tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496585120938599514.post362443827703703499..comments2023-05-04T03:37:04.200-07:00Comments on The Rouge Wave: From the MailbagJulie Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14690487940378619749noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496585120938599514.post-68651959443368015072008-08-18T14:03:00.000-07:002008-08-18T14:03:00.000-07:00Oh, Rouge-Wave Girlie, you tease me so. Guest cont...Oh, Rouge-Wave Girlie, you tease me so. Guest contributer? Are you serious?<BR/><BR/>Another thought on "stealing" ideas.<BR/><BR/>Forget it. What you should be stealing is great character descriptions (and you might as well steal dialog from overheard conversations, too)<BR/><BR/>*Here's a sample of a really great piece of character description: <I>Vale has freezer burns on his soul.</I> 7 little words which describe <I>Walter Vale</I> to a T. Perfect. (The movie is <I>The Vistor</I>, the actor who potraits Vale is <I>Richard Jenkins</I>). Does it matter how old Vale is? No. White, Black, Asian? No. Male or Female? No. None of it matters. <I>Everything</I> you need to know and more, is in those 7 little words. The essence of the film is in that character description.<BR/><BR/>From that description we know Vale is detached from family, friends, life. We know that he or she is tired, worn-out, beaten by life's circumstances and challenges. We know that Vale is very near the end of his or her rope. Beyond redemption? Maybe. A lost soul. Yes, but a <I>compelling</I> lost soul. One thing is clear from those 7 little words, Vale will be worth watching.<BR/><BR/>So, don't worry about somebody stealing your script, worry about your writing. If you write great stories--with great character descriptions and dialog--no one will be able to steal your talent. You'll find your place in Hollywood.<BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/>So says RJ Smith in an article about Richard Jenkins in the Sept issue of <I>Los Angeles</I> magazine.Kirklandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04858762006283118835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496585120938599514.post-79523300548063321192008-08-18T12:40:00.000-07:002008-08-18T12:40:00.000-07:00My thoughts --1. Most of the people who would stea...My thoughts --<BR/><BR/>1. Most of the people who would steal your ideas aren't good enough to do anything with them anyway.<BR/><BR/>2. It makes 0 logistical sense for a producer. If they steal the idea, they have to hire a more expensive writer to do the work -- it's cheaper to just pay you for the screenplay.<BR/><BR/>3. On The Happening -- what I found funny is that Hitchcock thought of that idea before M. Night was born and I think there was a Twilight Episode to the same effect.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, it's not the idea, it's the execution.<BR/><BR/>I can give you an idea about a father fish swimming across the ocean to save his son's life -- but that doesn't mean you're going to come up with Finding Nemo.Dave Alehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03474450946075032613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496585120938599514.post-57174646101583517652008-08-18T11:42:00.000-07:002008-08-18T11:42:00.000-07:00People are too in love with their own ideas to ste...People are too in love with their own ideas to steal mine. That's been my experience.Christinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14805340886472955460noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496585120938599514.post-27350880133437586262008-08-18T10:54:00.000-07:002008-08-18T10:54:00.000-07:00tim o'reilly (the publisher), has an excellent sum...tim o'reilly (the publisher), has an excellent summary of this problem:<BR/><BR/>""Obscurity is a far greater threat to authors and creative artists than piracy."<BR/><BR/>a form of this could be added to your 'patterns in writers' list. <BR/><BR/>perhaps something like "inexperienced writers are as unrealistically concerned about someone stealing their idea as they are convinced that someone will buy it."deepstructurehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07583913547299709213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496585120938599514.post-79837587603389996732008-08-18T10:53:00.000-07:002008-08-18T10:53:00.000-07:00John August has a post on the subject.I mention i...John August <A HREF="http://johnaugust.com/archives/2006/what-if-my-movie-is-too-much-like-another" REL="nofollow"> has a post on the subject</A>.<BR/><BR/>I mention it here because one of the commenters on that post echoes something I also heard: that Spielberg is frequently amazed that he would have a brilliant idea for a movie only to soon discover somebody else was already working on it. He figured all these ideas are out there in the 'ether', waiting to be grabbed.<BR/><BR/>Most recently this happened to me with The Happening. I was anxious it would kill prospects for my similar story -- by being awfully good or awfully bad.<BR/><BR/>Thankfully for me, Shyamalan's take on it was uninspiring and plain loony in places, so I can still get my shot in. BUT, that's not to say someone else, somewhere in the world, isn't thinking the same thing right now, and they might beat me to it and tell a similar story in a much more entertaining way.<BR/><BR/>As a Creator, you take your lumps graciously and philosophically when you lose the race to get that new idea first to the screen.<BR/><BR/>What you DON'T do is launch a legal war against the studio or the writer who you believe stole your precious mojo. (e.g. Try to take down Ted and Terry because you posted your pirate-themed screenplay on your blog two years before the first Pirates came out.)<BR/><BR/>Now there *is* the infrequent case of a writer having justifiable concerns about his or her screenplay being misused. If you doubt this, go listen to the Joe Eszterhas interview on the <A HREF="http://www.edrants.com/segundo/bss-73-joe-eszterhas/" REL="nofollow"> Bat Segundo show</A> where he tells the story about his agent discovering another writer had submitted one of Joe's earlier screenplays under his own name. It happens. But unless you are Joe Eszterhas it's almost certainly not going to happen to you.<BR/><BR/>What you SHOULD do (not being Joe Eszterhas) is go back to basics with your 'stolen' idea -- because really, somebody just beat you to it, right? Go back to basics and rework it, juggle the elements, and you've still got something worthwhile -- if it was that way to begin with. Mix it up... werewolves in cyberspace... aliens in kindergarten... leprechauns win a golf tournament...<BR/><BR/>Plus, as Julie would remind you, you've still got that script as 1) good writing experience, and 2) one more writing sample when interested folk ask the inevitable: "What else yer got?"Belzecuehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11947687721478725802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496585120938599514.post-46670999276487945802008-08-18T09:41:00.000-07:002008-08-18T09:41:00.000-07:00Kirkland, thank you for consistently contributing ...Kirkland, thank you for consistently contributing informed and helpful comments. If you ever want to contribute something to the Rouge Wave along the lines of an article, I know the editor; I can hook you up :)Julie Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14690487940378619749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496585120938599514.post-81682118649350854102008-08-18T09:34:00.000-07:002008-08-18T09:34:00.000-07:00@Paranoid:Do "ideas" stolen?In a word, "yes."Will ...@Paranoid:<BR/><BR/>Do "ideas" stolen?<BR/><BR/>In a word, "yes."<BR/><BR/>Will <I>yours</I> get stolen?<BR/><BR/>In a word, "yes."<BR/><BR/>How can you prevent that from happening?<BR/><BR/>In a word, "never-mind."<BR/><BR/>In a phrase, "Don't think. And don't allow any one else to think."<BR/><BR/>Here's a news flash, and I forget who said this originally--Oh, let's face it, it's a convenient absentmindedness because I don't want the original thinker of this idea to know I stole it from him (or her--let's be really mysterious here)--but, "there are no new ideas, only new ways to tell them."<BR/><BR/>And you can quote me on that (I mean, what the hell, it's not my own idea).<BR/><BR/>If you go around worrying about people ripping off your ideas, you'll never get anywhere in this business. Look around: TV, movies, books, whatever medium you look at, is any of that shit <I>new</I>?<BR/><BR/>Somebody else once said (yeah, this thought isn't original either), "It's not the story, it's <I>how</I> you tell the story..."<BR/><BR/>Concentrate on being the best storyteller you can be, forget all that other stuff, and you'll be alright.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com