|
Life
Story Rights -
(For
Adaptation as a Feature Film, Made-For-TV-Movie, Drama Series
or Reality TV Show)
Visit
TVFilmRights.com to market your true life stories for TV or
Film
Many times we've
seen the feature film, television movie, or even
dramatic series based on a persons true life story.
In television we're familiar with the biographical
made-for-tv-movies that virtually every network
produces. These stories can span genres from an
against-all-odds miracle story that takes place
in a small town with otherwise regular folk as
the hero, or an epic mini-series that brings new
insight to a popular historical figure we all
thought we knew. Any of these examples of dramatized
life stories can be adaptations of best-selling
biographies. But for the purposes of understanding
this genre as it relates to selling a person's
life story to the Hollywood television industry,
it is necessary to focus on the marketing of a
persons life experiences/ profession/ or specific
event that they believe would translate into an
intriguing television project.
Before discussing
the narrative aspect of adapting a person's life
story for sale, it is important to understand
the legalities involved so that you can be
sure you have the right to sell yours or another
person's life story rights.
If you are telling
the story of your life, or a period in your life,
you have the right to negotiate for sell your
experiences as they are substantiated by your
own record or common knowledge of others. If you
are selling the life experiences of another person
for adaptation as a film, you will need to have
an "option" agreement with that person.
In it's most basic form, for the purposes of simply
being able to find a buyer (producer or production
company) an option agreement can be outlined in
a simple deal memo. You should be given "Exclusive
Right" to sell that person's life story rights
to any third party producer, company or distributor
for the purposes of developing and producing a
televised or theatrical production to be publicly
aired and released. More specific details of partnership
and participation should be resolved between yourself
and the person whose life story rights you are
selling before you ever approach any third party.
You do not want to get a buyer interested and
not be able to legally deliver the product you
are pitching. If you would like more specific
advice or information regarding industry standards
for this issue or any other partnership agreements
for selling a project, we recommend consulting
an entertainment attorney.
So lets assume you
are selling yours or a friends amazing life story
to be optioned by a production company, and you
are now piecing together a treatment or synopsis
for presentation. There are three key elements
that are very important to any development executive
or producer considering your project; the story,
the key character, and the commercial viability
of the project:
Event or Story
: There are always moments or dramatic
events in our lives that are so incredible one
could think "this should be a movie!".
However, one event does not make a dramatic story
unto itself, and many times a dramatic story does
not suit well for a televised or filmed adaptation.
However, such specific events can become the focal
point by which a larger dramatic story is told
that a producer or network may take an interest
in. How has that event changed someone's life?
What led to the event or events, and what new
course were the people or persons involved set
on? What is the point of social relevance within
this story? What does the main character overcome
or accomplish that brings redemption or irony
to their life? As you will always see, it is never
just about an event. It's always about the person.
First, identify the
protagonist (Hero, or main character) from whose
point of view the story is told. This is perhaps
the most important choice when adapting a story
to be dramatized. It may not always be the most
obvious or centralized character when first looking
at the story that is being covered, but it should
be the most unique. And it is that person's story
arc that we will witness as the movie unfolds.
What makes a unique
protagonist?: People love inspirational
stories of the underdog who survives against all
odds. It more often gives the viewer something
to relate to and root for. It is an example of
a choice in Protagonist that brings an emotional
experience to the audience.
When exploring the
development of a unique protagonist or main character
in your story, there are some very important choices
to make when illustrating this person within a
screenplay, and more importantly, when giving
limited information in a three to seven page treatment
that you will submit to producers. If you look
at all the great character-driven pieces you will
see that what is explored in each protagonist
is not just the obvious, but sometimes the opposite.
In a hero, don't just focus on the great qualities,
but find his weaknesses and downfalls. This gives
him a human quality. Conversely, in a main character
who is primarily bad or of criminal persuasion,
find his qualities that are good and explore his
struggle within his poor choice making in life
. This helps an audience care or sympathize with
someone whose plight may be clearly with ill intent,
but brings truth to the story by "humanizing
it". Not everything or person is black and
white. To bring a three dimensional illustration
to any main character of a story, one needs to
approach that character unassuming and ready to
discover all sides of the person and what makes
them tick.
Commercial Viability:
An important aspect of any dramatized story
is that audiences love stories that are based
on true events. The important thing for any writer
or producer to understand in trying to sell a
true life story for adaptation is knowing or discovering
what issue or subject within the story has social
relevance at this time. These "issues"
of social relevance can be anything, eg. How a
family copes with a son or daughter fighting a
war, same sex couples fighting for adoption, or
an athlete who overcomes certain death by cancer
and survives to come back and win the most grueling
athletic event in the world. All of these stories
have issues that impact society heavily or in
a unique way. If you believe that your personal
story, or the story of a person whose life you
are writing into a treatment for adaptation could
have the same impact of relevance it is important
to find that key issue and point of view that
an audience will be enthralled by. The audience
wants an emotional experience that they can relate
to on some level. Find that message in your story
and you may garner the attention of producers
who want to develop it into a movie or series.
|
