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Legalities in doing Remake

IndieBudget

IndieBudget

I want to do a remake of sorts of a 1974 European film. I know that I would be in trouble if I copied the name and the storyline exactly. What is the rule of thumb in a story being similar ? I will change the country as it was shot in Europe. I will want to change all of the plot points but keep a similar theme in the movie. If my story is somewhat similar would I run into trouble ?

Let's say it was a rehash of Smokey & the Bandit ( it's not ) . Can I do a movie where a guy who owes the mob $50,000 and if he gets a payload ( cocaine ) cross country in 36 hrs he is free of the debt ? What if there is a country Sheriff named Buford chasing him ? If the car he drives is a Ford Pinto.. the storyline is similar but not exactly the same as the original.

What is a resource for getting info on how closely one can do a rehash of an older copyrighted movie w/o getting into hot water. ? Any knowledgeable feedback would be appreciated.
 
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To my amateur ears it sounds like you're making a different movie with a similar theme?? There is no way around this. It happens all the time. To use your scenario of Smokey. This is very common reoccuring theme. The good guy has to complete some task for the bad guy or bad things will happen to him or those he loves. I would think as long as you're not blatantly ripping off a movie, similar themes are inevitable.
 
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I would like to keep the story very similar, mebbe even do a similar ending. Have the villian killed off in a similar fashion. The lead tormented and having to face an identical horrible situation and get revenge in a different fashion.

I figure I would take the original movie, keep the pace and twist each scene to make it different w/ different names etc..

I guess if I used the original name in any way, it would be an issue
 
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Hey Eugene,

See if you can find a copy of the TV movie PARTS: THE CLONUS HORROR and THE ISLAND. Talk about copyright infringement? They even use the same names and places. The big screen version shows more than the TV movie version. So, they made some changes to the storyline.
 
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This is something I would be interested in finding out about too, Most stories have a similar structure so in a way the films would be similar anyway but I'm sure if the places and names are different you should be fine :)
 
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There are two different aspects of the question going on here.

Can it be done legally?
Have people gotten away with it?

There isn’t a resource with a list of how closely one can get to
material before the copyright owner has a legal case. Themes and
ideas cannot be copyrighted so a writer is free to write a story
about a guy who owes the mob money and takes a job of driving a
payload of cocaine across the country to cover the debt. I would
suspect that if character names were the same and the cars used
were the same the copyright owner may have a case.

But there isn’t an actual list; this you CAN do, this you CAN’T
do. A filmmaker just needs to use their own judgment on what’s
best to try.

There are many, many stories that a similar to other stories so
you’re fine there. One of the mainstays of Nicholson and Arkoff’s
AIP, Corman’s New World and Band’s Empire was low budget versions
of hit studio films. One of the best (in my opinion) is John
Sayles version of “Jaws”. It’s so close to the original it makes
me laugh.

But there is always the possibility that the copyright holder will
sue or issue a cease and desist order.
 
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