Script Sales September '09

Total: 72

GENRE                TYPE          STUDIO        PROD CO.
ROM COM              SPEC          N/A           Lichter, Grossman, 
Action Adventure     Sequel        20TH Century  Weed Road Pictures
Action               Adaptation    N/A           Impact Pictures
Comedy               SPEC          N/A           Cross Creek Pictures
Crime Drama          SPEC          N/A           Cross Creek Pictures
Crime Drama          True Story    N/A           Cross Creek Pictures
Action Sci-Fi        ADAPTATION    WARNER BROS.  SILVER PICTURES
Drama                SPEC          N/A           Parallel Pict.             
Comedy               spec          20th Century  New Regency Productions
Coming of Age        adaptation    N/A           Parallel Pictures
Drama                adaptation    N/A           Lionsgate
Thriller Spy         spec          N/A           Relativity Media
Coming of Age        adaptation    N/A           Right of Way Films
Drama                adaptation    N/A           N/A
Action Horror        spec          Columbia Pict Broken Road Productions
Drama Teen           assignment    N/A           Mandate Pictures
Drama                adaptation    N/A           Independent producer
ROM COM              Assignment    N/A           Single Cell Pictures
Crime Thriller       adaptation    N/A           Yellow Bird
Crime Thriller       adaptation    N/A           Yellow Bird
Crime Thriller       adaptation    N/A           Yellow Bird
Crime Thriller       adaptation    N/A           Yellow Bird
Crime Thriller       adaptation    N/A           Yellow Bird
Crime Thriller       adaptation    N/A           Yellow Bird
Drama                adaptation    N/A           Lakeshore Entertainment 
Comedy               spec          N/A           This is That
Thriller Super       Pitch         N/A           Kimmel Entertainment
Comedy Dark          adaptation    N/A           Park Ex Pictures
Drama Sports         True Story    N/A           DHX Media
Drama Bio            adaptation    N/A           RLF Victor Productions
Drama Bio            True Story    N/A           Branded Pictures 
Drama                adaptation    20th Century  Blossom Films
Thriller Super       Sequel        N/A           Davis Films Productions
ROM COM              spec          N/A           Company Films
Drama Historical     Rewrite       Dreamworks    N/A
Fantasy              adaptation    Universal     Wild West Picture Show 
Action               adaptation    N/A           Platinum Studios
Horror               adaptation    Fox 2000      Scott Free Productions 
Sci Fi Action        Rewrite       Dreamworks    ImageMovers
Horror               Remake        N/A           West Productions
Comedy               Rewrite       New Line Cin. Rat Entertainment
Drama Satirical      adaptation    Miramax Films Shondaland
Drama                True Story    N/A           Fort Hill Productions
Drama Mafia          True Story    N/A           Independent producer
Drama                adaptation    N/A           Focus Features
Comedy Sports        Spec          Universal     Imagine Entertainment
Thriller Heist       adaptation    N/A           XYZ Films 
Drama                Sequel        Warner Bros.  N/A
Drama Adventure      True Story    N/A           Junction Entert.
Comedy Fantasy       spec          N/A           Walden Media
Drama                adaptation    Columbia Pict Ziskin Productions
Thriller             Pitch         Dreamworks    Kurtzman/Orci
Drama Cop            spec          n/a           Lionsgate
Action Fantasy       Rights        Columbia Pict Escape Artists
Drama Rom Com        Rights        Universal     Mark Productions
Sci Fi Horror        Remake        20th Century  n/a
horror super         spec          n/a           ghost house pics
action               adaptation    n/a           platinum studios
action               sequel        columbia pics arad productions
drama                adaptation    n/a           studio hamburg
Family Action        sequel        Dimension     N/A
Thriller             spec          CBS Films     N/A
Thriller             spec          n/a           Gold Circle Films
Drama                Remake        Warner Bros.  Thunder Road Films
Comedy Tragedy       Spec          n/a           Tornasol Films
Thriller             Spec          n/a           Relativity Media
Family               adaptation    n/a           HIT Movies
Romance Supernat     adaptation    n/a           Unique Features
Drama                adaptation    n/a           Temple Hill Productions
Thriller             Remake        n/a           Mandate Pictures
Thriller             Spec          n/a           CBS Films
 

Keep Writing!

Trick of the Trade

For those few faithful readers out there in cyber-space who use Final Draft to compose their great American screenplays I want to share with you a trick I learned all by my lonesome. I can claim this as my own because I have never, ever seen/heard/read anyone else describing this.

