The Same Basic Concept

[Toby Frost]

Over the last year, I've written a book with a distinctive basic concept* - let's say it's about a cowboy who is really an alien in disguise. I'd like to look for a publisher for it in the coming months. Over the weekend I've found out that there is an upcoming film that has basically the same fundamental concept (I suspect that my treatment of it will be more fantastical, but still).

Is this necessarily a bad thing? Will it be assumed that I've ripped off the other alien cowboy story? Does this even matter? I suspect the answer is "probably not" but I wonder how these things affect one another.



* I'm not going into details just because I don't know how I want to market this thing, whether I want to release it under a pseudonym and so on. It's not that I think anyone would "steal" it: I don't think writing works like that.

 

[Harpo]

Maybe that upcoming film will flop.

I spent a few years writing my epic space opera which I then discovered was the same basic concept as The Expanse. My writings are still sitting on a shelf gathering dust, but if The Expanse gets forgotten maybe I’ll give it another go.

 

[BAYLOR]

Publishing it in the US.

 

[Swank]

That would be crazy coincidence, like Deep Impact and Armageddon coming out at the same time, or Volcano and Dante's Peak, or Tombstone and Wyatt Earp, or Mission to Mars and Red Planet, or Infamous and Capote, or The Illusionist and The Prestige, or Antz and A Bug's Life, or Platoon and Full Metal Jacket and Hamburger Hill.

It is an outrageous idea.

 

[Toby Frost]

That's kind of my question: is it necessarily bad to be "a bit like The Expanse"? Or, "like The Expanse but better"? It's a bit like the way that restaurants of a particular type are often found together - you'd think the Curry Mile in Birmingham would be bad for all the businesses, but it increases overall trade. Of course, I'm not running a curry house, but you see what I mean.

 

[BAYLOR]

That's kind of my question: is it necessarily bad to be "a bit like The Expanse"? Or, "like The Expanse but better"? It's a bit like the way that restaurants of a particular type are often found together - you'd think the Curry Mile in Birmingham would be bad for all the businesses, but it increases overall trade. Of course, I'm not running a curry house, but you see what I mean.

Toby rather then go though all this second guessing and wrangling of, should I publish for this reason or not publish for that reason , put the book the print and let the readers decide .

 

[msstice]

a cowboy who is really an alien in disguise

Just go ahead.

The theme of "alien disguised as human" is very common. The earliest I know of is Alf. Even before this are stories of people passing as something else. Fish out of water themes are common. Its a rich source for comedy. The latest one I know of is the one with Alan Tudyk (the guy who played the pilot in Firefly/Serenity)

I'm sure your own unique experiences will enrich the story and make it unique.

 

[Steve Harrison]

I doubt it's a problem, but I know it's disconcerting when you hear about something with such a specific similarity.

I was finishing the first draft of a feature screenplay some years ago, a ghostly romcom which even my wife hadn't read. We were at the movies when a trailer came on for a new film, a ghostly romcom which had a similar storyline and which then showed a 30 second scene with four characters that was almost word for word the same as one of mine. I almost fell off my seat!

The film flopped and I couldn't sell the script (I may revive the project), but I never snorted in derision again when I read a producer disclaimer form saying they may be considering 'work similar or identical to yours.'

 

[Stephen Palmer]

Ozric Tentacles released their album Jurassic Shift in the same year, 1993, as the film Jurassic Park. It was my far their best-selling album, and made their name globally.

 

[Plucky Novice]

Maybe that upcoming film will flop.

I spent a few years writing my epic space opera which I then discovered was the same basic concept as The Expanse. My writings are still sitting on a shelf gathering dust, but if The Expanse gets forgotten maybe I’ll give it another go.

The Expanse is based on books by James Corey. It might be interesting to understand whether the alien cowboy film is also based on a book.

There are a gazillion dragon stories, why not another alien cowboy story?

It might actually help sales.

 

[Oligonicella]

The theme of "alien disguised as human" is very common. The earliest I know of is Alf.

Starman beats it by 2 years. It's not even first.

 

[msstice]

Starman beats it by 2 years. It's not even first.

Actually, I wasn't thinking straight: ALF doesn't disguise himself (normally) as a human so it's a different sub-genre.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978 film) - Wikipedia is of that era (of the "invasion", rather than "living among us" sub-sub-genre)

The "invasion" flavor is a modern take on the Changeling - Wikipedia.

The funniest version IMO is Men in Black (1997 film) - Wikipedia.

 

[Venusian Broon]

Is this necessarily a bad thing?

I think take play the advantages. If the other work/film does nothing as a commercial interest, then, well....don't make the comparison. If the other work ('X'') is successful, then you can market your novel as being "something like X, but...."

?

 

[ColGray]

Similar in theme but different in execution shouldn't be an impediment unless the market response to the movie is like an aggravated rejection of the premise (though I'm struggling to think of a real example of that, which may be a good indicator).

Also worth noting that movies and books have different audience expectations. If the movie sell $100m in tickets, then goes to a streamer and does well by word of mouth, but still failed to meet expectations, people might look and say, It was a flop. The theater audience for the movie was too small.

But from a book perspective, it shows audience interest in the premise and that there are hundreds of thousands of potential audience members. If the book sold 1% of the movie ticket sales it would be a smash hit.