Friday, February 04, 2011
Asked and Answered: Can I use a famous movie line in my new screenplay?
The Law Offices of Gordon P. Firemark: "Lines from movies are, in most cases, neither protected by copyright nor in the public domain. Although technically, a line from a movie could be protected by copyright, it’s rare that it actually happens.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
That's an interesting idea that I had never thought about. I always assumed that it would be plagiarism to use a famous line from another movie, but it makes sense that a single line would not have a copyright. Although, I wonder if scripts as a whole are copyrighted because then wouldn't a line in that script be under that copyright? I found it interesting what the article said about if a line is parodied or made fun of. There's such a fine line (no pun intended) between what is and is not acceptable.
Although touted as advice, I find it interesting that the author also admits to having little to no actual legal reference for it. I personally wouldn't trust his word alone. As much as I, in my personal life, quote movies and music and books (yes, books) I've always felt using lines from another piece in live theatre to a desperate move of an author when something else isn't working. A case of, "Well, I don't know how to say it so I'll let someone else do it."
Along with Jacob, I'm questioning the legitimacy of this article. I also agree with Sophie, and I'm wondering whether or not full scripts are copyrighted. Why should the copyright laws for a screenplay be any different from any other sort of written work? I understand that some movie quotes may be unremarkable and consist of sentences that are often used. I could see use of those kind of quotes not constituting plagiarism, but using distinct lines from movie scripts does not seem okay to me, whether it is legal or not. Why can't people just produce original work? If playwrights want their intellectual property to be respected, they should respect that of others.
I can't think of a reason to use a famous line in a screenplay other than for parody reasons. Whether you intend to or not, you're going to end up doing this if you use the line. And, of course, parody can't be claimed as a copyright infringement. If you try to use a famous line simply as a line in the script, I would suggest modifying it slightly so that audiences can't recognize it anyway. I wouldn't want an audience thinking of a different movie while they are watching mine.
Here is the catch. It the move line is famous and known i.e. "Show me the money" I do no think that the screenwriter will be upset about the shout and the free advertisement. I imaging that it is a screenwriters dream to coin a catch phrase. The trick would be if a play write uses some unfamiliar lines from a movie just because he likes them. Not quoting a movie for dramatic effect but actually stealing dialog. This is where I would take offense if I were a screenwriter and this is where plagiarism would come into play. But like the author, I have no legal basis for this statement. Besides, "You can't handle the truth." - A Few Good Men by Aaron Sorkin.
Also, if this situation ever arose I would say, "Dave, I've tried to help you out of this, but if you ask for tall time, I'm gonna file a motion to dismiss." - also A Few Good Men by Aaron Sorkin (get it?)
I agree with Joe that i can only think of using a famous line in another piece of work would be a parody. I also agree that i dont trust the legitimacy of the article. Why would you use a picture from Wikepedia in the article. i may use Wikepedia for everyday things, but i would dig deeper on something i'm gonna publish online, even if it was a blog.
Post a Comment