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| re: Question for Playwrights | |
| Posted by: Johno60 10:39 am EST 02/08/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Question for Playwrights - dlevy 09:45 am EST 02/08/18 | |
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| I have spoken to three different lawyers who have given me very different answers. I thought a playwright might have some experience with this issue. | |
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| re: Question for Playwrights | |
| Posted by: CCentero 01:57 pm EST 02/08/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Question for Playwrights - Johno60 10:39 am EST 02/08/18 | |
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| Agree that it's really a complicated question that's better left to a lawyer. I know someone who won a case against the authors, but plenty of other people haven't. If the person is famous, different rules apply. One of the reasons why people (including lawyers) usually caution against contacting the person until absolutely necessary is that you just never know what shape your play or book or movie will take until it's finished. It's quite possible that you would have changed so much of the story that it really doesn't resemble the real story all that much. The minute you get the real person or estate involved, they may insist that you whitewash the truth and thereby ruin the drama. |
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| re: Question for Playwrights | |
| Posted by: Singapore/Fling 11:17 am EST 02/08/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Question for Playwrights - Johno60 10:39 am EST 02/08/18 | |
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| How close are you to production and/or publication? If you aren't at the point where your play is going to be staged, then you probably don't need to worry about these issues just yet. While playwrights on this site could give you advice, any smart one would tell you to talk to a lawyer... and if you're at the point where you're signing contracts for production, you should already have either a lawyer or an agent who can help you with these issues. | |
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| re: Question for Playwrights | |
| Posted by: Johno60 11:27 am EST 02/08/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Question for Playwrights - Singapore/Fling 11:17 am EST 02/08/18 | |
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| You’re right. I found this woman’s email on line and I was tempted to write her but I was advised to not write her. |
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| re: Question for Playwrights | |
| Posted by: Singapore/Fling 11:52 am EST 02/08/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Question for Playwrights - Johno60 11:27 am EST 02/08/18 | |
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| From a legal standpoint, absolutely do not write her. My very basic understanding of how these things work is that it would be incumbent upon her to be aware of the play, recognize herself in it, be able to prove that the person in the play could only be her, that other people watching the play would come to the same conclusion, and that you could not have drawn the life details that you drew from publicly available sources. If you tell her in advance that it's her, you've made her case for her. Now, from a moral or ethical standpoint, there's a whole different conversation to be had about how writers use other people's lives in their work and whether writers should include those people in their process and perhaps get their permission... but that's wholly separate from your original question. |
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| re: Question for Playwrights | |
| Posted by: BruceinIthaca 10:46 am EST 02/08/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Question for Playwrights - Johno60 10:39 am EST 02/08/18 | |
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| I recall that Martha Raye sued Bette Midler for "For the Boys" (or "For the Goys" or "For the Gays," as many called it). She lost, but, at the very least, it may be a nuisance, unless you have sufficiently changed plot elements (i.e. made her Canadian rather than French, to pick a random example, or a veterinarian rather than midwife) so that there is not a one-to-one correspondence. I'm no lawyer, I hasten to add, but I think there's some degree of latitude, but not an infinite amount. And, as on Law and Order, I would think you would need a disclaimer. | |
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| re: Question for Playwrights | |
| Posted by: ashleylm 05:34 pm EST 02/08/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Question for Playwrights - BruceinIthaca 10:46 am EST 02/08/18 | |
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| One thing seems clear: non-celebrities have a great right to privacy than public figures have. So I suggest going the Nathan Fielder route and doing your best to make that woman famous first! (Plus, more people will want to see your play if it's about someone famous.) And her rise to fame structures your second act for you. | |
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