During rewrites I check and double check a whole host of items to insure my screenplay is crisp/clean/and free of misspellings. Final Draft is a great tool for writers, however, the spell checker really sucks! No offense to the good folks over at Final Draft, but it is a fact. Which brings me to a useful trick:

Save your screenplay in RTF – Rich Text Format – then open that RTF file using Microsoft Word side-by-side with your screenplay in Final Draft.

Voila!

You will find – at least this has been my experience because I am, in fact a terable speler – anywhere from eight (8) to twelve (12) misspelled words that Final Draft missed. As you uncover these words in Word, fix them in the Final Draft version.

Give it shot – what do you have to lose? And then let me know what you think and/or share some of your writing tips and tricks.

Keep Writing!

LABOR of love DAY

Hope you had a great Labor Day Weekend. Three days off from work --- way not enough time off ;-)

Spent most of Labor Day revising another script and coming up with a new title. Titles, I am finding out, are important when sending your material out to be read. The title has to grab your reader. Make them WANT to read your logline, then read your script. To illustrate my point I will share with you how I have changed my titles.

TURNABOUT is a thriller in the vein of Day of the Jackal. But, the title kind’a just sits there. Now TURNABOUT is BOOMSLANG. What’s a Boomslang? Ask for the script and find out.

Another example, another thriller. METAMORPHOSIS is in the vein of Falling Down. How an average guy turns into a lethal killer. Again, the title is not very interesting. Now METAMORPHOSIS is titled: SCORPIO CRUISE.

How do you handle your titles? Do they describe your story? Are they mysterious? Do they evoke curiosity? Let me know. Titles are important.

Keep Writing!

Sunday Morning Coming Down

It’s 11:35 AM on a Sunday morning and I have just finished rewriting my latest spec, CARDINAL SIN. And I gotta tell ya, I could sit here all day and write.

I’m at my local Panera Bread – got here when they opened at 07:30 AM – in my favorite booth. Seems writing away from home works better for me. Can’t say why for sure. Too many distractions. Too many interruptions. But somehow – when I’m here – I’m in ‘The Zone’.

Where do you write? Why do you write where you do? Are you productive?

And with tomorrow being a holiday – five more hours of uninterrupted writing time. Tomorrow I will start another rewrite. This time on my spec, QUMRAN, now titled THE TOMBS OF QUMRAN. More on that later.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and,

Keep Writing!

Script Sales: August '09

There were 90 script sales in August.

