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Showing posts with label spec script. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spec script. Show all posts

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Spec Script Versus Shooting Script

Speculative scripts, also known as Spec Scripts, are written for commercial reasons. The main intent of a screenwriter creating this type of script is to sell to film production houses and/or to land a coveted television writing job. Shooting scripts are used to guide directors; they are prepared by production staff as a tool to shoot films. 

Write Spec Scripts as your calling card to possibly connect with film executives, to apply for writing fellowships (Disney/ABC) and/or to chase after a chance to write on television. It really takes some major effort on your part to employ your Spec Script and create interest. 

Aspiring screenwriters can lose sight of the Spec Script, using and/or overusing directions to impress film studios. It is not up to the screenwriter to include these directions in screenplays, unless the script writer is the director and they understand the focus of this script. Do yourself justice; leave out these directions and focus on telling your story. 

However, writing a compelling story is the best mode of operation to craft a great script. Tell your story using the right script format. Don't focus all your energy on making the script format perfect. Do realize your script must be formatted and packed together following industry standards.

A Spec Script is written to sell and/or to get a job. A shooting script is prepared once it is optioned and ready to begin production. All directions, numbers, and scene selection in shooting scripts are guides so the director, assistants, script supervisor and other production members can stay organized.

According to David Trottier in his The Screenwriter's Bible, "The main reason you write a spec script is to tell an interesting story" (p. 104). Essentially, write to tell instead of writing to impress.

Good luck writing the next awesome film!





  



Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Most of the Top 10 Highest Spec Scripts are Box Office Bombs

Writing a movie script takes passion, persistence, and skill. Good screenwriters know how to write screenplays, plus they understand formatting protocols that drive the movie industry. Writing a spec script to sell in the open market requires luck and major talent. It is not impossible to sell a screenplay, but the odds are against most screenwriters to make this happen.

Box office bombs may cost studio executives their jobs. It seems optioning the wrong screenplay or losing out on a great script can also cause internal issues. As a screenwriter, the goal is to write a screenplay that makes money and brings notoriety to studios. If this script happens to garnish film awards, this enables the screenwriter to make their mark in Hollywood.

The top 10 highest paid spec scripts are some of the worst performing movies in the box office. The box office counts because movie studios are not in the game of losing money. No film studio wishes to overpay for a spec script that ends up on their shelf for years. Maybe this script is never developed into a movie, so paying millions for an unmade project is bad for business.

What are the 10 Highest Paid Spec Scripts:
  1. Deja Vu - $5 million
  2. The Long Kiss Goodnight - $4 million
  3. Panic Room - $4 million
  4. Talladega Nights - The Ballad of Ricky Bobby - $4 million
  5. Basic Instinct - $3 million
  6. Medicine Man - $3 million
  7. Euro Trip - $4 million
  8. The Pink Panther - $3 million
  9. Mozart and the Whale - $2.75 million
  10. A Knight's Tale - $2.5 million 

The most profitable movies on this list are Basic Instinct, Panic Room, and Talladega Nights. The worst performing movies are Mozart and the Whale, The Long Kiss Goodnight and Euro Trip.

Want to sell the next spec script to a movie studio? Here is your shot. Write an original movie that sells to the highest paying studio. Dream big on this script and maybe you will find success in Hollywood.

Source: Listverse