BEFORE I EVEN DESCRIBE MY PROBLEM:
I have barely dipped my toes into filmmaking, and will not be able to do anything described below for a long time, moneywise. Eventually, when I have made some short films and I feel good about myself as a filmmaker, I will try to get financing for this. I just want to know everything now.
OK, HERE WE GO
For my first independent feature (again, wont be for a while, years at least), I want to adapt a certain well-received, popular video game. I don't want to say what game it is right now, but it is pretty small-scale I believe that I could make it into a film with a very small budget. (I'm not trying to make a Michael Bay thrill ride here.) I have begun writing the script, but before I get too invested in this project, I need to make sure it's legal. Also, while no studios have openly confirmed they are interested in this as well, it is popular enough that at some point in between now and when i make the film, the rights could be sold. I was hoping somebody could explain how the whole rights system works, and how i would be able to purchase them, I intend to do so as soon as possible. I was going to write a formal letter to the software company negotiating a price, is this what I should do?
I have barely dipped my toes into filmmaking, and will not be able to do anything described below for a long time, moneywise. Eventually, when I have made some short films and I feel good about myself as a filmmaker, I will try to get financing for this. I just want to know everything now.
OK, HERE WE GO
For my first independent feature (again, wont be for a while, years at least), I want to adapt a certain well-received, popular video game. I don't want to say what game it is right now, but it is pretty small-scale I believe that I could make it into a film with a very small budget. (I'm not trying to make a Michael Bay thrill ride here.) I have begun writing the script, but before I get too invested in this project, I need to make sure it's legal. Also, while no studios have openly confirmed they are interested in this as well, it is popular enough that at some point in between now and when i make the film, the rights could be sold. I was hoping somebody could explain how the whole rights system works, and how i would be able to purchase them, I intend to do so as soon as possible. I was going to write a formal letter to the software company negotiating a price, is this what I should do?