Name checks

Among the myriad other duties I had while working as a Marine Corps technical advisor in Hollywood (from 92 to 95), one was doing name checks for people producing films.

I sometimes got 3 calls a day. For example, they would ask: "Do you have any Marines named Joe Blow or Joseph Blow or Joey Blow or Joe Blowe...and other permutations, and if so, how many?

I would then get the info for them and call them back. The general rule was it is Ok to use a name if there are more than 5 Marines with that name or no one with that name.

Supposedly, this is to prevent the film company from getting in trouble from a character who bears a name resemblance to someone in real life.

Is this a consideration for a screenwriter as well, or does this just concern in-production films? I don't ever recall a screenwriter calling about name checks, just the film companies.

(Screenwriters would often call me, asking military technical or historical questions)

I am not 100% an expert on this and I am sure others will chime in, but this end of the business is called "clearances."

Once a script is sold (or optioned), a myriad of lawyers, assitants and such, pick through the script for anything that may or may not have legal issues. Changes are made from that point.

A screenwriter should not care about names or legal stuff like this, but should be aware, when writing, of any major element that is going to cause legal problems down the road. (like misrepresenting a historical figure or event and saying it is true, using trademarked items (music, products, etc... in your script)

An example I had. The lead constantly ate a particular candy bar in a script (in fact the title had it in it as well), which the producer wanted changed because he couldn't get(or didnt want to pay for) the rights to use it.

obviously, you never stay until the end of the credits b/c if you did you'd see the disclaimer at the end of every feature flick.

stop worrying about this stuff and worry about the content of your story. that's all that really matters b/c if the story is so good that someone wants to produce it they only have to say, "change that name" if they don't like what you've chosen.

rewrite on!