Legal / Pitch
Legal & IP
This page governs the BLACK WATER pitch platform at ryansmann.com, operated by The House. Last updated 2026.
Intellectual property
The House owns the original historical fiction concept BLACK WATER (also known as THE OKEECHOBEE, campaign-titled FLORIDA’S FORGOTTEN STORM): the invented story, characters, logline, synopsis, treatments, and original campaign materials made for ryansmann.com. The House does not own the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane, the towns, the death toll, the graves, or any published work by another author. No talent, music, venue, consultant, estate, or institutional attachment is claimed. Display of this site grants no license.
The House, of ryansmann.com, is the owner of this website and of the original film concept. Characters, loglines, synopsis, treatments, and original campaign imagery made for this project belong to The House. Historical events — the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane, the failure of the mud dike, the mass graves, the later Herbert Hoover Dike — are facts. Facts are not owned.
No talent, composer, venue, consultant, estate, or institution is attached to this project on this site.
Access to a treatment or meeting does not create a partnership, option, or implied license. The full treatment, if provided, is under nondisclosure. This public site and the short leave-behind PDF are not confidential.
Confidentiality
Inquiries submitted through this site are received in confidence by The House at [email protected]. Any request may be emailed to that address. Do not send screenplays, attachments, or third-party materials unsolicited. Unsolicited creative submissions are not reviewed and create no obligation.
Prior published works
BLACK WATER is original historical fiction from The House. It does not adapt Their Eyes Were Watching God or any other copyrighted literary work. The books named on this site are recognized as the published path that was laid before this concept. Naming them is citation, not a license, option, co-authorship, or attachment. No such relationship is claimed.
Privacy
The inquiry form composes a message to [email protected]. A copy of your name, affiliation, and message is also stored locally in your browser so that you may confirm what you sent. The House treats professional contact details as confidential business correspondence. This site does not sell personal information. Audio atmosphere, if enabled, is generated in the browser and is not recorded.
Respect for the dead
BLACK WATER is a work of historical fiction about a real catastrophe in which thousands of people, predominantly Black migrant workers, lost their lives. The House will not sensationalize those deaths. The purpose of the dramatic work is to restore attention, not to exploit it.