Film Rights & Loglines

Why films might not be able to legally sell

Some reasons that films might not be able to sell might be:

• Release forms not signed
• Extreme content
• Music copyright (difference between lyric and performance copyright)
• No permissions with regards to locations
• Using other peoples footage without permission
• Usage of brands
• Going beyond certification rules

Errors and Omissions insurance can protect you from things like this however it is quite expensive and not usually within the budget of smaller films. Some examples of films that have been affected by this are:

• Eddie Loves You – This film featured the character ‘Eddie’ which shows a strong representation of the Muppet, Elmo. Despite the film’s success at film festivals, the film was unable to be sold due to the usage of this copyrighted character.
• The Crush – In this film a character had a name similar to a real person. With the name being not that common, the person insisted that the character’s name was directly aimed at her. The film dubbed over her name which deteriorated the overall quality.
• Witless Protection – In this film, an actor was named after his role in another film. The problem with this is that the character’s name had copyright. This cost the production a huge loss in money and reputation.

• 48 Hrs – In this film, it features characters singing a song in which they dance to. The song wasn't the problem but in fact what one of the extra’s was wearing. With an ‘I <3’ t-shirt on, the place featured was not New York and the state decided to sue the production. Although the top was only featured for no more than a few seconds, legal costs soared to thousands.

After learning about this, we learnt about log lines, the short synopsis of a film. My two examples were:

                        Skyfall

Action film starring Daniel Craig. The British agent hunts down a terrorist who targeted MI6, resulting in a return to his childhood home.

Loyalty is tested as the past returns to haunt M and James Bond after the British Secret Service is the target of the UK’s biggest cyber terrorist attack.

Planet of the Apes (1969)

On the verge of human extinction, an astronaut crash lands on earth nearly 3,000 years after leaving it. After being captured by a race of talking apes, he is unable to escape, but he is the only human who can talk.