I've dealt with HBO a few times... They're actually a pretty decent company with a few bad apples... Just like any other place. There's no way they would WANT to be trashed through media for any kind of theft when it comes to material. Even if they were complicit? It would be difficult to believe they knew they were complicit since they have more than enough money to pay for a concept or script. Having said that? It would take an Entertainment Attorney to GET THEIR ATTENTION.Good point. Slam dunk case = settle fast = less $ spent on attorney. Or you can fight. $$$$$.
Not quite UP on that either as per the explanation in the thread. I do know however, your Entertainment Attorney could easily get a few expert witnesses (if it actually went to court) to prove that ONE of the ACCEPTED methods of selling a screenplay is via email query. A good Entertainment Attorney could even STRETCH that to sending the script as an attachment without having been asked to read the script as a method for marketing a script.Yes, I'm not sure about his first mistake and the gifting of the screenplay (I'm not up on that), but the second mistake was emailing without representation. However that is not irreversible, just get your attorney and the case going if it has merit.
Sorry about the details. I fired it off like an idiot to any email address I could find (that didn't explicitly state to not send unsolicited)Late to the party...
I read through all this pretty quickly. I did not read that you sent the script but that you queried all those email addresses. Is that correct? It doesn't seem like it could be correct since you're saying they lifted actual dialogue from your script. The reason I'm asking is because IF you did query all those emails first and THEN they asked to read the script? You're golden as long as you have all those emails.
If you just shotgunned the actual script out there? You still have a case but it would be more difficult to win.
A good Hollywood Entertainment attorney would get HBO or whomever to settle out of court. As for your credit? Depends on how much of your script was actually lifted. If you've got correspondence that's tantamount to HBO or whomever actually admitting the lifting of your concept and or other elements? You're golden. You just need a good Hollywood Entertainment attorney.
They ain't cheap though. The MORE of a case you have? The more they might take your case on a settlement agreement. The less of a case you have? It's gonna cost.
Hard to tell how much of a case you have from this thread though.
Good luck no matt what.
Yes. 75k starting retainer (least expensive offer) to lawyer up vs. Warner, for a suit where there are holes in the case, despite me being 100% correct in my directionAnd if a good lawyer says you basically gifted it to them (as you stated), you should move on lesson learned because these cases are expensive and you only want to move forward (in my opinion) if it's a slam dunk.
I don't think I have a great case in the legal sense. Morally, I know I'm right. I could have chased this but I chose not to pursue it at that level, though I will send the letters you and others have mentioned and see if that will light any fire. I am a writer on some major platforms online and they probably wouldn't want this to get passed around, strong case or notIf the retainer is that high and you explained your case and they took a look at it, you probably do not have a good a case as you think.
I did. Sent copies of the dialogue to attorneys who then watched the episode. It doesn't matter I guess, or it isn't strong enough for them to go after WB. Yes, I was incredulousIf it was word-for-word dialogue the case is strong and you need to shop around.
Good stuff. Emailed him. Thanks a millTry this guy. He has gone after WB before. He may want to finally nail them.
Gerard P. Fox, Esq. | Gerard Fox Law
www.gerardfoxlaw.com
![]()
Suit Filed Against Warner Bros. in Screenplay Theft (Published 2013)
A lawsuit accuses Warner Brothers of stealing the screenplay of its 2012 movie “Trouble With the Curve” and of manufacturing evidence in their defense.www.nytimes.com
Good stuff, but for something potentially large, I would pay for the letter from a powerhouse. Thanks though!Another thing you can try if you can't afford an attorney is to find some legal services online where an attorney will write letters on your behalf for a much smaller fee. Coming from an attorney is going to require ANY STUDIO to forward the letter on up to their legal department. Until an actual attorney contacts these entities, they are just going to ignore you. That's standard operating procedure.
*EDIT: There are services like LetterDash that can do this for you on the cheap.
Well no, 75k retainer isn't insane for something like this. I shopped around, it's a going rate because it would require significant firepowerAre you saying $75,000 or $7,500 up front? If they say $75,000 up front, they may be trying to get rid of you.
Hi ,Well yeah, but I'm pretty sure you're wrong with your assumptions about what I wanted. Obviously the discussion was a stepping stone to a bargaining table. I didn't just want a friendly chat and that's it. You came out of the gate pretty hot for some reason. Of course I emailed them and wanted to talk. In the interest of time and money it was my hope they would have just said ok fine, shut up. Here's a writing credit and 10k. That'd be cool. I'm not greedy, I just want recognition where it's due. SO I'M NOT SURE EXACTLY WHAT I WANT EXCEPT A CREDIT![]()
Fiction, right?Hi ,
You remind me about one story I read long long ago, a writer wrote script and send it to agent who sold it to big studio and told the writer you didn’t clarify that your want to sell it!!! That writer made them payed him a lot with simple trick. He went to his friend and told him you own my script copyrights coz you wrote it not meand my name is your pen name, so go and sue them. The studio told him we got your email. The writer friend told them I don’t send any email and how the fucck trust any email. Finally they payed the writer friend 34 millions.