This week brought an interesting development in the life of this aspiring filmmaker. I had my first experience watching one of my ideas come to life…through somebody else. I’ve heard that this happens. A lot. A friend of mine once wrote up a spec script for a new television series, a few months later, “Dead Like Me” came out and was a near carbon copy of her idea. So yeah, it happens. But that doesn’t make it any easier.
Remember that sci-fi comedy I mentioned in last Thursday’s blog? The one my husband and I botched due to lack of funds, scheduling, and know-how. (Just a few small things, right?) Well, it looks like David Bowie’s son had all three of those things. He made a film called, “
Moon”, that shares eerie similarities to, “Third To Mars”. “Third To Mars” started when I was living in Romania for four months and my then-fiancée (now husband) and I were feeling the pain of separation. He started the script, finished it after we were married, and then we both redrafted it.
It has our leading man, named Conrad, working for a commercial aerospace company. He’s the third man to make the long expedition to Mars. By this time, space exploration is old news, so in order to keep the program he works for up and running, he’s reduced to performing almost daily commercials. His only window to other life is a singular view screen, through which he talks to mission control. He becomes jaded, grows a beard, and only has the ship’s computer, “Alfonso” to keep him company. Being that the computer is a well…computer, the company isn’t very good. There’s a love story, and as you can guess, metaphors aplenty about masculine emotional detachment. Ours looks like it was aiming a bit more square toward comedy.
There are a few story differences from what we can tell so far. But we were stunned by the visuals. They look exactly how we pictured our film would look, down to the lighting and the leading man, Sam Rockwell, someone we pegged as our dream lead. (Paul Giamatti was our number 2 choice.) The moral of the film was that no man is an island, but every man tries to be. A fear of commitment type picture, full of the strange and funny hoops we force ourselves to jump through to avoid the things that we know are best for us.
So what do you do with that? Well, for starters, the odds are microscopic that the idea was stolen. I highly doubt that David Bowie’s son, of all people, would have to steal from a completely unknown mid-western screenwriting team. Yes, the script was out there, but it’s also WGA and LOC registered. It’s more likely that the basic idea was the dream of many, and this guy got to it first.
So on the one hand; we should pat ourselves on the back. That’s right. If you see an idea of yours floating around in the public sphere before you can produce it, all that means is that you’ve got good story sensibilities. Your ideas will sell. Next time, you just have to make sure someone is buying them from you.
The truth is, it hurts. It’s still a big cosmic kick to the stomach. We’re in a kind of, state of shock. We keep talking about it as though our movie cheated on us, because it really does carry the same emotional reaction as finding out that someone cheated on you. What are the odds that this movie would come along and look and feel exactly like ours…right down to the cast and specific shot set-ups? It feels like the world's most expensive practical joke.
To be fair, we haven’t seen it yet. It could have some strange twist or completely different conclusion. To be honest, in true unsportsmanlike fashion, I’m almost hoping its awful. I still want to make ours someday, after we have more experience under our belts and a few more connections. (See: Financing)
But when something like this comes along, you have two choices. Grow bitter or get busy. We could fixate on all the similarities, we could cry (some more), we could languish. Or we could choose which script we’re going to produce and go out there and do it. The truth is, you only have yourself to blame if your movie doesn't get made...by you.
In fact, we’ve already chosen the script to attempt. This weeks’ assignment? Re-draft and re-register, alter our business plan to suit the new movie’s needs, and get it into the right hands. The financial big-wigs around here who have already expressed interest.
Because you can have the best ideas in the world, but if you can’t get your picture up and running, you’re going to be doomed to a life of watching other people make “your” movies. That’s the way it works. After all, it’s first come, first serve in independent film, so nothing is truly yours until you create it.
And really, in film ,it's not much of a choice is it? Suffer while your ideas fester in your brain or take action. It's not as though we can erase the desire to make films from our minds. It's not that easy with us creative types, is it? Our movies, made or unmade, are like our kids. They're there. They exist. You just have to find a way to get to them. So that's the new plan. Try and fail, but try at least. Otherwise, someone else will.
Comments
Yeah, that sucks
Lots of people have similar/same ideas ... the differences come in the execution.
How frustrating for you...but
How frustrating for you...but also a wake up call at the same time. Thanks for sharing and good luck!
I like the idea
That there are a lot of similar ideas but the differences lie in the execution. It's encouraging. Thanks for both comments. I think the real pain comes in getting over that hump of, "HOW" to make the movie happen.
Happens all the time
My first screenplay was a comedy with an identity-theft related plot line. After pitching it to many producers and agents, I had at least two responses that said, "We already have an identity-theft comedy in development."
There's a great book called MYTHS OF INNOVATION that includes one tenet that many people across the world will come up with a similar and sometimes exact idea at roughly the same time, even with having absolutely no relation to each other ... they are all being influenced by popular events and the current state of things and their "novel idea" isn't so novel.
It's all in the execution though and they could create something truly unique through a creative execution of a timely idea.
Thanks
Thanks rullrich, it's increasingly comforting to hear that this happens to everyone. I can see how many people would think of the same thing at the same time based on popular events, I'd definitely buy into that theory. Excellent thoughts. I definitely need to grow a thicker skin and create a new strategy.
Been there...
This happened to me last year. Came up with a high-concept idea. Started researching and outlining and just as I was ready to type "fade in:," I heard that an A-list star was in rehearsals on a movie with the exact same premise. I abandoned the project. The other one went straight-to-video, so I might be able ot revive the idea one day. In the meantime, I came up with an even more commercial idea and this incident made me write it faster before anyone else has a chance to come up with it on their own.
Post new comment