> as one friend who works in the business cautioned: my project and I are on 
> their radar now.

There is ZERO chance the NYT will sue you. They might not even send you a cease 
and desist letter. Copyright holders only go after people with money they can 
earn a judgement from, or people they see as "damaging their brand" (c.f. the 
Tom Forsythe Foodchain Barbie case).

The Times isn't your problem. If you want to show the film around in public, 
enter festivals etc., the exhibitors/distributors will typically demand that 
you have clearances for any copyrighted material, or they may not show your 
work. (Open-and-shut Fair Use should be an exception, but sometimes the 
curators are really chicken-s**t). The smaller and more 'alternative' the 
venue, the less likely they are to care.

> Should I try to talk them down?

No. Waste of time and energy.

> Should I claim “fair use,” and use the text anyway?

It's not Fair Use, as long as your script is substantively similar to the 
published text.

> I’d appreciate any advice or hearing about your own experiences with this.

Ted and carlileb's ideas are good. Write your own script that paraphrases the 
original. An 'idea' cannot be copyrighted, only a "fixed and tangible" form in 
which that idea is expressed. 

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