Can you write fan scripts of movies on Hubpages?

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   SPomposelloposted 13 years ago

   First off, Hello to all and Merry Christmas! I'm new to Hubpages, my profile isn't complete as of yet though. However, I was wondering about one of my planned hubpages projects... I was contemplating writing my own screenplay versions of potential movies that were done the wrong way (i.e. The Star Wars Prequels), they will be rewritten from scratch but will use some things that worked in the actual movies (i.e. certain pieces of dialogue, an action sequence or two, some characters, sub plots) but overall they will be different screenplays.
   
   My concerns:
   
   1) Would I be able to post something like this on Hubpages and monetize it?
   
   2) Obviously, some of these scripts will have curse words or some graphic descriptions in it, will Google Adsense and the other affiliates have an issue with this even though it's all fan fiction?
   
   3) Any precautions to avoid copyright infringement? One thing I plan to do is include an Important Notice before each script that states essentially states no copyright infringement intended, purely for entertainment purposes, and inspired/based on work created by (insert writer of movie here). Something to that effect.
   
   4) Since I don't plan to film any of these scripts and they're just for readership entertainment, do I need to copyright them prior to putting them on Hubpages?

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2. 0

   Website Examinerposted 13 years ago

   You seem destined for trouble. Use of copyrighted material is subject to the "fair use" doctrine - commercial, non-commercial, or other motives is largely irrelevant. But there are additional restrictions - so-called "moral rights," which you could easily end up violating when using excerpts to essentially criticize and attempting to improve upon the work that you are quoting. In that case, any use of such material may be prohibited altogether. Then there are trademark issues and the rights concerning publicity - the list goes on...

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      Donna Ferrierposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Amen to that, WE. As someone who has published books, I can tell you that the work you describe, SP, pretty closely falls under the category of "fan fiction," which I know a lot of POD publishers won't allow because the work is based on someone else's copyrighted material. I doubt HP would look favorably upon it either.

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3. 69

   SPomposelloposted 13 years ago

   Maybe I'm describing it the wrong way. I wouldn't be using the ENTIRE script in my script. Let's look at the Star Wars prequels for example, they're all a complete mess, I would redo the story structure from top to bottom but i may include some ideas or characters from the original prequel scripts but nothing would be EXACTLY word for word.
   
   For instance... in Episode 1, I would take Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan and combine them together into Obi-Wan alone, to make one character. Anakin would not be a child but a teenager like Luke in Episode 4, I would keep Darth Maul and the 3-way duel from the movie but make it between he, Obi-Wan and Anakin and Darth Maul wouldn't die until Episode 3.
   
   If I were to give my rewrite treatment to Alien Resurrection, I would keep the plot of the movie, the cloning RIpley idea, the newborn idea but it would be a different design, the underwater/shaft sequence, but most of the script will be completely new and my ideas alone.
   
   Website Examiner, if fan fiction is looked down upon and is violating certain laws, then why is there a site called FanFiction where people submit stuff like this? Or is there some exception to that website that I'm not aware of?

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      Donna Ferrierposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Actually, I was the one who brought up fan fiction, not WE. Even the names and likenesses of characters are frequently registered trademarks and owned by the copyright holder. I'll be amazed if George Lucas (or his company) doesn't own all the rights to the names and likenesses of the characters.
      
      In addition, what you're talking about creating is a derivative work based on someone else's copyright (and a very well-known one, too), and the creator of that original work has the legal right to restrict derivative works. And because you want to publish it on HP, that would mean you're making money off of someone else's copyright, even if it is a derivative work.
      
      I looked at the fan fiction site, BTW, and unless you're talking about another site, the one I saw doesn't look very professional, and I would hesitate to really base any decisions on it.
      
      Bottom line: Fan fiction is super sticky and I wouldn't do it unless a) you have expressed permission from George Lucas' company to publish such fan fiction, or b) you want to risk getting sued.

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      Website Examinerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I am pretty confident that I have understood your intentions. I stand by my previous post, which I believe responds fairly and adequately to the project you are contemplating.

