How much would you charge for a Screenplay?

gbmatty

gbmatty

Member
So, I'm curious, looking over about a dozen or so screenplays that I want to choose from. I want to buy a short Sci-Fi that is fast, funny and has FX (Live Action/CGI) and turn it into a film.

What I'm asking here is what would you charge me? How much, what's the price tag for something that is 4-8 pages, 10 pages max. Would like to know what is a reasonable asking price for your work. Don't want to insult anyone and make sure that they're compensated but don't want to be eating Hamburger Helper for the next month. It's just a short so would $150 be too much/little?

BTW, the $150 is from a somewhat established writer, he's got a couple of deals and has a LOT of scripts, many are along the lines of what I'm looking for. Another writer has lots of features but has some great shorts available and is got some kick ass stuff.

Any thoughts, ideas, comments, suggestions or death threats would be much appreciated.

Cheers,

Matty
 
personally, for a script that length, I'd be happy with getting $150. but that's assuming you simply wanted it 'as is', as opposed to wanting me to spend further time on rewrites etc.

but I might feel very differently if that script had taken me 50 hours to write! :)
 
What would be the low end for something that you spent 50 hours on?
Also, presuming that I like it as is, would $75 be too little?
 
depends on how much I liked my script and how keen/reluctant I was to see it made.

And perhaps most important of all, what I thought of you - if you're a total stranger who's never made anything worth watching, then I'd be considering it a purely financial transaction and I'd be after whatever cash I could screw out of you. If on the other hand I could see (on Youtube or your website or whatever) that you were a talented interesting film maker who I believed could make a film I'd be proud to have my name on, then I'd probably be quite happy with a nominal $75.

Another issue would be your budget - if you're making the film for $500, then I couldn't really complain that $75 was low, but if your budget is $500,000, then how dare you rip me off for $75 :)

If I spent 50 hours on that script, and you're offering me less than 50 hours x minimum wage (which you almost certainly are), then I could have spent that time flipping burgers and made more money. So you have to bring something else to the offer - and the most obvious option is your (hopefully) wonderful film making skills - most non-pro writers would love to see a few of their scripts made into films, even if for little or no payment.

PS I checked your website and you mostly have dead links - not a good avertisement for a writer checking you out :(
 
Are you an established writer? If so, show ME links to YOUR work. It's a two way street, right?

Mostly dead links, huh? Try again Clang. I use Revver to showcase my shorts, perhaps YOUR browser doesn't work properly. My first film is up at the following: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiUUO4XRCzA

And the Backstory is located here: http://www.stalkingu.com

Thanks for your sarcasm. FYI, I'm not trying to rip anybody off!!! How dare you make that insulation. I asked an honest question and you bash me over the head. You know, I'm an upcoming director/editor so I'm still new at this and not trying to piss anybody off. This money is coming out of my own damn pocket, I don't have funding and I'm shooting this on a shoestring budget just like I do with all my video. Not out to screw anyone, I hope to COLLABORATE with others to produce some art and add to my reel. Maybe someday, I can get a budget and reward the people around me who help and like my work.

I thought that this was a good community here but I'm starting to wonder.
:dankk2:
 
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Woah! Calm down, I don't think he was trying to "bash you over the head." His remark was very correct in the fact that there are multiple factors to consider when selling a script. He was simply making an observation (and if it was his browser's fault, don't be mad at him).

This IS a good community, so please don't question that. You will find that the folks here are always willing to help and most of all be honest. If you are looking for someone to candy coat the truth, then you have come to the right place. I would take another look at his comment and maybe adjust your sarcasm meter.

He was not implying that you are trying to rip anyone off, he was saying that if your budget was extremely high and you were only paying a small price for the script he would feel ripped off. He made good points, consider them and move on, this is not the place for personal attacks.
 
Wow. I think that is the biggest overreaction/misunderstanding I've seen on these boards.
 
If we're talking a short, if the guy was talented and serious I wouldn't charge anything. We're talking shorts here. If the short was part of a larger story, something with feature potential, I'd set something in writing.
 
If it was a feature there is a lot of factors to deal with. Guilds if applicable, and minimum payments.

Since we are dealing with shorts - there is very little potential for any return on the final product. So a payment of 150 for a script that is a short is pretty decent. I would sell something for that personally. A feature - no way. But a short - yes.
 
Old rule of thumb: you never know when something has "potential." There's just no predicting. 99.99% of stuff never goes anywhere. But once in a while it becomes a phenomenon, and usually no one would have guessed that in the beginning. So, like I said, old rule of thumb is treat everything like it COULD turn into something bigger, and get it in writing...because you really just never know. (Harry Potter was supposed to be a small kids book, and was rejected by a number of publishers...Who knows.)
 
I was not being sarcastic or personal, just making an observation. You, a film maker, and a hypothetical writer, probably complete strangers, will be trying to establish a relationship to get a film made. All I was saying was that IF a film maker's budget was $500,000, I'd expect most writers would feel ripped off to be offered $75 for their script.

