Hey all you older, wiser filmmakers out there!

[scarylarrywolf]

I am making an independent film involving the Winnie the Pooh characters, and I was wondering about the legal twists and turns I'd have to go through if I wanted to sell my film, since the characters are copyrighted and all. The thing is, I know Disney owns the rights to the characters now, but all the research into them I did via Milne's books and the characters in my film have nothing to do with their Disneyfied versions. Does anyone know of any links I could go to to find out more on how to go about the legalities of this situation?

--"Scary" Larry Wolf

 

[Secret Squirrel]

Disney and the Milne estate have a long and troubled history of ownership questions. My advice for legal reasons is to avoid using the Pooh characters.

My advice for creative reasons is to focus on an original project. It will be more satisfying, and if you ever did sell it, all the profits would be yours.

secret squirrel

 

[beaker]

You want to do an indie Winnie the Pooh film? Like Pooh Clerks, or Resevior Bears? ^_^

Yeahhh...best sticking with your own puppets kid(assuming youd be making Winnie Puppets...unless you have big ol mascot suits or the time to do painstaking animation)

 

[scarylarrywolf]

Perhaps I should have explained my idea a little better:

This film is FAR from being un-original. This is to be a "psychological thriller" (comically, of course) based on how A. A. Milne's stories had the potential to destroy Christopher Robin's ability to distinguish between fantasy and reality. My friends and I got the idea for it when we were studying children's lit in English last year. I didn't make a detailed cast of puppets for this because I want them to still have the essence of stuffed animals, and they are mainly in the film just to give the audience a little background with the Pooh stories. The focus of the story is on Christopher Robin's adult life.

Anyway, thanks for your input and advice.

--"Scary" Larry Wolf

 

[Super Scooter]

That sounds like a great idea! I don't think Disney OWNS the rights to Pooh completely. You might want to look in the front of a newer Winnie the Pooh book (non-Disney. Only A. A. Milne) and see who owns the copyright. Usually they have an address to that company or person, and you can write them about your idea. Of course, I think you'd need the permission of any of A. A. Milne's relatives who are still alive.

Er, for the show, do you intend to film it on film or tape? Like a theater release? Or video? Or just some project you wanted to do? I would love to see it! I've been a huge fan of A. A. Milne since I first saw Winnie the Pooh, and then that was increased when I saw the Muppets do The King's Breakfast.

You should make the puppets look like the original dolls Christopher Robin had (the real Christopher Robin).

 

[scarylarrywolf]

Yeah, it's just a project I've been working on with some people who actually want to help me. I've never been able to finish a film before because not enough people were helping me, but I have a lot of support on this one. So it's kinda just for experience at this point and I was hoping I could regain some of our EXTREMELY low budget by selling copies, but that would just be a nice little benefit if I could dodge the copyright. I am doing it on digital video film and editing it on my computer. It's about half-way through, and then I need music. Thanks for the interest though! It's probably a lot different than you'd expect... I mean, I really love Milne and all, but it's seen from a completely different angle.

--"Scary" Larry Wolf

 

[ryhoyarbie]

hope your movie project does good......i guess this is how future film makers start, by making small videos or directing tv shows then moving up to big movies and stuff...

hey, i wanna direct movies or even produce movies....need to get an agent!!!!

ryan