any of you ever write a screenplay?

I had an idea for a re-imagining of the Planet of the Apes movie and was wondering if there were certain legal requirements, or is it considered fair game so long as it's a new idea? I know there's allegedly a POTA remake in the works called Caeser: Rise of the Apes, but i'm not sure I like the idea of remaking an already crap movie (namely, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes). if you're going to carry the POTA torch you might as well start where the Burton film ended imho.

If you're just messing around on your own time I don't see there being any issues. If you're looking to get it produced I'd imagine you'd be looking at an uphill battle concerning copyright law. If you're serious I'd suggest consulting a lawyer.

My friends and I used to write (and try to make) a bunch of screenplays back in Highschool. Really, as long as its a parody, and amateur, I wouldn't expect any sort of legal issues. It really depends on the studio/movie though I guess. If you look around the internets, there is a huge force (no pun intended) of Amateur Star Wars films, both parody and serious being made with production values that span a huge gamut. Star Wars is unique in the "fan films" arena since George Lucas actually encourages, and has a yearly contest for Star Wars based fan films. It really depends on how serious you are. Obviously, if you are planning to sell the screenplay, I doubt you could do it unless it was to the studio. If you want to make a film, well...I hope you have a large disposable income. Even a modest amateur film can cost several thousand dollars if you want it to look remotely "ok". Cameras, large hard drive, blazing fast computer with a huge hard drive, expensive editing software, audio equipment, audio recording equipment, more expensive audio editing software, more hard drive space, sets, lighting, another camera, costumes, friends who commit to be in and bail out at the last minute, and a lot of time...!

I used to use Final Draft to write scripts. We did a lot of them, so the $80 was worth it. If you just want to write one or two, Word is fine, its just a real PITA to format.

If I think of any more advice, I'll be sure to post it. If you are interested in Amateur film making, or just fanfilms, I can give you the forum I used to visit. Its pretty strong on the Star Wars fanfilms, but there are a smattering of fantasy and action people there too.

If you explicitly appropriate the mythology of the PotA universe and you somehow manage to sell it, you're asking for trouble if you haven't obtained the proper permissions from the copyright holder.

Fortunately for you, most agents wouldn't wipe their butts with fan treatments unless the writers are credible (which, given you're asking the question on a shaving forum, I'm guessing isn't you).

Seriously, if you're creative enough to write a good screenplay, you're probably creative enough to imagine a post-apocalyptic world that doesn't depend on apes with Latinate names.

As someone who has written many screenplays (and sold one once), I can tell you that you can have all the fun you want writing something and shooting it as a Youtube parody. But if what you've done gets any kind of 'buzz' at all, you're risking getting a phalanx of lawyers on your tail. Copyright laws exist for a reason, to protect those who created the original ideas. George Lucas rarely prosecuted the Star Wars parodists because 1) he was with them in spirit and 2) he knew that the parodies continued to keep interest in the original concept alive. But POA is not a particularly culture-changing meme, so it's unlikely you'd get the same level of leeway.

In any case, if you're creating a screenplay, don't waste money on third party scriptwriting programs. Microsoft Word 2007 has a perfectly usable scriptwriting template that has the correct formatting.

Jeff in Boston

Mods: please retitle this thread "Is anyone on this board a waiter?"