Can this be done in literature?

[pap64]

I was wondering... In literature, can you make mention or reference other works like movies, books, music and such? Like for example...

"One Saturday morning, Harry was having breakfast. His younger daughter, Emily, came up to him, still wearing her pajamas. She was holding up a newspaper ad talking about a new family movie.

"The Princess and the Frog, eh? Is that what you want to do tonight?

The little girl nodded yes"

Or...

"As the date went on, Kate wouldn't stop talking about herself. She began to talk about how Audrey Hepburn was one of her favorite actresses, and proceeded to recite lines from "Breakfast at Tiffany's". It was embarrassing to say the least."

Can I be in legal problems if I do it or am I free as a write to talk about it?

[Luke]

Can I be in legal problems if I do it or am I free as a write to talk about it?

You are free to mention movie titles as you'd like. In fact, you could go further and quote a movie, so long as you're not just "I decided to watch a movie. [full movie script]."

[pap64]

I tend to stay away from references because I want my work to be as timeless as possible, but I also think it adds some familiarity to the characters and story if I mention a classic movie, book, song or person.

The only reference I have in mind for my story is that the lead male character is burned out on "Breakfast at Tiffany's" because his parents saw it in the 60s and thus have overplayed the movie at his household since.

I guess it would turn into a legal issue if I, say, made a movie out of it and decide to include an actual scene from the movie, because then it would present it visually.

[PeterPanfan]

I tend to stay away from references because I want my work to be as timeless as possible, but I also think it adds some familiarity to the characters and story if I mention a classic movie, book, song or person.

The only reference I have in mind for my story is that the lead male character is burned out on "Breakfast at Tiffany's" because his parents saw it in the 60s and thus have overplayed the movie at his household since.

I guess it would turn into a legal issue if I, say, made a movie out of it and decide to include an actual scene from the movie, because then it would present it visually.

No offense, but have you seen any movies... or read any books?

Literature and film are full of references to other works.

[Escapay]

Can I be in legal problems if I do it or am I free as a write to talk about it?

So long as you provide a copyright notice when it's published (e.g. you have a character quote lyrics from "Some Enchanted Evening" and make sure include a copyright notice to R&H/South Pacific/the song/etc.).

The only reference I have in mind for my story is that the lead male character is burned out on "Breakfast at Tiffany's" because his parents saw it in the 60s and thus have overplayed the movie at his household since.

If the movie is part of the narrative in that way, I wouldn't worry about it (just make sure to provide copyright). After all, some of the greatest works out there are based on other works, in the sense that the other work(s) is the focal point of the novel/movie/etc. The novel La traición de Rita Hayworth, for example, is about a young man and his obsession with Hollywood films. And Giuseppe Tornatore's 1988 film Nuovo Cinema Paradiso is all about a young man's (and also his small town's) love affair with the movie house, featuring movie clips aplenty as part of the narrative. Heck, TV shows reference other shows all the time ("The Big Bang Theory" has plenty of cultural references to things like "Star Trek", Superman, Stan Lee) as it helps develop the characters' personalities and occasionally makes good stories (the "Jeopardy!" episode of "The Golden Girls" is one of my favourites).

Generally, I'm the same and I tend to not use any literary/movie/tv/music references unless I have to. For example, in my short story "Odd Little Ducks", I reference songs by Jefferson Airplane and Billy Joel, though I don't outright provide the lyrics (simply because it wasn't necessary, just the song titles were), as it was part of my character's personality as well as the situation he was in.

albert

[pap64]

I tend to stay away from references because I want my work to be as timeless as possible, but I also think it adds some familiarity to the characters and story if I mention a classic movie, book, song or person.

The only reference I have in mind for my story is that the lead male character is burned out on "Breakfast at Tiffany's" because his parents saw it in the 60s and thus have overplayed the movie at his household since.

I guess it would turn into a legal issue if I, say, made a movie out of it and decide to include an actual scene from the movie, because then it would present it visually.

No offense, but have you seen any movies... or read any books?

Literature and film are full of references to other works.

None taken. Yes I have seen movies (enough to make a website ) and books, and realize that references are always made.

I am just wondering since companies and people are so lawsuit happy mentioning even the name of something may cause issues.