Question For the Arrow or others with knowledge about the film industry

[nightmareman]

Whats up Arrow I got 4 questions that maybe you can answer since you have knowledge of the business.
1)If someone was to do a remake of a horror movie who would they have to go through? Who has the rights to the movie, the producer, the film company,?

2)How do you get permission to do a sequel or a prequel, since someone elese has came up with the idea of the movie, but you want to take it in another direction?

3)Who actully owns rights to a movie, the person who wrote the script, the director, the movie company?

4)Has there ever been a remake of a horror sequal?

[The Arrow]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by nightmareman:
Whats up Arrow I got 4 questions that maybe you can answer since you have knowledge of the business.
1)If someone was to do a remake of a horror movie who would they have to go through? Who has the rights to the movie, the producer, the film company,?

2)How do you get permission to do a sequel or a prequel, since someone elese has came up with the idea of the movie, but you want to take it in another direction?

3)Who actully owns rights to a movie, the person who wrote the script, the director, the movie company?

4)Has there ever been a remake of a horror sequal?</font>

Here we go...

1)If someone was to do a remake of a horror movie who would they have to go through? Who has the rights to the movie, the producer, the film company,?

ARROW: Usually the Distribution Company or the Production Company wind up owning the rights to the movie. If they don't own the rights you can be sure they know who does and will guide you in the right direction.

2)How do you get permission to do a sequel or a prequel, since someone else has came up with the idea of the movie, but you want to take it in another direction?

ARROW: Find out who own the rights to the franchise and express your interest in writing a sequel/prequel. NOTE: You will most likely have to pay them mucho green to get those rights.

3)Who actully owns rights to a movie, the person who wrote the script, the director, the movie company?

ARROW: The screenwriter has to sell the rights to the Prod Company in order for them to produce the film. In my case, I sold the script for two years. This is called optionning a script. For two years the prod company owns the rights, if in two years the film hasn't been produced, the rights come back to me. So usually the screenwriter doesn't retain the rights if the film has been done. Unless he's producing it himself.

Now if the prod company distributes the film itself, they retain the rights, if they have the film be distributed through a distribution company, they wind up owning the rights.

All that to say Production or Distribution usually wind up owning the rights. Unless the screenwriter is also producing/distributing the film himself, he'll have to let those rights go.

4)Has there ever been a remake of a horror sequal?

ARROW: To my knowledge...no.



[This message has been edited by The Arrow (edited 05-09-2002).]

[nightmareman]

Thanks, it all seems pretty str8 forward.

So if you dont have your own production company yah have to give up the rights to the movie. Im glad yah let me know about optionnizing a script I never knew about that, I think that would be the best way to go.
Im pretty much done with my anthoogy called Welcome the Nightmareman, but me being a nobody in the film business I was seeing the best way of going about things and needed a little info on the business.

Thanks agin Arrow.

[The Arrow]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by nightmareman:
Thanks, it all seems pretty str8 forward.

So if you dont have your own production company yah have to give up the rights to the movie. Im glad yah let me know about optionnizing a script I never knew about that, I think that would be the best way to go.
Im pretty much done with my anthoogy called Welcome the Nightmareman, but me being a nobody in the film business I was seeing the best way of going about things and needed a little info on the business.

Thanks agin Arrow.</font>

Happy I could help duder, if you have any more questions, e-mail me.