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The Screenwriter in Cyberspace
By Charles Deemer

Listen to Charles Deemer's RealAudio Screenwriting Tips

Column #12 - Indiana Jones and the Great Sequel Controversy

As every beginning screenwriter knows, it is not easy to get a script read. Screenwriters, therefore, have gone to creative extremes to draw attention to themselves - and to their work. There are stories of screenwriters parachuting into a famous director's outdoor birthday party, script in hand; of special delivering a script to supposedly secret vacation hideaways; of "tipping" a doorman or maid to deliver a script to an important actor.

Many of these stories are myth, no doubt. But a few months ago, on the World Wide Web, a writer took a daring and creative risk to get his work noticed.

>Robert Smith put an Indiana Jones sequel online, passing it off as the "real thing." An immediate controversy began: was the script authentic or not; was it any good; who was the anonymous author? Newsgroups buzzed with opinions and theories.

I wondered how Smith came up with such an unusual marketing plan - and so asked him.

"What inspired me to write a sequel ," reports Smith, " (and this may sound silly) was a dream I had. I woke up with a vivid picture in my head of Indiana Jones standing on a snow covered mountain ledge, awash in moon light.

"At first I thought, hmmm, isn't this interesting and went about my daily life. But, dangit, that image wouldn't leave me alone. And before I knew it I had a bunch of notes for a proposed sequel.

"Seven days later I had a first draft. I'd written it during an extended period of what writer's call "White Heat".

"Burnt out, I was sure I'd gotten it out of my system. Boy was I wrong. Soon I got this crazy notion about submitting the script to Lucasfilm as a writing sample. But an opportunity arose and I submitted it to a local agent instead. He liked what he read and decided to help me submit the script to Lucasfilm.

"Needless to say, I was overjoyed. Not only did I procure an agent, but this agent was going to champion the script to the big man himself.

"Alas, my agent (for reasons I'm still not sure of to this day) changed his mind and I suffered a serious blow to the ol' ego. But I refused to go down without a fight and called Lucasfilm myself. I got the assistant to Lucas on the phone and pleaded my case, but she wouldn't hear me out.

"I hung up, confused and frustrated. That, as they say, was the straw that broke the camel's back. Exhausted, I packed it in.

"About a year later it occurred to me to try and get Lucasfilm's attention by posting my Indy script on the Internet. I'd heard about the guy who posted a proposed Star Wars prequel treatment in the early 80's and read about how Lucas acknowledged his treatment, so this was the fuel that motivated me.

"I knew I'd have to take a radical approach, so I concocted a courier theft story and posted it to all the film discussion groups. In a matter of days the site "hit" counter jumped from 0 to 300 and snowballed from there on.

"The first cease and desist order was received by e-mail about a week later. I did it! I got Lucasfilm's attention, but I felt it wasn't enough.

"So with the help of some brave friends of mine, we moved the script to a new site and set up a comments page were readers of the script could leave their two cents' worth. At the same time, the Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg news groups were all abuzz with chatter of the stolen script posted on the 'net.

"Fan comments were mixed. Some believed the script was genuine, while others were sure the script was a fake. I must say, it was difficult to sit back and let the naysayers tear into my script. A few comments were outright nasty and were obviously intended to provoke a response.

"On the flip side, comments that raved about the script had a healing effect. I was paid the ultimate compliment by those fans who believed the script was the real McCoy. I thank them sincerely. And to the naysayers I bow to your abilities at sniffing out a forgery."

But the party was bound to end sooner or later.

"Four cease and desist orders later," Smith continues, "I pulled the plug and shut down. At that point, I felt I'd rocked the boat sufficiently enough that Lucasfilm had no choice but to deal with me.

" And deal with me they did. My friend went into work and was told an RCMP constable was there to see him.

"To make a long story short, my friend ratted me out (laugh) and I was obligated then to give the constable a call. I did just that the next morning with prison cell doors clanging in my ears. But what I thought would be an arrest by phone turned into a pleasant conversation. I assured the constable that I wouldn't do anything like that again (wink) and hung up with the constable's promise that he'd put in a good word for me at Lucasfilm.

"Funny, I sound at ease now, but while this nuttiness was going on I was a nervous wreck. Let me say, I spent many sleepless nights worried about who my cell mate would be and if he would be gentle with me.

"All cavalier strutting aside, I'm well aware of the seriousness of my actions and I don't make light of what I did, or recommend that anyone try this at home. I don't want to be responsible for a flood of screenplays on the 'net.

"Fact is, I broke the law and just might have damaged the Indiana Jones franchise. The only reason I believe I'm not in jail is because of the luck of the draw and because of the tolerant people at Lucasfilm. I drew five aces and beat the odds."

"But my Internet fugitive days are over," Smith concludes. "In my letters to Lucasfilm I apologized and explained that my actions weren't malicious in any way and that I simply wanted someone to read my script. I guess one could chalk it up to the actions of a desperate screenwriter.

"But I'd say they were the actions of a man who still believes in miracles (and in this day and age that's a miracle in itself), as well as the actions of a man who wears blinders because he believes in himself and in his ideas. "

So this story of "extreme measures", at any rate, proves to be true, even if the ending isn't as happy as Smith would have preferred.

And what creative marketing scheme have you come up with?

--Charles Deemer



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Originally appeared at the Hollywood Network.