Reader Question: How about adapting a comic book into a screenplay?
Hollywood may be crazy about comic books, but for a writer there are some specific concerns which need to be addressed.
Hollywood may be crazy about comic books, but for a writer there are some specific concerns which need to be addressed.
A reader question from rajiv130:
Is is it reasonable to adapt a comic book for my first screenplay? It’s off the radar and several people have told me it would work as a film. I have zero industry experience/contacts/etc.
It’s a loaded question. Adapting anything presents its own special challenges. What narrative elements to omit is almost as critical a concern as what to keep. However with a comic book, depending upon how long it is, you may not have as many concerns on that front as a novel.
And who are these “several people”? Do they have ties to the entertainment industry? Or just amateur comic book aficionados? If the latter, they may be right — the source material could make for a good movie. But what if they’re not? A more important question is if you believe the comic book will translate into a film. Do you have a specific vision for the story, translating into a screenplay?
Before you even consider any of that, you have to answer this question: Do you control the rights to the comic book? If you don’t, then it makes little sense to move ahead. Because if you spec a screenplay based on an intellectual property whose rights you do not control, your script is essentially valueless. Yes, based on the strength of your script, you may be able to convince a studio to secure the underlying rights of the comic book. On the other hand, there’s nothing keeping the studio from securing the rights without you attached.
I suppose if you’re just looking at this as something upon which you want to work to get that first completed screenplay out of the way, that is as a writing exercise, there may be some value in that. However, why not generate an original strong story concept and write that? Then at least you have something you can try to sell.
One last thing: When you say “it’s off the radar,” have you considered if it is because of some conceptual or narrative deficiencies in the source material? It certainly feels like the studios are obsessed with finding great comic book franchises. Was the comic book you’re considering widely disseminated? Would studios already have considered and rejected the property?
But again, if you don’t control its rights, then there’s little point in writing a screenplay based upon the comic book.
In terms of getting the rights, you need to contact the writers and determine who owns the rights, then contact them and work out a deal.
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