I want to film a Dr. Who Parody and send it off to multiple Film Festivals. I have the necessary props and equipment (That are seen from the television series) and it's a non-budget, non-profitable independent amateur film (Though hopefully would look good enough to watch at a film festival).
All I want out of it is experience, some recognition it's been seen and another film to have under my belt.
My only concern is that because my subject matter is obviously taking recourses out of Dr. Who, would this be therefor a 'doomed from the start' project and simply not be aloud to be shown to be watched by a public domain even though I will not see a penny from making this?
Many Thanks, Ben.
Sorry to report that this is a doomed from the start project.
Copyright has little to do with money changing hands. Copyright is the right to copy someone's property regardless of profit or non-profit. You need permission. People violate the copyright laws all the time - there are thousands of fan films being made. Most festivals won't take them - with some exceptions of course. There are Star Wars and Star Trek fan film festivals. You might find a Dr. Who fan film festival
You can do it for the experience and to have another film under your belt, but you are violating copyright laws so the chances of your project being seen are slim. And no; I'm not suggesting you might face a law suit. In fact, if your movie meets the guidelines of a true parody, you might fall out of the doomed from the start category. Don't look for legal advice on the forms however. You'll get opinions when what you need is real law advice.
My suggestion is to make an original film. You gain experience, you get another film under your belt AND you can show it in festivals and on line.
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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)
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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)
True parodies do generally have a fair amount of legal protection; however, unless you do it 'Galaxy Quest' style with only implied references to the original show I doubt you'll have much hope of getting it shown outside Dr Who fandom.
The 'Star Wreck' guys have a distribution deal with Universal Pictures now, but their movie is basically their own characters with spaceships that bear a remarkable resemblance to those from 'Star Trek' and 'Babylon 5'. It's also quite an entertaining movie in its own right, even if you haven't seen the original shows.
Yes, it appears it is what I feared. Many thanks for helping me on this.
If you still want to have a go, I'd suggest you download 'Star Wreck' (they have a free download of a low-resolution version on their site) and see if you can come up with something on similar lines for 'Doctor Who'; I'm sure you could find an idea that's both entertaining for people who aren't fans of the show and has plenty of in-jokes for those who are.
Alternatively, give up and create something totally new :).
