Hey everybody! I'm looking for general advice on this topic. I'm working on a script for a horror movie. I came up with what I hope is a good concept but there are some details I haven't worked out yet. I got an idea from an episode of the TV series Ghost Whisperer that I think would fit really well in my script. I am definitely trying to avoid using ideas from other things but my question is, would it be a bad idea to borrow that same idea from the show and use my version of it in my script? What is the general consensus on the topic itself (unrelated to my script obviously). Thanks in advance for any advice/help!
Screenwriting : Borrowing Ideas by Nathan Bustillos
Borrowing Ideas
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We all draw inspiration both consciously and subconsciously from all over the place, tv, film, books, day to day life etc... The problem arises when the inspiration is too similar and looks like a direct reproduction, so it depends where on the scale your idea is sitting between 'inspired by' and 'copy of'. How different is your take on the show?
Thanks for the response, Anthony. To give a bit more detail on everything; my script is a take on the Acheri legend in Native American mythology. The legend is about the spirit of a girl who died hundreds of years ago from a disease and if a person is touched by the "shadow" of the ghost, that person then becomes infected with the same disease that it died from. The concept that I wanted to borrow from Ghost Whisperer is the concept of ghost oppression. In the show, two people are being influenced, physically and emotionally by a pair of ghosts in the home where they live. One of the characters in the show describes it as possession without entering the victim's body. In the case of my script, it would be ghost oppression but instead of completely influencing the character physically and emotionally, instead it is making it more difficult for the character to be cured of the disease.
I think there is a little bit of everything that has be done in a lot of films. And to agree with Anthony, it depends on how similar your idea is and what they did. I mean, zombies are an idea and it's broad so anyone can use that really. I think your story although it does have that haunting type of stuff that some films have, is unique and it's okay to be inspired by other things. Just don't copy it. :) good luck!
Thanks, Annika! I appreciate the response.