And yes, your website is now working fine for me - but it wasn't before.
 
Would also say, if you feel the script is really strong. Hold it for the best film maker. When you feel they will do it justice.

Even if it has amazing potential. Someone can still mess it up.


If you have faith in your work - short of feature. Show it around to people you thrust and get feedback. If opinions are strong. Look for the best producer you can get.

Don't jump at the first bite. I have and passed on some solid work for little or nothing....


Ya live and learn.
 
I've sold several shorts over the last few years. Every deal was different. Screenwriters know who they are marketed to, usually students or amateur filmmakers. That's my demographic when I write them and that's how I sell them.

With that said, I've sold them from as little as a few hundred bucks and points (yeah right) to a few grand, flat buy-out. I've always looked at it as extra income. I'll write a 3-15 page script in a few hours to one day, toss a logline up in filmmaker forum's and sell it for whatever I can get.

I have a boilerplate contract I use to protect myself which they sometimes use, or they use their own. So, there's no rules to selling/buying short scripts considering the demographic, struggling filmmakers. If the script took me two hours to write and it's about 4 pages, I'd sell it for a case of good beer if I was in the mood.

Good luck!
 
FWIW, I did not intend to come across as an ahole; if I did, then I apologize. I might have misconstrued what Clang said and felt that I was being belittled for asking such a question. As for my actions, I take FULL responsibility for what I say and do. I don’t blame society, my parents, the Media, drugs, Liberals or Ninjas for what I do. It was not my intention to offend anyone. “I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. ~Voltaire~

With that being said, I did purchase a script from the screenwriter I was corresponding with in LA and for the record, I paid her $150. Yeah, it’s a short script, and I’ll bet some lurker will go “HA, HA, YOU GOT RIPPED OFF!” But for me, I wanted to know if $150 was excessive for a script and personally I feel it’s worth it. It’s a six page Sci-Fi that is fast, funny and FX laden, about a teenager who comes in late from a date and gets in way over head in an all out war with her mother’s evil Garden Gnomes. The writer is well established in Sci-Fi with Features and Books and has quite few awards in writing competitions. This particular one, “Gnome Sweet Gnome” placed as a quarter-finalist in the Bare Bones Short Screenplay Competition.

BTW, I’ve ALWAYS taken care of my cast and crew, they are happy, well fed, relaxed and ready to go because a happy crew is a productive crew. There is nothing more important since they are working for me. I’ve had a few who’ve remarked that the previous director was a slave driver and that they dreaded being on set. I wouldn’t try to take advantage of a writer, actor or a crew member for any reason. My rep is too important to me.

At any rate, I’d like to get feedback/input from others who would be interested in reading the script to see what others think of it.
 
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I'll gladly read it for you.

If you feel it's worth 150.00, then that's it's value. There is no standard that I know of as so many variables are in play.

On a personal note, if it's a solid short script, 150.00 does not seem excessive.

a

www.alexwhitmer.wordpress.com
 
By the way, I don't think I mentioned this to you in the PM's we exchanged. I would be happy to take a look at it and give you my feedback, I find it helps to get the opinions of other writers. And by the way, you will definitly not regret letting Alex take a look. His criticisms may seem harsh in some places, but once you sleep on it you will realize that most of what he said was dead on. (Yeah, Alex, I said most. :grin:)

Actually, Alex is a really great writer and consultant. He gave me a very lengthy review of a script I wrote when I was trying a new style and without his words I don't know what I would have done, it helped me to get that extra point of view. I hope to someday work with Alex on some sort of script, as I have nothing but admiration and respect for him.*






*That will be $20.00 for the good review. I accept payments via PayPal, Credit or mail-in money order.
 
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"...$20.00 for a good review." How much for a bad one?:laugh:

Thanks Nick, I've already sent it out to Alex. He's got some good content on his web page. I'll email you the script ASAP. I appreciate everyone's efforts here, being that I want to draw from as many resources as possible to achieve a good film.

Cheers,

Matt
 
The point is that, regardless of whether you sell someone a short for $150 or $15k, you don't know if it might find future life in the form of a television series or feature film / franchise.

So. You've got one of the high-concept TimeFest shorts where a bunch of users work on someone's spec script for no money and then a development executive somewhere finds potential in the underlying concept or believes that the short itself warrants a turn as a larger project.

Now, who owns it? What rights did the writer give to the director or producer when they said they wanted to make that TimeFest script into a short?

Between even the best of friends, this could quickly become a major legal issue. Plenty of friendships end over an unchecked business transaction.

At any rate, this is why I wouldn't part with my short-subject script without having express language in an agreement where the writer remained the owner of the concept - or that there was a shared interest in the characters, situations and story that make up the potential franchise.

Hollywood is too hungry for concepts to treat any idea or script - especially one that is destined for production of any type - as a disposable asset.

e
 
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