changes doing the rewrite. It is your script unless you sign an agreement saying otherwise.
Here is my concern though. $1 options are common and not a bad thing. Major studio producers do them frequently. It is just an agreement where you allow one person to try to sell your script and or get it made without interference from other bozos trying to sell your script. It looks real bad if more than one person are trying to sell a script, creates conflict.
$1 option can be a marvelous opportunity when made with a producer who has proven results and movies and connections under his/her belt.
The $ amount of the option is FAR less important than WHO is the producer and what sort of connections they have.
For instance, if Clooney or Lucas or Soderberg or any number of great producers and many less familiarly known producers offered me a $1 option, I’d jump on it!
$1 today could mean $ 1million next year. Think twice before rejecting any offer. Any sort of option with the right producer is a great deal.
Good luck!
Great! Thank you so much for your help, I really appreciate it!
I had a question for you about credit. I was approached by a producer to help create a television series. The producer had a premise like “a man can ask the dead who killed them.” If I take that idea then come up with the world, rules, and characters in “Pushing Daisies,” who gets what credit?
I developed a series bible and pilot after working this premise into something that worked. Now we are negotiating the contract and the producer wants to share story by credit. If I don’t agree to these terms, can I take the pilot and bible elsewhere?
Bob — your answer is coming in a few days….
A great site submit your screenplay into a contest.
mylitteplaceofentertainment.com
Hi Jaden, any updates?
Bob — Thanks for your patience over the Thanksgiving holiday.
Legally, that could go either way. It is not unreasonable for the producer to want shared story credit for HIS idea, right? It depends what was your verbal agreement and how much information he gave you.
It also depends who has working credits and how many. If you have zero credits and he has 10, that reflects poorly on you. But if you have 10 writing credits and he has zero producing credits, then you look better, more serious and dedicated to what you are doing.
Socially, career-wise, and spiritually, it is not a good choice to take someone else’s initial idea and run, no matter how much work you did and how little they did. I would either agree to something mutually beneficial or if you don’t like the guy, just drop it and create your own show that has nothing to do with him or his idea. Consider it a practice run.
There are infinite story possibilities, why be attached to just this one?
In the future, NEVER do work without a signed agreement. Always ends badly. Try not to burn a bridge with the producer; you never know when it will come back and bite you in the ass. Try to find an agreement with which you are both satisfied.
Please REREAD the facts part of this article.
1) Per the WGA… (at the top)
2) STORY CREDIT versus SCREENWRITING CREDIT (at the bottom)
Good luck. Hope it all goes well.
A guy I met provided me with 3 1/3 pages of treatment for an original film idea. I asked for a contract numerous times, but no contract was ever brought forth to be signed. Now, I’ve decided to write the script on my own, sans the very minimal pay (and the 25% if sold) I was suppose to receive for writing. He says he has the story copyrighted. He could be bluffing. My goal is to not cheat him out of the story idea, but to be paid what is the industry standard for story vs script.
If I write the script and can generate interest at a studio or film prod company, and this guy and myself cannot reach an agreement on who gets how much, can my script be used despite my saying not to, if he does have the story copyrighted? He does have 1 major contact in Hollywood, plus a big-time entertainment attorney on his side. And he basically wants someone else to do all the work, while he collects the biggest part. And 3 1/3 pages is not much to write a script from. Also, if he doesn’t have the story copyrighted and he wants to cheat me on %, does he have the right to be compensated for story?
The reason he could be bluffing is he can be too cheap to pay for copyright.
I have only 1 script written that made the Top 25 Finals in a well-known screenplay contest in Hollywood.
Best,
Vonn
Vonn, Vonn, Vonn…
Let that guy find someone else to write his idea, there’s nothing wrong with the arrangement he wants to do. Some people are story idea people, some people are good dialog writers, and some people are just good negotiators and have no creative streaks.
If 25% doesn’t work for you personally, then you decline the job, simple as that.
You don’t steal his idea and become a thief. Who then would be the one lacking in creativity? There are infinite story ideas, why would you steal his?
Just remember, when you decline the job and his movie goes into production and the budget is $100 million, you won’t be getting your $500,000.
“does he have the right to be compensated for story?”
Absolutely yes, would be my guess, with an official copyright or not. It’s his story, isn’t it?
Who needs or wants all the stress that would be created by this conflict? Is it really worth it?
I’m hoping you did see the “not” as in – “My goal is too “not” to cheat him…”
The main reason is i want to do his story is he has the contacts to possibly sell it; and the Good Will Hunting stroke of luck is 1 in 20 million. Secondary reason is it’s what I think Hollywood wants. I’m 41 pages into this script, so i may finish i even it turns out to be a “writing example.”
This guy does have a good side despite his cunning manipulative behavior (which i, and others, see, but he probably thinks we don’t) and his very controlling ways. I didn’t receive an answer to my previous questions, but i do greatly appreciate this website where you answer question on your own time!
Best,
Vonn
Vonn — I’ve got a great idea, how about this >>> If you sell it through your connections, you get 75% and he gets 25%, and if he sells it through his connections, you get 25% and he gets 75%, like he wanted. That way, whoever makes the big money deal gets compensated handsomely for it, and the other person gets a nice chunk they can’t complain about; and if no one makes a sale, nothing is lost or gained and you still have a writing sample. ? Just an idea. Is risky but sort of fun because it puts the fire under both your butts to sell it. Keep in mind, the WGA and lawyers (who would most definitely be involved with a major studio sale) would have their own 2 cents on the matter as to who gets paid what as well.
Jaden – That 75/25 % is very, very close to what I had in mind. For it is worth something to have the big contacts. Bob (i’ll call him; not his real name) and myself still communicate. We haven’t become enemies. Our last meeting, I suggested we split it whatever the industry standard is – if there is one. You probably know as better than me that these splits can vary. 3 weeks ago, someone at the WGA said it’s usually 25% for story, 75% for writer. But I always get at least 3 opinions. I don’t want to cheat him either.
Bob’s busy with many other projects other than stories. The only way they may get written is if I write them – or he can find someone else he can “wrap around his finger”, as he said he could do (at out last meeting) when I basically said you’re going to have trouble totally controlling someone else. And I do think a judge is not concerned with how controlling someone can be: It’s who’s got the rights to the story, who did how much, etc.
Many thanks, again,
Vonn
[...] and Screenwriters ~ Write a Screenplay in One Month: Week Zero ~ What are Spec Scripts? ~ Who Gets Story Credit? ~ How to Format a Script for a Hollywood Movie ~ Screenwriter's Favorite Actors & Movies ~ Do I [...]
[...] and Screenwriters ~ Write a Screenplay in One Month: Week Zero ~ What are Spec Scripts? ~ Who Gets Story Credit? ~ How to Format a Script for a Hollywood Movie ~ Screenwriter's Favorite Actors & Movies ~ Do I [...]