Documentary Derivatives: Adapting the Documentary in the Streaming Era

abstract: In this article, I argue that the media industry's embrace of documentaries as intellectual property to be adapted into scripted films and series is a consequence of the commercialization of documentary. Underlying this trend is the commodification of story. Commodifying a true story is thorny because it has multiple claimants: both those involved in the events and the filmmaker who shapes them. If a story has been in the news, it is part of the public domain, yet the industry values owning a particular version for creative and marketing reasons. Law and production cultures clash in this new frontier. Two case studies, involving films that have been produced, reveal documentarians' different approaches to controlling their intellectual property and the possible ramifications of documentary adaptations that are licensed but as yet unproduced. I also show how the swift trade in documentaries for adaptation has begun to shift documentary production norms. Ultimately, the trend of documentary adaptations is emblematic of the struggle between documentary's roots in journalism and independent film and its cooptation by the commercial media industry.