From Fact to Fiction: When Documentaries Meet the Movie Business

 

What happens when documentaries attract the attention of Hollywood? In 2014, some great British documentaries have crossed over to the movie business. Leading directors, producers and lawyers share their experiences. Havana Marking’s remarkable Smash and Grab: The Story of the Pink Panthers is now slated to be directed by Danny Boyle as a feature adaptation. Salma, the central contributor from Kim Longinotto’s acclaimed film of the same name, is doing a deal direct with a LA film producer for the rights to her story. And Peter Armstrong, Partner, Harbottle and Lewis has done several complex movie deals on high profile life story titles including Wikileaks, Julian Assange. We hear gripping accounts of the process and also discuss the ethics and rights when selling ‘real life’. Do documentaries and feature films make easy bed fellows…or is it a minefield?