GENRE                TYPE          STUDIO               PROD CO.
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Action               Adaptation    N/A                  Mandeville Films
Action               Sequel        20th Century Fox     Seed Productions
Action               Spec          N/A                  Nu Image/Millennium
Action               Sequel        N/A                  Nu Image
Action               Sequel        Columbia Pictures    N/A
Action               Assignment    Paramount Pictures   Bad Robot
Action               Adaptation    N/A                  Prime Universe Prod
Action               Rewrite       20th Century Fox     N/A
Action Adventure     Adaptation    Warner Bros. Pic     Callahan Filmworks
Action Adventure     Pitch         Paramount Pictures   Atlas Entertainment
Action Adventure     Sequel        Sony Pictures        N/A
Action Adventure     Remake        Warner Bros. Pict    Legendary Pictures
Action Adventure     Sequel        Columbia Pictures    N/A
Action Adventure     Adaptation    N/A                  Bruckheimer Films
Action Comedy        Spec          Columbia Pictures    Rip Cord Productions
Action Drama         Pitch         Sony Pictures        Apartment 3B
Action Supernatural  Adaptation    Universal Pictures   Dark Horse Enter
Action Thriller      Sequel        Universal Pictures   Kennedy/Marshall Co.
Adventure            Adaptation    DreamWorks Pictures  N/A
Comedy               Turnaround    N/A                  Alcon Entertainment
Comedy               Spec          Universal Pictures   Big Kid Pictures
Comedy               Spec          Universal Pictures   Principato-Young En.
Comedy               Spec          N/A                  Vanguard Films
Comedy               Spec          N/A                  Montecito Picture Co.
Comedy               Adaptation    N/A                  Screen Gems
Comedy               Sequel        Sony Pictures        Wayans Brothers Prod
Comedy               Adaptation    N/A                  StudioLine Enter.
Comedy               Assignment    Warner Bros. Pic     De Line Pictures
Comedy               Pitch         Paramount Pictures   This American Life
Comedy               True Story    Columbia Pictures    Happy Madison Prod
Comedy               Adaptation    Warner Bros. Pict    N/A
Comedy Drama         Adaptation    Fox 2000             N/A
Comedy Sports        Spec          N/A                  Friendly Films
Coming of Age        Adaptation    N/A                  Focus Features
Drama                Adaptation    N/A                  Foster Productions
Drama                Assignment    N/A                  Mpower Pictures
Drama                Polish        N/A                  Overnight Productions
Drama                Adaptation    N/A                  Superb Entertainment
Drama                Spec          N/A                  Death Row Films
Drama                Rewrite       Warner Bros. Pict    Di Novi Pictures
Drama                Option        N/A                  Conquering Lion Pic
Drama                Rewrite       Warner Bros. Pict    Di Novi Pictures
Drama                Spec          N/A                  Groundswell Films
Drama                Spec          N/A                  Feet Films
Drama Action         Pitch         Warner Bros. Pict    Atlas Entertainment
Drama Bio            Adaptation    Universal Pictures   821 Entertainment
Drama Bio            Adaptation    Walt Disney Pict     N/A
Drama Bio            True Story    N/A                  Independent producer
Drama Bio            Pitch         N/A                  Legendary Pictures
Drama Bio            True Story    N/A                  Habourton Enter.
Drama Bio            True Story    N/A                  Permut Presentat
Drama Crime          Adaptation    N/A                  Wonderful Films
Drama Crime          Pitch         N/A                  EuropaCorp
Drama Dark           Adaptation    N/A                  Optimum Releasing
Drama Historical     Spec          N/A                  Kingsgate Films, Inc.
Drama Music          Adaptation    Warner Bros. Pict    PorterGeller Enter.
Drama Romance        Adaptation    N/A                  Scarlet Fire Enter.
Drama Sports         Adaptation    N/A                  Greif Company
Drama Sports         True Story    N/A                  BellTower Films
Fairy Tale           Adaptation    Miramax Films        N/A
Family               Adaptation    Fox Searchlight      Ad Hominem Enterprise
Family               Adaptation    20th Century Fox     J. Pistor Productions
Fantasy              Remake        Walt Disney Pictures ImageMovers
Fantasy Action       Adaptation    N/A                  Vanguard Films
Fantasy Dark         Adaptation    N/A                  72 Productions
Horror               Remake        New Line Cinema      Contrafilm
Horror               Adaptation    N/A                  Appian Way
Musical              Remake        20th Century Fox     Seed Productions
Rom Com              Assignment    Warner Bros. Pict    De Line Pictures
Rom Com              Pitch         Universal Pictures   N/A
Rom Com              Spec          N/A                  Overture Films, LLC
Romance              Spec          Columbia Pictures    Imagine Entertainment
Satire               Adaptation    N/A                  Quote-Unquote Films
Sci Fi               Adaptation    Universal Pictures   Scott Free Prod.
Sci Fi               Adaptation    N/A                  De Laurentiis Company
Sci Fi               Adaptation    N/A                  Radiant Productions
Sci Fi               Adaptation    N/A                  Vanguard Films
Sci Fi               Adaptation    N/A                  Dahlia Street Films
Sci Fi               Remake        Warner Bros. Pict    Hollywood Gang Prod
Sci Fi               Pitch         Universal Pictures   Rat Entertainment
Sci Fi               Adaptation    DreamWorks Pictures  Bay Films
Sci Fi               Remake        N/A                  Creep Entertainment
Supernatural         Remake        DreamWorks Pictures  Motion Picture Corp.
Thriller             Adaptation    Fox 2000             Film Rites
Thriller             Pitch         N/A                  Phoenix Pictures
Thriller             Adaptation    N/A                  Furthur Films
Thriller Crime       Turnaround    N/A                  Time Inc. Studios
Thriller Psychologic Turnaround    N/A                  Morgan Creek Prod.
Thriller Supernat    Spec          N/A                  Film Department
Western              Adaptation    N/A                  CBS Films

Keep Writing!

Script Sales August '09 - By Genre and Type

Script Sales By Genre



Script Sales By Type










My take is this, if a writer creates an original script and then is hired to direct it, that constitutes a spec sale.

Keep Writing!

R.I.P. John Hughes

Another shocker. Hollywood legend John Huges passed away today from a heart attack while taking a walk. He was 59. Mr. Hughes gave us the films Home Alone, Beethoven, The Breakfast Club, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

What a loss!