Kickstarter

[Matthew Raymond]

My understanding is that the Star Trek Film Academy uses predetermined scripts, so it's much more about how to produce a script you already have. If you already have a fairly polished script that you've run by either a screenwriter or some other person with experience working with a finished script (director, unit production manager, et cetera), then this might be the exact kind of experience you need. Certainly couldn't hurt.

Any news on times and pricing for the Academy, or are they still working on it?

 

[Valenti]

Is it just two guys in a ship 'cause if it is then you have something fairly digestible to the two titans - Trek and Wars. I hate it when writers don't want to hear your ideas. I have them copyrighted, but I hear you can't copyright an idea and call it intellectual property because it's in the public domain but I think that is bullshit, and you know what I think they can do with all their derivative rights especially when they run me over.

 

[Maurice]

"Now wait just a damn minute." —Bones

What have you copyrighted? Your ideas or a treatment/script?

Just to clarify for those reading this who may not be in the know: Copyright protects WORKS, not ideas. Ideas are not copyrightable because they are too nonspecific and would empower people to tie up the rights to all kinds of stuff just by writing down sentences of thousands of different combinations or concepts. An oddball for instance: at one point Mattel Electronics tried to copyright every possible combination of an 8x8 pixel array, which basically would have meant they "owned" every possible character or sprite on most 8-bit computers and videogames. We can see how that's unfair.

Authors and screenwriters don't want to hear ideas because ideas are too easy, and if a someone tells you something which happens to be like something you are working on, they open themselves up to accusations of theft. It's the same reason studios generally don't read unsolicited scripts.

Either execute or don't, but don't preemptively rail against the status quo. I've done a lot of professional writing and I've never had cause to worry about Copyright. Do the work and worry about the Copyrights if someone violates them by copying the work and not the TV log line.

 

[Valenti]

My concept can be condensed down into a sentence. I think most stories can, no? I think you mean like one word or a single thing. They could rob me in three words. And don't say you can rob me in two. or can't they? It's all very spooky.

 

[Maurice]

Farmboy becomes mystic knight in space. Would someone reading that come up with Star Wars? Methinks beginners worry too much about stuff that's never going to happen.

 

[Professor Zoom]

My concept can be condensed down into a sentence. I think most stories can, no? I think you mean like one word or a single thing. They could rob me in three words. And don't say you can rob me in two. or can't they? It's all very spooky.

It's in the execution. Copyright protects the execution. Copyright is for something in a fixed form. A screenplay. A short story. A painting. A dance.

Ideas are not in a fixed form.

And no one is going to rob you. For several reasons.
1. Your idea... in three words... can't be all that specific and unique--even if you think it is.
2. People really aren't out there stealing ideas, it's more trouble than it's worth..
3. No one is going to steal your space opera idea, because no one wants to produce Space Operas... But, let me be more specific: No on is going to produce Space Opera UNLESS it is tied to an existing Intellectual Property. Guardians of the Galaxy. Star Wars. Star Trek.

(Now, MAYBE, someone might want to produce it independently... which means a LOT less money... and less reach.)

If, indeed, you have the script, and you want to be a professional writer, this might serve as a great sample to get you an agent or a manager--not the sort of agent, but, a real one who can be your advocate and get you into rooms. But, the chances of getting THIS script made... it's very small. That's a reality of the business.

If this is a TV script, it's going to be the same thing. This might help get you an agent or a manager, but, no one is going to buy a script that is a Space Opera from an unknown, untested writer. Unless it is TOTALLY amazing. And even then: they would take it away from you and have someone else run the show.

However, if this is a hobby, and you want to do it for fun. Yeah, then, maybe Kickstarter would be the route. But, as others have said, you need proof of concept. Drawings. Video. And don't ask for the sky. Projects that don't have Star Trek or Star Wars attached to them don't do well on Kickstarter. Even well known writers don't reach their goals. David Gerrold was trying to launch Star Wolf... and he couldn't get the money.

