With encouragement from his brother, Dan, who's also a screenwriter and shares credit with Gilroy on "Legacy, " Gilroy presented the idea to the studio -- still not expecting that he'd be the one to write the script.

CNN: How Tony Gilroy came back to 'Bourne'

When Warner Bros. made Casablanca in 1942 the studio had no idea that television play and later video rentals would produce vast revenue streams running for decades.

FORBES: Consider Your Options

Whether it meets the legal definition of a copy or not is one thing, but the perception that Zynga is a creatively bankrupt studio without an original idea in its head is only amplified by new games like this.

FORBES: Zynga Presses Luck with Pokemon-Inspired 'Montopia'

But, you know, the Stevie Wonder idea, we were all in the studio recording a song and Tommy LiPuma, who produced it, was there.

NPR: Queen Latifah on 'Trav'lin' Light'

The idea emerged after she lost her New York studio space a year and a half ago.

NPR: Stefanie Nagorka, Do-It-Yourself Sculptor

"I had no idea which songs T Bone would choose until I arrived at the studio, " she said.

WSJ: 'Glad Rag Doll': Diana Krall Sings With No Strings Attached

If you've forgotten how gratifying a Hollywood studio film can be, this is the best good idea you could ask for.

WSJ: 'Argo,' on Fake Film, Is Real Sensation | Film Review by Joe Morgenstern

Other than a general idea, though, she didn't have arrangements in mind before she entered the studio.

NPR: Shelby Lynne Gives Dusty Her Due

The idea of messing with any of Springfield's music had her hitting the flask in the studio: "I drank more whiskey making this record, " she says.

NPR: Shelby Lynne Gives Dusty Her Due

Original Blade Runner writer Hampton Fancher is in talks to pen an idea for an untitled sequel to the classic sci-fi film for director Ridley Scott and studio Alcon Entertainment.

FORBES: 'Blade Runner' Sequel May Bring Back the Old Magic with Original Screenwriter Hampton Fancher