How Do I Get The Rights To Write My Own Screenplay About A Certain Comic Book Character?
Posted by adminJan 5
How does one get the rights to do this? There is a certain type of character which I am fascinated with but the comic did not last very long. I wanted to revive the character through means of motion picture by penning my own script and pitching it to a studio. He’s a character from marvel comics but I won’t say who. He just wasn’t very popular. So how do I get the rights or permission to write a script or could I just write the screenplay and NOT get it copyrighted due to the fact its based off a marvel character? Thanks.
Marvel guards its copyright really tight. Without permission from them, you could not get anything produced.
Also, unless you have an agent stumping for you, no studio, direcotr, producer or actor will even look at your offering
Unfortunately, the description of what you want to do kind of puts the ‘cart before the horse’.
In the modern movie and TV industry ‘unsolicited manuscripts’ (independently written scripts) are for the most part unusable and unsellable. There are thousands and thousands and THOUSANDS of freelance and professional screen writers out there clambering for such opportunities with well paid agents. If you have a good idea, take that idea with some samples of other work you have had published to a script agent (be ready to pay them too, nothing tied to Hollywood is usually free), and if they like your ideas they MIGHT have you submit a few draft scripts.
You have to start from the bottom and work up a reputation. If you show up at the door with a finished and unsolicited script you will more than likely be ignored if not laughed at.
Most breakout screen writers these days already have experience working in various published media; I.E, are already authors and writers in a related media.
Another thing to consider, any movie having to do with licensing will usually have a team of developers that flesh out a script outline and then hire a writer to bring it all together is a polished script, not the other way around.
Be mindful of that membership to a ‘writers guild’ is generally necessary to write for television and movie studios too, being that writers are protected almost universally by such tight organizations and unions.
My short term recommendation is to write a professional letter to Marvel Comics group inquiring about and describing your project and see if you get a return letter.