...You might steal it.
How many times have you heard that one?
Let me clue you in - ideas are cheap. It's the EXPRESSION of the idea that is worth everything.
The story of Star Wars ("A New Hope" - Episode 4, for the purists) is hardly unique. Joseph Campbel outlines the plot in the index of "Hero with a Thousand Faces". The plot is repeated everywhere from "The Wizard of Oz" to the James Bond movie, "The Spy Who Loved Me".
The point is - it was George Lucas' unique expression of the story that caught people's attention.
That said - I can tell you EXACTLY what my new, secret project is. It's a cooking show.
Big deal. So what?
It's my unique expression of the idea - the "Steve Schnier Version" - the twisted, convoluted twist on the basic idea that makes the cooking show unique.
Another thing - how many ideas does a person have?
YOU'LL STEAL MY IDEA!!! (You've only had ONE idea in your whole life?)
That's a very sad - though interesting scenario. One solitary idea in a whole lifetime.
Ideas are cheap. They're everywhere. Take them, twist them - make something new.
Well written, again.
ReplyDeleteright on man, couldn't have put it better myself.
ReplyDeleteHey Guys,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind comments. Please feel free to add your thoughts anytime. And listen - because the only truth in the Entertainment Industry (or ANY industry for that matter) is "No One Knows Anything" - feel absolutely free to disagree with what I say.
Because what do I know? Right?
The "one idea pony" usually has no training or experience in the field or medium he/she wants to produce their idea in.
ReplyDeleteBut it is true about the treatment of the idea, and a recent lawsuit which went in favor of the creator (see articles relating to the case of Claude Robinson vs Cinar)about how Cinar stole the treatment of his creation . And if you think A Montreal animation company's debacle is of no importance, ask the millions of Canadians and Americans who had a lot of their RRSP/401K money invested in Cinar at the time.
Hello JPilot - thanks for raising the Cinar / Claude Robinson issue. I stand corrected. It does happen. There are scummy people in the animation biz - big surprise, huh?
ReplyDeleteThe scary thing is that Cinar was so overt in stealing an idea. But the investigation into the intellectual property theft also uncovered numerous cases of Tax Fraud which led to the company's demise.
On that level, when the top executives of a company feel that they're above the law and immune to prosecution, they start to get sloppy.
"One solitary idea in a whole lifetime" --- That sounds like a good premise for a show, can I steal that? :-)
ReplyDeleteSure... Take two. They're small.
ReplyDeleteI like when people have one idea and gaurd it with their lives as if they had found the holy grail.
ReplyDelete