Is it just two guys in a ship 'cause if it is then you have something fairly digestible to the two titans - Trek and Wars. I hate it when writers don't want to hear your ideas. I have them copyrighted, but I hear you can't copyright an idea and call it intellectual property because it's in the public domain but I think that is bullshit, and you know what I think they can do with all their derivative rights especially when they run me over.

Public domain is a specific term. It means work that was once held by copyright is no longer protected by copyright and is free to use by anyone. You could sell your own edition of Shakespeare for example. Or use characters from Sherlock Holmes in your story or screenplay.

Ideas are just that. Ideas. They are not related to the term Public Domain.

 

[Valenti]

I remember Gerrold specifically saying that if Star Trek likes your idea, they don't have to steal it from you because they have the money to buy it but what if they reexpress it and that's what bothers me - the great people think alike and great artists steal defense, and when GR opens his maw lots of similar things like Star Wolf get swallowed. But thank you for your vote of altruism - what Trek is all about ironically.

 

[Maurice]

...and when GR opens his maw lots of similar things like Star Wolf get swallowed...

"Earthman, it is sometimes hard to follow your mode of speech." —Slartibartfast

No idea what that quoted sentence is trying to say.

Let me share a bit of advice I got from the Executive Producer of a few feature films: "Nothing sells like a script."

No one cares about ideas. They're a dime a dozen. Execution is everything.

I think we've exhausted this topic of stealing and borrowing. So...

• If you want to make this idea into a film you need to be able to afford it.
• If you can't afford to make it yourself you're going to need investors.
• If you're going to get investors you're going to need to share something of the idea with them.

And you take your chances. Just like everyone doing this kind of thing. You either accept that or your idea probably remains just that and never a show.

 

[Professor Zoom]

I remember Gerrold specifically saying that if Star Trek likes your idea, they don't have to steal it from you because they have the money to buy it but what if they reexpress it and that's what bothers me - the great people think alike and great artists steal defense, and when GR opens his maw lots of similar things like Star Wolf get swallowed. But thank you for your vote of altruism - what Trek is all about ironically.

Reexpress? You are far to worried. Sometimes people arrive at the same unique idea independently. Remember when Antz and Bug’s Life came out in the same year? Both basically the same idea, both very different in execution.

But the question is: have YOU expressed it? As in: have you written the script? If so, work on getting it out there so people can read it. If not, why the fuck are you here, you should be writing it.

Edited to add: rereading your original post, you say you do have the screenplay. I would recommend getting it into contests. That’s a good way of getting exposure. Again, that’s if you want to be a professional writer. It’s not worth the time and expense if you don’t want that.

 

[Valenti]

It's actually just the length of an episode after I streamlined it and made it a mean lean fighting machine but I have ten other stories and I thought two episodes per movie would be nice. Not for nothing but who wants to see it? As I've said before, it's a unique and original game changing epic space opera that I recently sent out on scriptblaster - just the logline and synopsis and have received one rejection. Nothing but silence for months now.
I'm going to do the same thing with my comedy when I get the money together but I was told producers and agents just delete such things right away. I have a sleaze ball flunkie agent but I think we hate each other not that he doesn't like my work, but as is always such the case, personalities are more important..

 

[Matthew Raymond]

I would recommend getting it into contests.

Make sure you've read anything you have to agree to carefully before submitting. You may be required to license your script or give over the copyright in order to submit it for the contest.

PS @Matthew Raymond my fellow bat lover; I love the little shirt for your avatar. I should p'shop a delta shield on mine's blankie.

Forgot to reply to this earlier. I'd been planning to upgrade my portrait for months now, but I only recently found the time/motivation to do it. If you want to add a delta, I say "Go for it." One thing you might want to do, though, is crop the image so the head is closer to the center of the image. The BBS software is chopping off the ears to fit it into the portrait square. Makes it much harder to tell it's a bat.

