Your Ideas Will Be Stolen – Sharing Your Script
It never fails to astound me to hear a screenwriter admit that they’re too afraid their work will be stolen if they share it with anyone – they usually have a horror story about a friend who wrote their first script, sent it to Hollywood, didn’t hear back, and just a few months later when watching a movie, they realized the jokes and character and even story they created for their script were all flickering on screen.
My first reaction to this can be summed up with this: Urban legend.
Don’t get me wrong, screenwriters have taken producers, executives, and companies to court before regarding contract infringement, copyright violation, and even theft, but there’s little chance the story above will even occur – for two reasons:
1. Your first script
Let’s face it, it wasn’t that good … in fact, it sucked. As a first-time screenwriter, do you really believe your work will be gold beyond all others – enough so for a jaded producer to invest their time and effort into it for several years without pay? If so, congrats – you’ve got the level of arrogance and confidence needed to conquer this town. If not, you probably realize you need to work at your craft just as Tiger Woods and Koby Bryant did while first starting out. I don’t mean to sound harsh, but it’s better you know ahead of time so you can focus on cranking out a lot of crap before trying to write your masterpiece. Hey even Hemingway said “The first draft of everything is always shit.”
2. Parallel development
I’m not sure who first used this term, but it basically defines the occurrence of two screenwriters, or any creative for that matter, that come up with very similar ideas at the same time. While it might seem your screenplay was completely ripped off, the fact is that the movie you think ripped you off was already in the making long before your baby was even a thought – it takes years to make a film
The point here is this – and the sooner you realize this the better:
Your ideas will be stolen
Here’s how it happens, and here’s why it okay:
A screenwriter will submit their work to a company of some sort, and their readers will review the work. Regardless of the rating, that reader has experienced the story – like all inspiration and past experiences, this might lead to similar ideas and similar development on a subconscious level. In other words, a reader, whether an intern, pro, exec, or producer, those who read your work might use pieces of it here and there in their own work. Though it sucks this happens, it also happens subconsciously so there’s no one to blame.
Though this does happen, I’d highly recommend getting over your fear of sharing your work. As a people business where everything depends on who you know, it’s best to let your work get out there and be seen – if you don’t, its pretty much impossible to start your career.
The one thing that put me at ease after first hearing that your work will be stolen is this: it’s actually more expensive for producers to steal a script than buying or optioning it legitimately – considering the legal fees and reputation damage.
Overall, realize that sharing your work is how you’re going to create a career – and that sometimes people forget the source of their inspiration. This doesn’t mean it’s right, but it doesn’t mean it’s wrong either.
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Well, of course, ideas will be stolen because you can’t copyright an “idea”. You can only copyright how you present said idea through your characters and situations (and script registration – duh.
).
That said, part of the problem is that sites out there like InkTip, while presenting themselves as “helping” the fledgling screenwriter, actually hinder the creative process by having the actual script and your story’s logline as separate components of your listing.
I fell into that trap, myself.
Just days after listing my screenplay on the site, I was cruising the “Interwebs” for any “success stories” through InkTip and came across a message board post from someone who claimed that their job while working as a production assistant was to scour InkTip’s loglines every Thursday for ideas to steal.
Over the six months I had my script hosted, I received 75 logline views and only *2* actual script downloads. Hmmmmm….
Needless to say, as a result of MY experience, I’d never again support a “help-you-out-by-getting-your-script-out-there” site that doesn’t make it MANDATORY for a company (prod/co – studio – management – etc.) to download your script when looking around your listing.
In a “marketplace of ideas”, having a category JUST for logline listings is like handing a stranger a blank check that you’ve already signed.
Want my loglines? Read my scripts…. then, we can talk.
CHRIS,
I agree with you. Unfortunately, I was a victim of theft by a greedy executive producer. My script was stolen, given to another writer who re-wrote it and they used 90% of my original script–even character names. I was angry because I worked very hard on that script, but I am a writer, I moved on. I can always write more scripts. I do feel its very rare, but it happens. I’m living proof. I agree that first time writers shouldn’t worry about this. I was well in the business about ten years when this happened.
If you are a first time writer show people your work. Not anybody…but producers, directors and whoever would read it. That’s the idea, right?
Like Chris says, you can’t have a career unless people read your work.
Chris, this is a great article mate! because this is what I have been thinking throughout the days, and I’ve always had the fear of having my concept or ideas being stolen by some company. Still even now, I’m having this grudge that I wouldn’t want to get my ideas stolen…what should I do? so how are you going to deal with his? lets say you spent years writing a script, and you’ve been doing alot of conceptual thinking and creativity, alot of the stuff that you believe would be different and new for people to see…but then it gets stolen by another company. How would you react? what about protecting your scripts? is it possible to get like an agent to secure your scripts? I thought they have those kind of process in the states?
