ChD Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 Don't know if this is the right place to post, but I was wondering about something. How are adapted screenplays made? Apart from the obvious: they are adapted from a game/TV/article. My question is: Who makes the first move usually?I mean, is it the studio who purchases the rights for that movie, or the screen writer who pitches an adapted screenplay to the studio, who then buys the rights and produces the movie. Is there something wrong If you adapt a screenplay, copy right it (Seeing that it's from another source, therefore not yours, is it illegal?), and then sell it to the studio which then produces. Can't seem to get this question off my mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plain Old Tele Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 Don't know if this is the right place to post, but I was wondering about something. How are adapted screenplays made? Apart from the obvious: they are adapted from a game/TV/article. My question is: Who makes the first move usually?I mean, is it the studio who purchases the rights for that movie, or the screen writer who pitches an adapted screenplay to the studio, who then buys the rights and produces the movie. Is there something wrong If you adapt a screenplay, copy right it (Seeing that it's from another source, therefore not yours, is it illegal?), and then sell it to the studio which then produces. Can't seem to get this question off my mind. It depends. If the rights to a story (article, comic book, novel, play, etc) are available, there's nothing stopping you (or anyone else) from contacting the publisher or agent and optioning the story for some amount of money. This gives you a window of time where you have the movie rights. Of course, a studio or production company can also do this and then just hire a writer to adapt it. While you have the rights, you can write a script and sell it to a studio (or production company)... or they can option it from you. There are screenwriters who've made a healthy living simply having a handful of scripts optioned again and again every year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChD Posted June 5, 2013 Author Share Posted June 5, 2013 It depends. If the rights to a story (article, comic book, novel, play, etc) are available, there's nothing stopping you (or anyone else) from contacting the publisher or agent and optioning the story for some amount of money. This gives you a window of time where you have the movie rights. Of course, a studio or production company can also do this and then just hire a writer to adapt it. While you have the rights, you can write a script and sell it to a studio (or production company)... or they can option it from you. There are screenwriters who've made a healthy living simply having a handful of scripts optioned again and again every year. Thanks, that's really helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
