Opening Quotes

[Yodaman]

I'm making a Star Wars fan film and I wanted to use a certain quote from LOTR as an opening quote in the film. Is it legal to use an quote from LOTR as an opening quote in a fan film?

[Rosie Gamgee]

Don't count me as an authority, but I read that if you only mean to show the film to your family and friends, then there's really no problem what you put in your film. However, you would probably have to get the rights in order to show the film at festivals and stuff like that.
btw, the same book also said that if the author of the book has been dead for- ohhh, was it 80 years?- then no copy-right laws apply unless someone's already bought the rights- like Jackson. So.....

[Olmer]

I'm making a Star Wars fan film and I wanted to use a certain quote from LOTR as an opening quote in the film. Is it legal to use an quote from LOTR as an opening quote in a fan film?

"For the most part, almost anything published should be considered to be copyrighted unless it is CLEARLY stated that it's been placed in the public domain. Copyrighted material shouldn't be distributed unless it's CLEARLY stated that the copyright holder has granted permission."

Thanks God that nobody knows who invented the seven notes!!!
Otherwise musicians would pay for every note they put on theirs note- sheets. :rolleyes:

[Elanor the Fair]

[QUOTE=Olmer

Thanks God that nobody knows who invented the seven notes!!!
Otherwise musicians would pay for every note they put on theirs note- sheets. :rolleyes:[/QUOTE]

Or the alphabet!! :D

[Yodaman]

It's just going to be shown on the web, and maybe Theforce.net might host it since it;s a fan film. I was thinking about showing the quote, not a sound clip, before the film starts. Kind of like in the begining of Black Hawk Down, where the screen flashes with 'Only the dead have seen the end of war' quote from Plato before the film starts. Would PJ hunt me down just for this? By the way, the quote is:

"There are some things that it is better to begin than to refuse, even though the end may be dark".
-Aragorn
The Two Towers

[Attalus]

I believe that if it is short and properly attributed, copyright law would not apply. After all, Ace Books published the whole LotR without permission, and never got in trouble, except from the fans.