How To Get Your Art in a Movie!

How my artwork was licensed by HBO for “Fahrenheit 451” starring Michael B. Jordan.

My 18th century-style map (painted in 2011 or 2012) appears in HBO’s 2018 movie Fahrenheit 451.

This is the true story of how my artwork ended up appearing in the HBO movie Fahrenheit 451 starring Michael B. Jordan. You’ll see that sometimes it’s just dumb luck, sometimes it’s who you know, and sometimes it’s hard work. And sometimes it’s a combination of all of these things.

My art is in a movie!

Michael B. Jordan, as the character Montag, stands before his home’s futuristic smart wall, powered by an Alexa-like system called Yuxie.

Yuxie— Did Benjamin Franklin burn books or not? Montag asks.

The house responds “YES.” As a pioneer of American fire companies, Franklin burned books. To prove it, Yuxie makes the wall swirl with color, waves of historical imagery flashing before Montag’s eyes, pictures as tall and as wide as the room: pictures of the Liberty Bell; Ben Franklin in his fireman’s uniform; Franklin burning big heaps of books; Franklin burning little heaps of books.

Montag looks momentarily doubtful of this history, and of his own role as fireman-hero-book burner. The house, sensing his discomfort, reminds him to take the sedative eye drops he has been issued. As I ask Siri what year Ray Bradbury’s novel was published (1953), I am struck by how similar today’s world is to the one he predicted.

But never mind! There, on screen, is my artwork: a hand-painted map of England’s American colonies, styled to appear as an 18th century document. Wow! Wow wow wow.

I’ve been paid five hundred dollars, and my name appears in the credits alongside Getty Images, Associated Press, NASA, Library of Congress, and Werner Herzog.

How did I end up— like Montag— watching my work flash across a voice-controlled, web-connected, smart screen in my home? To explain, I’ll have to go backwards to a phone conversation I had with Deb Ricketts, a representative from HBO.

My art is in a movie! Well, kind of

I can’t see my artwork anywhere on screen!

I’ve gotten the free HBO trial and watched the scene twenty-five times. Montag stands before the wall— asks Yuxie about Franklin— the art should be there! On the twenty-sixth viewing as I’m scratching my head, I realize what has happened.

The filmmakers have inverted the colors of my map: the taupe-colored background is now black; sepia lettering is now blue. My art appears for only about one-third of a second before it gets buried under all the Franklin pictures. You can see it at about 29 seconds into the trailer clip above; my art is a skinny strip of murky blue-black, about shoulder height on the wall. I can just barely recognize the squiggly line of the Allegheny River, the dotted Raystown Path, the marker for Fort Duquesne.

I had granted one-time, royalty-free permission (and permission to alter the work) to HBO, actually to a company called “Calling Grace Productions,” during a phone conversation with their rep in California, Deb Ricketts.

Montag (played by Michael B. Jordan) asks Yuxie, his smart home device, to tell him the truth about Ben Franklin’s book burning habits. My art is mostly hidden, with only a bluish-black strip appearing in the lower wall area.

Deb is from southeast Pennsylvania like me. She sounds like my grandmother and great-aunts, hints of the “Delco/Philly” accent, a bit of vocal fry. After sharing pleasantries about PA, Deb is ready for business.

“So. Do you want to do this thing?” There’s a quiet pause. “We can even pay you, I mean, if you want.”

“Well, of course!” I laugh. “Uh, and w-what will you offer?”

“Well, let me see,” she says. I hear the clicks of a keyboard. “Looks like we’re offering a $350 standard payment per image to Getty Images. We could do that,” she says.

“Hm. OK, thank you, but that’s too low. My people suggest $800 to $1000 per image is reasonable.” I’m prepared, having spoken with some industry insiders.

“Oh!! That’s a lot! I don’t think we could do that much— tsk. But. We could do maybe— $500?”

I respond too quickly. “YES, YES, I’ll take it!” I say.

“REALLY?!?” she says.

Damn! I hear it in her voice. I haven’t negotiated back up, she can’t believe it, she was ready to pay more. Too late. Suddenly I have an idea. “Oh! Oh! And screen credit, please. OH! And keep me in your Rolodex, please. You know, for future image licensing.”

“Well, I’ll certainly keep you in my contacts. And I’ll see if I can arrange screen credit— no guarantees, though.”

My name appears alongside Werner Herzog and NASA in the credits for Fahrenheit 451.

Deb and I finalize the terms of the licensing agreement (which includes a maybe screen credit); it will be mailed along with a W9 form for me to sign. I follow up with a thank-you letter and a copy of the book sent to Deb.

And that’s how I secured a deal with HBO.

…But how did I end up on a phone call with a rep from HBO? How did Deb come across my hand-painted map? And who are my industry insiders? To answer these things, you guessed it, I’ll have to go further back in time.