Optioning an out of print book

Lilith

Lilith

Hi guys,

I searched this forum and did some googling, but am still coming up dry on this. I know an out of print novel that I would really like to option and adapt for a feature film, but I've NO idea how to do that. If there's a thread here that I've missed, please point me to it. Thanks.
 
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Even if it's out of print the publisher may well still own the rights, but sometimes not; they may have reverted to the author. Even if the book is in print the film rights can be held by a number of people depending how and when the contracts were written. These days it's more common in UK publishing for the film rights to retain with the author. I'm not sure how contracts are structured in the USA.

In my experience only a professional and experienced media lawyer can unravel who actually owns the rights. The possibility is that another production company already holds the rights.

If the book is out of print and the author is dead then it'll mean negotiating with the estate. The book doesn't go into public domain until 75 years after the author's death.
 
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Even if the book is out of print the rights are owned by someone. The place to start is to contact the author, or the publisher if you can't find the author's contact information. They will most likely point you to the author's agent, then you can inquire if the rights are available for a screenplay adaptation.

Lilith said:
Hi guys,

I searched this forum and did some googling, but am still coming up dry on this. I know an out of print novel that I would really like to option and adapt for a feature film, but I've NO idea how to do that. If there's a thread here that I've missed, please point me to it. Thanks.
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Public Domain...

Lilith said:
Hi guys,

I searched this forum and did some googling, but am still coming up dry on this. I know an out of print novel that I would really like to option and adapt for a feature film, but I've NO idea how to do that. If there's a thread here that I've missed, please point me to it. Thanks.
Click to expand...
First off, you might want to brush up on the Public Domain laws... The following link covers not only the U.S. but Canada, Britain, and Australia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Domain

This will at least give you some general information...

Then, one site I actually know of that contains a list of thousands of books within the Public Domain is:

Project Gutenberg

They even have an Austalian site:

Project Gutenberg of Australia

Notice that Project Gutenberg takes books currently in the public domain and creates digital files or eBooks out of these public domain books... I'm not saying that you're going to get an exhaustive list of books here in the public domain...

Having said that...

You might just be able to Google a search for just such a list...

filmy

Here's their main site: Project Gutenberg Official Home Site

EDIT: Also found this web site:

Classic Literature Library free public domain eBooks and classic books

Another good site:

Center for the Public Domain

Finally, you might try using Google's Book search tool
 
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there is also a nice telnet site that can be used for looking up copyright owner info.. but I'll have to search for it in this book when I've got time.

The book is rather handy though too, so you might just want to pick up a copy.

"The Public Domain: How to find & use copyright-free writings, music, art, & more" by Attorney Stephen Fishman (ISBN #: 1413300154) Think I picked mine up at a local Barnes & Noble.
 
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