A little info please?

[eazy]

Is it allowed, or are there any restrictions on certain things that take place within movies. I'm working on a script entitled THE TAKEOVER in which a criminal-mastermind for-hire is solicited by a spanish terrorist to plan and execute a plot to infultrate the White House and kidnap the President. Please enlighten me.

[Writer1]

As long as it's not graphic images of child pornography...pretty much anything goes. Have at it...lots of stories about Presidential kidnapping.

[scripter1]

keep it in the back of your mind that maybe, just mayyyyyybe if your script hits too close to home the FBI could stop by to ask you a few questions. :D

[Aldenard]

Are you sure ANYTHING can go in screenplays? I seriously doubt some of Takeshi Miike's films could even be RELEASED in America.

[dpaterso]

I can't see the problem, given that films like AIR FORCE ONE directly endangered a fictional President, and THE JACKAL almost shot a fictional First Lady to pieces. Having said this, security consciousness is at an all-time high in these troubled times. Maybe that could put some people off. But consider that if the story itself is gripping enough, maybe it will be bought and tweaked so it becomes a less touchy scenario? Anything's possible. I say write it.

-Derek
My wittle web page - hack stories, failed novels, dud screenplays, terminal writer's block. (http://hometown.aol.co.uk/DPaterson57)
I'll bet any quantum mechanic in the service would give the rest of his life to fool around with this gadget.

[scripter1]

the script/writing doesn't reveal any personal animosity towards the sitting President or contain any real threats then you should be fine. A purely fictional work won't bring the CIA crashing through your front door.

Sure, there are plently of opinions and beliefs on all sides of the spectrum. One man's trash is another man's treasure.
It isn't YOUR job to worry about that.
Your job is to write a really awesome story that will captivate some kind of audience and appeal to some group of people.

You don't have any control over people's reactions to it. Only how well written it is, how well it uses the tools of the trade.

Write it and let the chips fall where they may.

I'm a gun-ho, Toby Kieth loving, flag waving American. As long as your fictional President and the US end up kicking the terrorist's butts then I'll watch the movie.

If it makes the US and the President look bad then you can count me out.
But I'm not going to deny you your right to write the thing.

A studio may take it and then again they might not.
You won't know until you give it a try.

[Enigma]

keep it in the back of your mind that maybe, just mayyyyyybe if your script hits too close to home the FBI could stop by to ask you a few questions. :D

Scripter1 is right there, all smilies aside. If a story is based on an actual event that's classified, and you were there and/or had knowledge of it as an employee of the government, then you no doubt signed a muzzle agreement. Violate it and, yes, you can have serious legal problems that can/will involve the production company.

Some authors and screenwriters ask for permission first. It's a good idea. Sometimes Big Brother will give you the go ahead (usually by ignoring the request), sometimes they won't and they'll send a couple of suits around to give you the rejection in person. It depends on the political situation. Those are reasons why there are so few stories based on secret events that are written in first person by former spooks and S/As.

Also, if your story involves military hardware, say the use of a war-ship, DOD has to sign off on the script (making sure that branch of the service looks good) and will assign someone on their "side" to be there to make sure the script is followed. If it isn't to the letter, or their liking, then they can take their toys and go home, and bring legal action against anyone they want. In short, if you want their cooperation, they have to have script approval.

[Joe Calabrese]

One of my writing friends writes a lot about Government/CIA/FBI/Spy stuff and talks to people involved at various agencies and he usually gets a weird look at first, but after a background check and lengthy explanations he eventually gets some good info to put in his scripts.

[Enigma]

One of my writing friends writes a lot about Government/CIA/FBI/Spy stuff and talks to people involved at various agencies and he usually gets a weird look at first, but after a background check and lengthy explanations he eventually gets some good info to put in his scripts.

... way it works.

The Navy thinks so much of Tom Clancy's work that if he asked, they'd probably loan him a nuclear sub to take deep sea fishing. And Tom Cruise; I heard they didn't ask for that plane back when he got through filming "Top Gun." http://absolutewrite.com/forums/images/icons/icon12.gif And in "Days Of Thunder" they allowed the director to start an extra car in the grid during the 500, so he could get the crowd shots, which was actually, so I heard, the Firecracker 400. It did 30 laps.

On the flip side, I read once where the Air Force turned down a film project because the writers didn't bother to do their research.

[dpaterso]

A writing buddy told me he called his old Army unit's press liaison officer when he heard a director was looking for choppers to appear for a Clancy film, and got both parties talking to each other. The Army fell over itself to provide the hardware, at no cost. Hell, it was a Clancy movie! Good publicity. Years later when he enquired how much to rent a chopper for a film he was trying to put together, the quote was $4000 per day.

The military also offers DoD-approved stock footage of planes, vehicles, ships, you-name-it, which may be cheaper than renting the hardware and crews.

-Derek
My wittle web page - hack stories, failed novels, dud screenplays, terminal writer's block. (http://hometown.aol.co.uk/DPaterson57)
I'll bet any quantum mechanic in the service would give the rest of his life to fool around with this gadget.

[Joe Calabrese]

I'll bet that 4K doesn't cover the gas or pay for the crew. Some of those choppers suck up diesel like its going out of style.

[Enigma]

I'll bet that 4K doesn't cover the gas or pay for the crew. Some of those choppers suck up diesel like its going out of style.

You can say that again, Joe (only they don't burn diesel, rather super jet fuel, which an ordinary jet doesn't need because their operational ceiling is around 35,000 feet, whereas military birds go up to around 70,000). That $4K figure is right, only it's for an HOUR in the air, not a day. And on another point; it doesn't include the cost of the crew (flight and ground)!