C

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Tuesday, September 17th, 2024 12:11 AM

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Title of documentary on USA's script spies (that is what they called the script thieves)

A while back (probably early 2000s) I watched an American documentary on script spies.

It showed how 2 movies come out at nearly the same time, with the same exact topic and get away with it. (I don't recall if there were any movies mentioned so I'm giving examples of my own: )

Ex:

A Bug's Life - Antz. 1998 (IMDb has long removed day & month of release!) Bug cartoons!

Shakespeare in Love - Elizabeth 1998 (also!) All of a sudden 2 historical England romances!


Same year. Nobody had made long-feature cartoons on lives of bugs. 
Same year. Nobody had made private intimate lives of English people in full costume then, all of a sudden: BAM! 2 back to back.

Snow White and the Huntsman & Mirror Mirror gave it a few years in between. (Again, my ex.)

The documentary stated that one movie will be written and start filming first. The script spy is someone in production #1, who then hands the script to the rival production company, who rushes to write and cast their own copy of the original, and they often are released first, thus end up stealing the thunder off the original, appearing to be themselves the original movie. And it's often impossible to know which came first, as you see: release date is not to be trusted as to whom had the idea first, and who copied it.

It's basically 13 Going on 30, but for movie scripts, not magazines. (ETA: pretty sure I watched the documentary before that movie!) I'd have thought it called "Hollywood Script Spies" but apparently not. Unless TPTB made this one disappear forever?!

I hope I am not the only one here who has seen this? I've googled forever and nothing ever turns up! 

 

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