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Urgent ADVICES/suggestions for a screenplay deal.

A

ApeX

Dear IndieTalk members,

I hope everyone is doing well. I need your kind advices and suggestions for something very urgent and important.

So, I have written a story. Please don’t take it wrong or make fun of it. A movie based on this story could be very successful and can easily gross 1 billion.
So, now what to do ? I want it big and justified. If I get to sell the story/concept, what should be a fair price range at present days ?

What price/profit should one deserve/demand; if a movie made (story,screenplay,direction) by his, hits billion dollar gross.

Also I need some ideas about real profit regarding successful movies.
So, how is profit calculated ? How is distribution fee calculated ?
In a simple way, what profit amount is expected excluding making budget, distribution fee for a 1 billion hit with making budget 200 million ?

And what price/profit, the story/screenplay and director should deserve/demand in Hollywood these days.

Thank you for reading all this. Now you all good people, please give some advice/suggestions. I need them very urgently.
N.B. Once the deal finalised, I will have some gifts for you. I promise.

Thanks
Ash
 
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rayw said:
Nah, it's okay.
Seriously.

There's a time for all relationships to mature and move on. ;)

I ain't got what he needs.
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Yeah, you ain't got an inside look on deals for concepts alone. Y'know, the ones that don't exist?

And I hate that I don't have access to movies based on novels without the author's permission. Damn me. ;)

And I'm with Cracker Funk. I love this thread. :D
 
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I don't understand why you all beat this guy up.

Yes, he's unrealistic about his goals and he doesn't fully
understand how the process works. But I sure don't see
"troll" here.
 
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If you haven't post anything before this post in this thread, then please skip this post and write something according the 1st post of this thread.
Thanks all for the info and assistance. Since there are numbers of responses since my last poet, I am going to respond all them here. So this post gonna be multi-quoted and and I will write below the quoted portion to each specific post. For better readability, I am quoting only those matter.
Budget:0 said:
Let me get this straight. Are you basically asking if a novel has rights to it that can't be used without permission of the author (or persuasion and helluva lot of money)? If so, :yes: yes, yes, yes.

Unless the novel is in the public domain, you cannot create a film version of it without the permission of the author.
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Thanks. What will happen, if someone edits the character's name and little changes ?
Alcove Audio said:
You may want to start with some research/reading on intellectual property and the rights and laws pertaining thereto.
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Thanks.
Budget:0 said:
I don't see what's funny about you being rude to someone who's trying to help you.
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Rude ? I never knew that before reading this. Yeah I knew that he tried to help me by providing some good info and resource links. Even the video he mentioned made me laugh. :). Never mind,but the last part of his posts were out of tune according to the need of my queries and also he directed me to "drop the obsequious servile approach which reeks and to toughen it up a bit". I just followed him. Still I appreciate his help and welcome anything good and decent.
arrodiii said:
I think he's just being a troll
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I wish for a titanic. No troll.
directorik said:
That’s real info. You are confusing “story” with “story rights”.
What sold for 19.5 million was not the story but the rights to
use the Terminator stories in future movies and TV shows. As
others have said - if you have the rights to a film franchise then
you can sell those rights for a lot of money. If you have a story
that has not already proven to be very. very commercial you
cannot.

You have done some research on franchise movies and stories
from comic books. If you can find an example of a writer without
previous credits selling an idea or story without writing a script,
then you will have the proof you need.

Anyway I see you have gone and will no longer read anything here.
Too bad. I tried to help. Does than mean I no longer get my gift?
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Ok, thanks for the clarification. Does it mean, if I publish the book first then I will get copyright/trademark of the story. If so, should I publish the story as a book with limited copies (say 100 nos) and then get the copyright 1st or I should just get copyrighted the screenplay.

Gone ! What does it mean ? It's too good you tried to help and I appreciate it. And about your gift, it will come very soon.:yes:
dlevanchuk said:
I wouldn't mind buying your idea for 20 mil. But first-What is it?
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You are most welcome.If you are serious, we can proceed. Still, it's an idea. :)
Budget:0 said:
Oh definitely. Not even a good one.


One time on another forum, I saw a troll that at least made me think on some sort of philosophical level. I was almost sad when the Admin took the banhammer to 'em.
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Mr/s. Budget:0 , I am sure this post have no connection to this thread and deserves no response. But since I opened this thread for a good reason(at least for me), I want it fair and justified. I can see that you have 15 posts count and out of which 5 are posted in this thread only.Other than your very 1st post, the last 4 posts are irrelevant and unnecessary to the thread topic(at least for me). I neither want to be rude you nor to anyone else, but I don't like and unwelcome few of your last comments and irrelevant activity.
Waste of time and server resources.

directorik said:
I don't understand why you all beat this guy up.

