ATTN: NOLLYWOOD WRITERS - POLICE YOUR SCRIPTS!

https://www.facebook.com/notes/emil-b-garuba/attn-nollywood-writers-police-your-scripts/3343167735325

It 3am and I can’t sleep. Here’s what’s on my mind...

I’m putting this up to complement a post on the Nollywood Scripts for Sale forum concerning a Nollywood film called Empty Coffin.

There’s nothing wrong with writing a story that is “inspired by” or “based on” a story that has been told before. In some industry circles, that’s basically a remake. Hollywood is nuts for them! The case here seems to be that the Empty Coffin script is a “remake” of an earlier script called The Diary. The names and locations have been “adjusted” for a specific audience. Again, no big deal. Bollywood thrives on them! You’d be hard pressed to find a Bollywood film that wasn’t an outright remake of another successful Hollywood film (sometimes even a Bollywood film???). But here’s where it gets tricky...

The script writers of Empty Coffin (released in 2009) seemingly remade another movie, albeit one that wasn’t released yet – because it WAS NEVER MADE! The Diary, written by Sean Atkinson, is still in script form to the best of my knowledge (@John thanx for the link), and still posted up on the scriptwriting site since the time of its original posting (WAAAAAAAY back in 2003!!!). So what does this mean?

It means someone got their hands on Sean’s script from the site, rewrote it for the Nigerian audience, and filmed it as Empty Coffin, thus adding another notch on the Nollywood sub-standard “insta”-moviemaking process. Now, some people might not see anything wrong with what has transpired here, but there is a big difference between a remake and a rip-off! To take someone else’s work and pass it off as your own... NOT COOL!!! I’m fairly certain Sean Atkinson didn’t plan for this when he uploaded his script on the forum to get some much needed constructive criticism from his peers (as I’m sure most writers do. I have).

And even though some still wouldn’t cry foul, the script writers of Empty Coffin should have been creative enough to tell the same tale in another way (switch the story structure around – start from the middle then flashback to the beginning, change the protagonist from male to female, and so forth). Now, you’re talking “remake!” There’s a nice little Wikipedia article explaining the intricacies of the remake: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remake

There’s nothing wrong in being “inspired by” an unproduced script either. Just don’t slap your name on it and call it yours! I did that once when I thought my co-writer had abandoned the project, only to surface two years later with his lawyer girlfriend threatening to sue my @$$! for copyright infringement! I acquiesced because he DID do most of the writing but burned out midway through the second act. I’m talking full-on mental breakdown. Guy had to be hospitalized. Real $#*%!

Anyway, I took my name off the script and left the project. Don’t know if it was ever filmed. Didn’t care… I went on to write something better that sold and another after that. WHO’S LAUGHING NOW?

There’s a common saying that there are no original stories anymore, only new and exciting ways to tell old ones. And it’s probably true! The advent of technology and especially CGI has brought about new levels to filmmaking never before imagined. I still think James Cameron’s AVATAR was just a jazzed-up update of Kevin Costner’s DANCES WITH WOLVES. And if you really want to get technical about it, they are both “inspired by” the granddaddy of all Chosen One archetypes – Edgar Rice Burroughs’s JOHN CARTER OF MARS who debuted as a literary hero in 1912 (a good 100 years ago). But that’s just me.

To all creative thinkers and Nollywood Filmmakers, let’s all show some integrity when applying our craft. Some might still say that Integrity stands in the way of making a buck in THIS economy (or any other), but we have to be better than that for our industry to grow to the heights we all dream of. Let’s not let a few bad apples spoil the whole bunch. Sure enough, where there is growth, there are parasites. Let us focus on the positive aspects of the creative process, but be wary of these parasites when they rear their ugly heads.

Now, what are the ways around this, especially in a system where there is little or no recourse to address such issues as screenplay theft? Simple: POLICE YOUR SCRIPTS! You can do this in many ways:

You can watermark your script (from start to finish). I hear M. Night Shyamalan is notorious for doing this. I’ve also seen a script that came in a lock and key contraption. They say writers are paranoid. Well, I say we are not paranoid enough!

If I could find a way to personally upload the script from my living brain into that of a room full of producers I WOULD!

Another less-uncanny way would be to copyright your screenplay by registering it with the appropriate guild in your area (if one exists at all). I registered all my screenplays with the Writers Guild of America. It’s second nature to me. My screenwriting instructor drilled it into my head when I started writing. I can afford it so why the hell not. A more domestic approach would be to approach a lawyer who specializes in intellectual property rights. They’ll get you sorted out.

It’s either that or take a loaded gun to every production meeting and script writing workshop. I guarantee you’ll never work in this town (Nollywood) again!

My ultimate point of all this is to protect your work. I’ve had no problems so far with any of my scripts being plagiarized (knock on some serious wood). But I’d know – I can account for all my scripts. I’ve got a paper and electronic trail going back years. And just to be extra safe, I watermark my name on every page, rub salt over the edges, and place it in a clear polythene bag until opened.

The same goes for electronic files. Every email is stored and linked to a real person, complete with name, address, phone number, and possibly their favorite food (you don’t need to know how I know how to do that). Unnecessary by Nollywood standards? Maybe. Precautionary? You bet. Paranoid? AsF@%&!

It’s called the entertainment business for a reason (emphasis on the business part), where the bottom line isn’t if you made a good movie, but if you made a profit or not! It’s never escaped my mind for a second. But for now I just want to tell some exciting stories (some in new and exciting ways) to entertain and inspire the next generation of filmmakers and audiences alike.

I'm currently writing a Nollywood "remake" of The Fast and The Furious. Yes, I know. Tall order right? But then when you break it down it's really not such a crazy idea. Plus, F&F was just a "remake" of Point Break anyway. Check out the premise:

A young police officer infiltrates a local street gang to investigate a series of kidnappings for ransom in the community. Things get complicated (don't they always) when the undercover officer falls in love with the gang leader's sister and must chose between her and and stopping her brother's crew.

CUT & PRINT! It practically writes itself. I call it OUTSIDE THE LAW. Soon to be a major Nollywood blockbuster!

It could also be inspired by Resevoir Dogs, but let's not go there. You get the gist by now. What's old is new, and what's new will be old. And if you can't bring back what's old in a radically new way, then don't bring it back at all! 

It’s now 4am. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Until next time, keep on writing!

Emil @ Rated E

March 2012

Tired as hell!