The Writing Week (Vol. 4) part 166 - Learned Some Things About Spec Sales

For a while now, the trades, blogs, and industry commentaries have been awash with indicators about how weak the spec market is. The basic notion is that this is an awful time to try and break in as a new writer with a spec. Unless that script is pure gold and your reps can get A-List talent and directors attached, you're basically s.o.l. (Tomorrow, we'll relay some interesting data Scott Myers collected over at Go Into The Story about the market trends in the past few years.)

Granted, the above shouldn't stop any of you from writing. It's just the reality of the market right now, and as an aspiring or emerging writer, you'll do yourself a major service to know what kind of situation you're getting yourself into. Times are tough now, but there are still fresh writers making high-six or seven figure deals, and there's absolutely no reason that you can't be counted among them some day (hopefully soon). 

Last week, I had a call with my manager, which shed more light upon the spec climate. The context of the discussion: a big-time producer and his business partner are interested in my post-Apocalyptic spec. Right now, their lawyers and my independent producers who brought the spec to them are trying to negotiate a handshake deal. If all terms are agreed upon - the terms are basically to determine what kind of credits and rights the two independent producers and the big-time producer will have before any sale is made, so that everyone knows what to expect and what their role will be - the big producer will essentially steer the ship; his business partner will spearhead getting the script out there (using the producer's name and their company's reputation), and when need be, the producer will take calls or meetings.

The ideal outcome is that the big-time producer and his business partner get the script out to talent and directors, who then come on board. With those elements attached, the producer brings the package (i.e. the script, leading actor, and director - a project ready to go) to a studio. Hopefully, they go to more than one studio, and garner interest from a handful of buyers. This is what we really want, because, as my manager explained to me, the alternative is less exciting.

Assuming we can't get the stars attached or receive interest from only one studio, what we might be looking at is an option, rather than a sale. While still cool to have a script optioned by a major studio, the result (rather than, say, a $500,000 sale) would potentially be a $10,000 option for 6 or 12 or 18 or even 24 months. To me, the money isn't so much a concern (who wouldn't want $10K?), as the idea that the material is locked away - possibly undergoing major development - for up to two years. I trust everyone behind me and my script would be in the studio system at that point, so there's no cause for major complaint. It's just a sign of the times. Whereas something might have sold outright before so that a studio could remove it from the market, now it might be optioned, worked, locked away, and then possibly produced. 

But that's a long way off. For now, I just have to sit back and wait to hear if the two producing parties agree on terms. If they do, my script - and, therefore, I - will gain exposure within the industry, and that's what we're going for.

The First Big Pass

Yesterday, I found out that the production company my manager gave an exclusive early look at my script to passed. This company (which shall remain nameless) has a first look deal at one of the big studios (Warner, Fox, Universal, etc.). I don’t know whether it acted on their first look option – i.e. whether they took it to the studio. If they didn’t, then the pass came from this smaller company and not the big studio (which would be better for me). Either way, working with that production company – for the time being – is closed.

Some people would think that this pass would come as a crushing blow. Honestly, it didn’t. For one, I have to remind myself that I’ve managed to achieve something good in attaining a manager – that alone should keep my spirits up. (My buddies here at League HQ know that has been somewhat frustrating, since as someone whose patience levels could be a lot higher, I now wait second hand. Instead of finding out directly if someone passes, I wait while my manager waits, then wait for him to get back to me.) My manager’s enthusiasm about the script is another support. Sure, we got passed on by one company (and its A list actor), but I wasn’t sure that the actor we were targeting was best for the script anyway. I wouldn’t have said no to him, but if I could cast whoever I wanted, I don’t think he’d wind up at the top of the list.

In a business where money = king, getting rejected by the company that had an exclusive does another thing; it opens up the possibility of much more money. It’s like eBay – if only one person bids or there’s a buy now option, the seller only makes so much and doesn’t have the option to make more. If, however, the item (or script in this analogy) becomes hot, then you get yourself a bidding war, and might wind up making much more than you thought (or maybe deserve).

As much as I’d have liked to be able to put in my two weeks’ notice at my job today and have A-list talent attached to my first spec, I’m not bummed it didn’t happen. The future is wide with possibilities, and I have a call set for Monday with my manager to find out more. Have you gotten passed on by companies before? How’d you take it?