 

[jespah]

Thanks - yeah I need to crop the lil guy to square.

 

[Professor Zoom]

It's actually just the length of an episode after I streamlined it and made it a mean lean fighting machine but I have ten other stories and I thought two episodes per movie would be nice. Not for nothing but who wants to see it? As I've said before, it's a unique and original game changing epic space opera that I recently sent out on scriptblaster - just the logline and synopsis and have received one rejection. Nothing but silence for months now.
I'm going to do the same thing with my comedy when I get the money together but I was told producers and agents just delete such things right away. I have a sleaze ball flunkie agent but I think we hate each other not that he doesn't like my work, but as is always such the case, personalities are more important..

Don’t waste your time and money on scriptblaster. Just looking at the webpage feels like I’ve been conned.

It won’t help you. It is only there to take your money. Nothing legit will come from it.

There are plenty of contests and fellowships that you can use an original pilot to enter with. And yes, don’t submit to ANYTHING that asks you to give up your copyright. And most don’t.

 

[Maurice]

Valenti, I don't recall seeing if you answered this above, but how much experience do you have writing scripts, and if you've done more, have any of them ever been produced? This is not a challenge, but an attempt to gauge what your experience level and give advice that fits it.

 

[Valenti]

It would be so much easier if you saw the pitch and told me if you think it could be a replacement for Star Trek or not. For one thing, you have to see it (a single page) to believe it and for another, it could be a paradigm shift in the way science fiction stories are told at least for it's own series.
I wrote a comedy too, nothing produced but what I really do well is write science fiction music. Please, would you take a peek. I will accept any opinion you have, no matter how bad.

 

[Professor Zoom]

Good luck with the work.

The one thing I want to say again: don’t use things like script blaster. It seriously just takes your money and gives nothing in return.

 

[Matthew Raymond]

The one thing I want to say again: don’t use things like script blaster. It seriously just takes your money and gives nothing in return.

https://johnaugust.com/2006/is-scriptblaster-worth-trying

Apparently, it does give you something in return: a bad reputation with producers.

It would be so much easier if you saw the pitch and told me if you think it could be a replacement for Star Trek or not.

@Valenti, my script is still at the first draft stage, and I'm still waiting to hear back from someone who agreed to read it for me, but when I'm finished with it, how about a quid pro quo: I'll read your script and give you a detailed critique, and you do the same with my script. Neither of us would make our critiques public (unless requested by the other), and it would be understood that the scripts are provided confidentially and not for distribution or citation. That way, you could get feedback on your script from someone who is doing something similar.

P.S.: I could use a good sci-fi song writer. Have any samples?

 

[Valenti]

Great, now if we could only get Maurice to read one or both of them. We need people with connections and expertise to make a film on kickstarter if necessary and especially the feedback from what amounts to an east coast pro with knowledge of sci-fi which is very important.

And yes I do have a sci fi song for you oddly enough - It's call 'so I can be with you'. Starts off with the line' I want to be in world war three, or world war nine later, so that I can make you mine' etc. I have a friend who is a symphony writing classical composer and he also writes movie music and musical theater and standard/pop songs for movies so I could ask him too. I'm trying to get him to write a theme for my space opera as so far I haven't been able to though I probably have at one time in my manuscript books which I have many filled to the brim with sci-fi music but he's trying. Do you need a main theme too or just a song or two?

 

[Matthew Raymond]

Do you need a main theme too or just a song or two?

My pilot is currently 148 pages, so even if I edit it significantly, it'll probably be a movie-length affair, or a two-parter. So, I's need all da musics. I'm going to try to slim future episodes down to fit within an hour. I'm doing a massive amount of world building in the pilot.

I'm thinking of taking a page from the SAO pilot and making the ending credits of the pilot the opening credits for the rest of the season.

Now that I think of it, I could probably work up a teaser trailer script for a Kickstarter pretty easily. I already have a concept for it.

 

[Bixby]

At 148 pages, your script is probably too long