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   3. 68

      ThomasEposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      "if fan fiction is looked down upon and is violating certain laws, then why is there a site called FanFiction where people submit stuff like this?"
      
      Well, that is a bit like asking why, if drug dealers are looked down upon and are violating certain laws, are there so many drug dealers around?
      
      Copyright enforcement depends on the copyright holder actually going to court to defend their legal rights. For a mom and pop operation like FanFiction that isn't likely to happen, for a large company like hub pages... well, it can.
      
      In addition, adsense has been known to close the account of web publishers who publish copyright infringing work. And since 40% of the time hubpages adsense ID is associated with your hubs, if you breach copyright laws you put every single user on hubpages at risk.

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      relacheposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      So as I understand it, you are suggesting that you plagiarize some of the ideas and then infringe on the intellectual copyrights in other instances, and that all this material will be published on a site that allows this content to be monetized.
      
      I hope you earn enough to afford a good lawyer.  You'll need one with that strategy.

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   kerrygposted 13 years ago

   I would strongly encourage you to post your scripts on a site like Fanfiction.net instead of HubPages.
   
   Donna Ferrier is correct: even characters are often copyrighted, especially for works as popular as the Star Wars prequels, so using Star Wars characters in your own scripts would be regarded as a violation of copyright unless they explicitly fell under fair use guidelines in some way. (Parodies are safe, for example.)
   
   Fanfiction is still very much in a legal gray area, so a site like HubPages would be more likely to play it safe and just delete anything that might potentially get them sued.
   
   The issue that concerns me is that you specifically ask if it will be okay to monetize your scripts, and then say you plan to include a disclaimer saying that they are "for entertainment purposes only." Well, they're not "for entertainment purposes only" if you're making money off them, are they?
   
   Most creators look the other way if fans post fanfiction that they genuinely are not making money from, but if you try to publish fanfiction for profit, whether by selling it directly or monetizing with Adsense or affiliate programs, they'll sic their lawyers on you like a pack of rabid dogs.
   
   Fanfiction.net runs ads to support the site, but the authors themselves don't make any money off it, and A03 is not monetized in any way, so you'll be much safer publishing on one of those two sites.

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      SPomposelloposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Ah, nevermind then. I guess its not a good idea to go this route after all. That's okay, I wanted to stand out from FanFiction.net thats why I dont want to put them on there. But it's alright, I've got other hubpages projects I can work on. I was passionate about this one, but hey, oh well. I do appreciate all the great advice though

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         ThomasEposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Why not write to the publisher and ask permission? Heck, if it good enough, and you send the publisher a copy of the work, they might even buy it.
         
         You can do it with permission.

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         kerrygposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Well, the Pit isn't the only FF site on the 'net, just the largest. I'm not really in Star Wars fandom, but it's one of the oldest and most popular around, so I'm sure there's plenty of dedicated Star Wars archives you could post to. Another option is posting it on your own (non-monetized) site, which I know a lot of fic authors do as well. I used to, actually, but now just use LiveJournal and AO3.

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         1. 69

            SPomposelloposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            ThomasE,
            
            True, but I'd rather not bother wasting my time going through all that red tape, it takes forever. I doubt they would buy it either being that Hollywood is so strict about using unsolicited people.
            
            Kerryg,
            
            Really? I like the idea of posting it to my own site. While I wouldn't be able to monetize it, would I be able to sell the website to another owner once it/if it gains enough a huge readership and enough popularity?

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5. 67

   NateSeanposted 13 years ago

   However...however...there is a loophole here.
   
   Suppose, rather than a script, you were to simply write a synopsis. Say, a series of articles called "how I would have Done it".
   
   This would fall more directly under the category of "reviews".
   
   There are plenty of reviews on Hubpages, which if I am not mistaken, have not been taken to court over infringement as it doesn't copy the work but simply critiques it.
   
   Noah Antwiler, AKA the Spoony One does this on his website all the time.
   
   Just a thought. It's not what you were going for but it might be an acceptable alternative.

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