No Adaptation Without Representation

This one's a doozy.

About two years ago, I was in a Kirksville bar when a man I didn't recognize asked me if I was Jared Latore. I replied honestly, and he said, "I heard Matt Szewczyk is making a movie based off something you wrote."

"That's news to me," I told him.

I approached Szewczyk (who can now find this entry the next time he Googles himself) about the rumor. He admitted that he had written a screenplay inspired by a poem I wrote and shared in our Creative Writing class, and was planning to film it, and that he would have gotten away with it too if it weren't for those meddling kids. I let him know that I was definitely not okay with him using my story without my permission, because that is called stealing and stealing is wrong. He promised not to make the film and we resolved the issue as gentlemen.

Then, a few nights ago, I found out that Szewczyk, now in New York City, was about to complete filming that movie based on my poem that he told me he would never make. Did I find out about this because he told me this time? No, of course not. I found out because he was posting screenshots of the film on fucking Facebook.

I wasn't sure what to do. I had nothing to gain from the headache of getting a lawyer and trying to stop his film from happening, but at the same time, I couldn't just let him walk all over me and bully me out of my work like that. We exchanged the following e-mails, which I want to make as public as possible, but if you don't feel like reading them all, I'll summarize by saying that I said "I'm upset by this" and he said "It's not your story anymore. I made it better, you see," and I said "I'm still the author of the source material. It isn't legal for you to take it and if you make money off of it, I'll sue you for my share."

"Matt,
Are you seriously making Conquest, the movie based on the poem that I wrote and asked you not to make a movie out of? And--for the second time--without at any point feeling the need to tell me about it? Because that would be a very inconsiderate thing to do. It's something that would irritate me. You know that I own the rights to that story, right? It isn't your story. It doesn't belong to you. It's not yours for the taking.
Just Checking,
Jared Latore"

"Hi Jared -
The project I am directing is not based on your poem anymore then [sic.] one might say the [sic.] The Lion King is based on Hamlet. While your poem was an initial inspiration for my imagination, the project's story and visual design are creations of my own.

You were right, two years ago, when you said your poem was not ready to be taken to the screen. Since we last spoke, I re-wrote Conquest completely, creating a new screenplay with fleshed out characters who have motivations and flaws.

If you do ever have an opportunity to see the film, I'm sure you will find any resemblance to your work minute.
Best,
Matthew Szewczyk"

"Matt,
You need to know that under current U.S. copyright law, no existing intellectual property (unless, like Hamlet, it resides in the public domain) can be adapted into a new format without the consent of the original author, regardless of any and all artistic differences between the adaptation and the source property. A film like I, Robot, for example which bore only a "minute" resemblance to its source novel, was still legally required to purchase the rights to the source story from the Asimov estate. Aquiring the rights to the work that inspired yours--however distantly--is not just a courtesy; it is a legality.

Additionally, copyright law maintains that an original work, published or unpublished, is copyrighted from the moment of its completion, unless a pre-existing copyright nullifies your full ownership of that work. After the first time you tried to adapt my story without my permission, I took the extra precaution of applying for, and receiving, a formal government copyright on the piece. This means that it would be illegal for you to secure a copyright on your film without first noting me as the author of the source material.

Again, no matter how different your movie featuring a romantic encounter with Death is from my poem featuring a romantic encounter with Death, copyright law is not quantified by the dissimilarities between an adaptation and its source material. This is what makes it a copyright law and not a copyright guideline.

Fortunately for both of us, I do not feel that I have anything to gain personally by taking legal action to halt the production of your film. However, if the film ever receives distribution, or is screened in a venue that charges admission, I am prepared to sue you for my rightful share of its profits. Willing or no, I am your collaborator on this project.

The truth is, Matt, if you had only asked me beforehand, I would have given you my blessing, and even now, an apology for trying to appropriate my work, or elements of it--not once but twice--would go a very long way. But I will not be bullied, I will not sit quietly, and I will not have my protests ignored.
Sincerely,
Jared Latore"

You know, it's just the kind of thing that ruins your whole day. I don't know where people like that get their sense of entitlement, and I don't understand what his motivation is. You wouldn't go into the wine business to bottle other people's wine. If you're interested in making art, why wouldn't you want to make your own art? I think that maybe, like a lot of priviledged young white people, he proceeds with the assumption that everything is his, and is better for his having touched it. Your art is his art because he wants it and that makes it his. Fortunately, there are laws against such delusions. It's just such a hassle if you want them enforced.