I am an indie filmmaker. I have a great idea for a movie. But I have little money. What to do? I thought about it and wondered, “What would the Sex Pistols do?” The idea came to me like lightning.
Sid Vicious covered Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.” Do you think for a second he got permission from Frank or the song’s composers to do that cover? Can I have permission to cover “My Way?” No way! They did pay publishing royalties, but they didn’t ask for permission. They didn’t need to.
So, I am an independent filmmaker. Of course I have no money. I want to make a short film (the main reason for a short film will come later). I want to use this short film as a “Proof of Concept” in order to obtain funding to make a feature film in the future. People say I need famous people in my movie, but, of course, I can’t afford that. What can I do?
Well, don’t hire famous people, but you can, in many cases use the names of famous people to promote your movie! Especially in the area of a short movie that is not intended and will not show any profit!
The First Amendment and the laws of many states also protect your use of someone’s name or likeness in creative works and other forms of entertainment. Included in this category are things like novels that include mention of real-life figures, historical fiction, movies based loosely on real-life events, “docudramas,” works of art that incorporate an individual’s photo or image, and acts of parody directed at an individual. Some state statutes explicitly exempt these kinds of work from liability for misappropriation or violation of the right of publicity.
I need to make a short film. Why? Because there is basically no way to make money on short films. So, I decided from the start, “I will not make any money for this film, and if I do make any money, it will all go to charity.” By the way, I think this following idea might be risky for a feature film because of so many online streaming sites, almost any feature movie can be sold. So, making a profit opens up an entirely different can of worms.
So I am talking about a short movie here made for the sake of art.
So, let’s say I have a good idea for a movie. But, of course, money is a problem. I can’t afford to hire famous actors or actresses. But, I can use my brain and creativity to find a famous name to put into the title of my movie and that will garner me some buzz promotion.
Say, I have a movie about some rockstar who has an epiphany with God. It’s a good story. But there is no one famous in the movie. I could call it, “Heaven Above” or I could call it, “Pope John Paul, George & Ringo.” Pretty funny, eh? I think you get the idea.
Or I have a movie about a famous woman named Yoko? I call it Grapefruit. There are at least 14 films made so far with the title “Grapefruit” according to IMDB. Or how about the name “Yoko?” There are literally tens of thousands of famous people named Yoko in Japan.
Grapefruit is a movie about the life and story of Yoko. It is a representation of her as a very positive human being. I’d imagine, you know who I am talking about. But I am safe because I do not use her images and do not use her words verbatim in the movie. In fact, I haven’t used her name in this article but I guess you still know who I am talking about.
But the underlying story tells the truth about her and her relationship with one of the most famous bands in history, though they are not mentioned even once in the movie. It is a very positive story about what I think is the most famous Japanese person in history.
So, I am a poor filmmaker. Maybe someday I can become rich and famous making movies. That is a bit doubtful. But I can try to make a famous movie about a famous person and, after all, we shouldn’t make movies purely with a profit motivation. But if we really want to succeed as indie artists, we should make movies for posterity’s sake and films that remain in the public eye years after we die.
That is making movies for the true goal: Making art. Making art that will last long after we die.
This is a lesson we should never forget: make the art for art’s sake and always remember: Hype truly is always better than reality!
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