The Secret to Your Next Script Idea: Public Domain
Risk adverse Hollywood is currently obsessed with existing IP (intellectual property). They’re not that keen on original ideas, these days. Audiences love familiar stories that they know and love, and so do producers and investors - it can be a lot easier to imagine making money off of something that’s already a proven commodity.
Which is why having at least one script in your portfolio that’s based off existing intellectual property is never a bad thing. Especially these days, when it can sometimes feel like producers and execs need to know your script has an audience before they’ll even read it.
All that being said, getting the rights to hot existing content can be super expensive. And that’s assuming you’re the first one to try and get the rights for it. With all the rich and hungry producers out there, it could be a long shot. So where do you turn?
Enter your new best friend: The Public Domain:
What it is
The “public domain” refers to items that aren’t protected by copyright laws and are free for anyone to use, i.e. you can use them without fear of legal repercussions biting you in the butt.
The public domain has an endless list of novels, poems, old movies, and even songs, which for a screenwriter, can mean an endless list of inspiration for a new script.
Proceed with Caution
If used well, the public domain can lead any screenwriter to a wealth of new stories, but before diving in, you should know it can be a bit more complicated than it seems: some characters and properties in the public domain have the danger of infringing on trademarks from other interpretations of that specific public domain content. Confused yet? Let me give you an example, Alice in Wonderland is in the public domain, but if you emulate anything from Disney’s Alice in Wonderland movies, you would be infringing on their trademark. You can still tell a story based around Alice in Wonderland, but you have to make sure it’s your own unique version that is clearly different from the Disney interpretation (check out the Stanford Library for all the finer details on the public domain and copyright law). So if you find something in the public domain that you want to use in your writing, proceed with caution and do a bit of digging to see who else that property might be tied to instead of assuming it’s totally available.
Why it’s your new BFF
When you’re pitching to an executive, half of their brain is thinking, ‘how is this marketable? Is this worth the financial risk?’ Everyone in the entertainment industry is looking for a way to mitigate risk. If you’re a new writer who isn’t a household name (yet), you need some way to prove to the “powers that be” your script is worth taking a gamble on. A script based on a well-loved book, or classic character will help them see you as less risky. If you choose your public domain property well, and deliver a fresh take that is written brilliantly - your script could be very enticing to a lot of powerful people.
It’s all in how you SPIN it
When you start searching the public domain, you’re going to come across a lot of iconic stories and characters you’ve seen in a LOT of movies and TV shows. Stories like Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, Sherlock Holmes, The Wizard of Oz, and Robin Hood (just to name a few). The point isn’t to just rewrite these stories ‘as is’, it’s to look at them through your own unique POV and deliver a take Hollywood has never seen before. Maybe you change the gender of a familiar character, change the time and place the story is set, or tell the story from the perspective of a side character. Find a way to make something old feel new and exciting again.
Still Don’t Believe me?
A lot of big companies have made their names off of existing works. Disney is the heavy-weight champion of it. They have over 50 titles based off of existing IP like, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Arabian Nights. You might also be thinking, books and old movies are your only options for source material. But some great, and highly successful movies have been based off of songs and poems, like O Brother, Where Art Thou which is based off Homer’s poem, The Odyssey.
So, what are you waiting for?
Here are a few public domain sites to get you started: Project Gutenberg has over 50,000 free ebooks that are in the public domain, GoodReads has a great list of books as well, and if you’d rather listen than read, Librivox has a ton of free audiobooks.
Happy searching!
What existing IP inspires you? Let me know @CaroleKirsh!