In 1988 or 1989 the major movie studios found themselves in a trap. Like a trapped animal they began gnawing off their legs to escape the trap. They gnawed off parts of themselves that were not even IN the trap. What was the trap? One studio, Paramount, had made a movie that closely resembled a treatment idea that Art Buchwald had written. Lots of money was made from that treatment idea, and nobody had bothered to pay Art Buchwald. So he sued Paramount. And he won. Sort of. But in the process the movie studios lost far more than they might have lost in any lawsuits. They insulated themselves from new and fresh ideas. The only thing creative they had left was their accounting practices, which were also exposed by the lawsuit. That's a whole 'nother story you can get in Fatal Subtraction.
So they hired "inside creativity". The only problem is, it went stale. And then they had nothing left to refresh it. So now they are "remaking old classics" that people liked before, thinking it will do. Meanwhile they are losing millions of dollars because they aren't buying anything new.
I just sent off letters to three of the major people at Disney. I got back a letter from a paralegal (I'm a paralegal...it was just a stock merge form that they put my name into) and they mailed back the letter I sent so they wouldn't be accused of "stealing" anything I wrote in my letter. All I put in it was a link to my web site www.thewishfactory.com/screenplay.html and you know what? They went there and checked it out. I've got a counter that tells me where hits come from. One hit was on that direct link. They were the only ones I sent it to. I have been bouncing off the doors at Disney for some time. I have written several screenplays that are family-oriented and that might have made all of us a bunch of money, but they are too paranoid to bite. Not that Disney is alone. The same thing happens at Dreamworks and all of the other studios. My screenplay, The Wish Factory Movie, is for an animated feature film. Not just tons of money in there, but amounts that would keep my extended family wealthy for generations to come. If I could get someone to bite. But everyone is afraid.
I am trying to find myself a good intellectual properties attorney. I know there is a way to placate the scaredy cats and protect my interests at the same time. A good lawyer could help out lots there. I know, because I read case law for a hobby. You'd be surprised what one can learn by reading case law. I've been employed as either a legal secretary or a paralegal in Illinois, California and Indiana. Reading case law is very informative, and I think it's fun!
In the meantime, the "Indies" have arrived. The independent movie producers and writers who, unable to get their screenplays into the major studios because every time they tried, they bounced off the same studio doors as I did, decided "the heck with the major studios, let’s make our own movies." And they have become very successful at it.
My son, Zachary is currently acting in such an Indie film, and helping with production and etc., as well. But he's moving to California. Oh! Maybe he'll become a movie star...the girls would love him. But, back to the movie thing....
Now, think about it. The lawyers who are "protecting" the major studios have hired paralegals to write letters that basically say "we didn’t even bother to read what you sent because we have our own talented [emphasis added] writers." Wouldn’t those lawyers better benefit their clients by coming up with a contract that allows the studio to read the new, fresh, creative things being written by talented writers all over the country? Wouldn’t the studios benefit from this new, fresh, creative talent, by making tons more money than they’re making now? Wouldn’t you think that the studio executives who are searching for new, fresh, creative projects would at least read what the new writers have to offer? There's so much talent out there. I run into very talented people all the time.
I'll sure be glad when these dunderheads wake up to the fact that they might as well have taken chances with all of the screenplays that have been sent to them. They might have lost a million here or there, but they could have made hundreds of millions in the past twenty-five years, if they'd just had something new to sell to the public. From my fingertips to God's ears...
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