Yes, he's unrealistic about his goals and he doesn't fully
understand how the process works. But I sure don't see
"troll" here.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the understanding. I sincerely admit that I knew nothing before 24 hours than what ever I came to know now. I need to know a lot of things
And I hope some may accept the facts and may try to help.

Thanks.

Budget:0 said:
I thought he was being sincere until he started arguing with people that know more about the process than him.
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Again, I am not arguing with anyone. It's just my quest to know something. Again I appreciate your help but I sincerely unwelcome any irreverent posts. Bye.

----------
I admit, I don't know how some process work in this industry and I want to know something real and serious.But in a brighter side I never want to hurt anyone and true to myself & others here.

I am using basic free membership here. Very soon I will subscribe to a paid Membership and once things get settled everyone involved here will be rewarded.

Thanks
 
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Can some one please suggest steps to be taken in order to protect(copyright) an idea/concept/story at the earliest possibility step by step in a simple and concise way.

Thanks.
 
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ApeX said:
Can some one please suggest steps to be taken in order to protect(copyright) an idea/concept/story at the earliest possibility step by step in a simple and concise way.

Thanks.
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I will suggest to speak to an attorney in that deals in copyright/intellectual property matters. Granted you can gain some knowledge by doing your own research but you will still need to speak to an attorney for the other things that you might overlook.
 
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ApeX said:
Ok, thanks for the clarification. Does it mean, if I publish the book first then I will get copyright/trademark of the story. If so, should I publish the story as a book with limited copies (say 100 nos) and then get the copyright 1st or I should just get copyrighted the screenplay.
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You can publish the story as a book if you wish. But you're still
confused about the value of your idea. The reason the story rights
to the "Terminator" franchise sold for $19.5 million is because
the previous two movies made $594,835,182. Just because you
publish say 100 copies of a book does not mean you can then
sell the story rights for anything.

My advice is to write the screenplay.

ApeX said:
Thanks.
And how to copyright/trademark a title ?
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You cannot copyright a title. Not all titles can be protected by
trademark law. Titles of works that are part of a series or become
synonymous with a particular author or publisher are protected
under the unfair competition law. Once a series is established,
each work in the series reinforces the trademark.
 
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ApeX said:
Thanks.

Rude ? I never knew that before reading this. Yeah I knew that he tried to help me by providing some good info and resource links. Even the video he mentioned made me laugh. :). Never mind,but the last part of his posts were out of tune according to the need of my queries and also he directed me to "drop the obsequious servile approach which reeks and to toughen it up a bit". I just followed him. Still I appreciate his help and welcome anything good and decent.


Thanks
Click to expand...

Sorry about the rudeness or my posts, but that was bouncing off the way I read your one post. I assumed you were trolling, and trolls are never well-received on forums.

And sorry for taking your post the wrong way.
 
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Now back to me being productive....

Writer here...

I don't see how releasing your book would get you any exposure, unless you pubbed with Simon and Schuster or HarperCollins or another one of the big six, and even some well-known authors don't pub with them. Matter a fact, I don't think King started publishing with Simon and Schuster until the late ninties, and that was over 20 years after he started! It's a long ride with that road. Plus, if you want to sell the book to a big publisher, you have to get an agent. With small pub, it's optional, but with big pub, it's a requirement. And even then, they'll take a while on your work. Getting a book like that set up with them could take years if you count in the submission process and the release date. Also, don't forget about how long it would take you to write it! A novel's first draft usually takes the average novelist one month to two months to complete. Some take longer, and some can complete a 50K word novel in 3 days! But a starting novelist usually takes the longest.


Just a thought, because you working on a novel will only hinder your process of possibly getting this film made/done.
 
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Thanks all for valuable suggestions and time.

I have decided that I will prepare the screenplay and will copyright it with WGA.
But new ideas are booming and now I am more interested to know how to set up a small studio and distribution company. If you have any input please share this.

Thanks
 
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ApeX said:
Thanks all for valuable suggestions and time. ...
now I am more interested to know how to set up a small studio and distribution company.
If you have any input please share this. Thanks
Click to expand...

This forum is for screenwriting. Please address this in other forums: Business & Legal, On the Set, Distribution Sales & Marketing. You will reach a more targeted group that can answer those for you.

While some of the readers of the screenwriting forum are generalists, you will be better served by asking the right question in the right forum. Good luck.
 
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FantasySciFi said:
This forum is for screenwriting. Please address this in other forums: Business & Legal, On the Set, Distribution Sales & Marketing. You will reach a more targeted group that can answer those for you.

While some of the readers of the screenwriting forum are generalists, you will be better served by asking the right question in the right forum. Good luck.
Click to expand...

Thanks. :)
 
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