I don’t know because currently I am living in Thailand..and Thailand has a big problem with piracy, it is everywhere and people who made films here had told me that companies are always stealing ideas from writers, and they never wanted to hire the writer or even buy the script. honestly I am troubled to think about this…so what do you think?
This is a great article on a common fear, in all types of writing, not just for screen. I once had a stranger phone me at home to ask for advice on his book, which he assured me was worth at least $1million… but he couldn’t actually tell me what this story was ‘in case you steal it.’
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I agree that a writer has to share (show) their work to sell it, but it’s not an urban myth that people have the ideas, scenes, characters, and situations, stolen by producers and other writers. It has happened to me many times, both from pitching TV and films. Yes, it happens subconsciously, but it also happens blantently because these people have egos that don’t believe (and rightly so) that you can do anything about it because they have more lawyers than you. This was told to me directly by a writer/producer at Star Trek, who went on to use much of my content. What usually happens is that they steal parts of your script, not the whole thing. If they like a scene or a character, it will magically become theirs. There is no protection against this. On the whole, most people are honest. The system isn’t perfect, and could use an overhaul, but that probably won’t happen because the industry believes it must protect itself at all costs. Just read the standard contract for submitting anything to any studio or production company. Bottom line: you just have to take your chances.
for me, if someone steals my work it would suck but in a way its their loss because the idea didnt come from them and if my idea was really good for others to steal it then I’ll still feel proud of my work and will keep throwing it out there. I just wonder though if people that do this kind of thing feel content with themselves? there is nothing to be proud of,,
Here, in Bollywood-tollywood land, we call it “inspiration” or “inspired by” such and such Hollywood film of the 1930s to 2009. Sajid Khan, a friend of mine till recently earned his bread by drawing to the audience’s notice the copied scenes, dialogues, scenarios of innumerable Hindi films through his popular tv shows.
Writers who can “adapt” from a bunch of DVDs are in high demand in the land which manufactures the most amount of feature films in the world.
An “original” script or even an “original” film is suspect with respect to it’s “commercial” viability, and is generally looked down upon till it’s release.
It’s a star run system turning in to a young corporate executive run setup.
So many of us trained from the premier film institute of India keep writing scripts which we stash away in our Bank Lockers, waiting for the day that we find ourselves in the correct ‘network’ of people to share them so that they see the light of the day.
It is indeed very scary and daunting, when stealing is a way of life in this film land.
So i do not subscribe to go out there with either my story lines or scripts nor would i advise it to my students.
After 3 modestly successful and much lauded feature film scripts, i tread with caution…
Well, contrary to your article, my first screenplay DID get lots of heat and took 2nd place out of 2,300 entries in a major screenwriting competition. Academy Award nominated director’s prodco contacted me, etc., etc. Anyway, long story short, I have meeting notes from my producer assoc. who met with the producer of the first film of the writer who ripped me off. In addition, this producer (who loved my script, by the way) had worked for many years for the prodco. that did three of the films starred in by the main actor of my stolen work. They used the same title as mine and the same exact premise and didn’t even have it copyrighted until 2007. Mine was registered in 1995! Someone upthread said they know they have the lawyer power and you don’t. He couldn’t have summed it up any better. These scumbags will spend a million dollars preventing the honest writer from getting his 100K just to maintain this system of free ideas they get from unsolicited scripts. It’s a treasure trove for the unscrupulous. Imagine if they didn’t have a pool to steal from anymore. They lose a lawsuit and their endless stream of ideas dries up. No wonder they work so hard to squash the great unwashed low-life writer.
Well, for some one who has ideas galore swimming in her head…. sometimes quickly penned down or then keyboarded away….. am waiting to come out with my first script. and honestly ( at this point) i would feel sheer happiness if someone rejected it at first and then a few months later i would see/hear/ applaud that very script- albeit with different character names and other situations. ( maybe i feel this way because am waiting and waiting to write my very very first – script………
resolves of keeping count of ideas somehow never seem to work… hopefully it might in the future….. very grateful for site’s like this…..
Oh yes, new writers get ripped off all the time. You may be a beginner, but that doesn't mean you're not a good writer. The tactics mentioned by earlier posters here are used all too frequently. Producers, execs et al are well aware of the fact that good writers don't necessarily know how to protect their work. Read books, talk to industry attorneys, go to seminars, everything! You may find yourself spending as much time learning to protect yourself as you did learning scriptwriting, but do it anyway. A year of educating yourself is more preferable to a lifetime of regret. BTW, InkTip, which was discussed by Russ above, is one place to avoid. I've read lots of complaints from writers about InkTip and that many people can't be wrong.
this has made very interesting read. I think what inktip has done is solely wrong. When your a writer waiting for that break and places such as inktip evapourise your work and stop you in your tracks.
Ofcourse people steal ideas doesnt matter if your a well known writer or not.
I think such people and companys that do should be named and shamed.
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