Does it matter if my first spec screenplay is high budget????

W

WhereDreamsAreBorn

Carbonite Member
I am writing my first feature spec screenplay. From it i am hoping to find an agent with it. And then of course i would love to sell it.

Hopefully if i am not totally deluded about my abilities something good could come from this. However it is what i would imagine to be a big budget film. It's a sci-fi action film, would absolutely include big set's, visual/cgi effects, etc.

Lets just say, for the sake of this, that it is a good story, a nice read, etc. As a spec, and ofcourse, being an unknown writer, is it ok to have a big budget action sci-fi film or not?

Anyone able to give me some advice about how the business works.

I could go off and write a film with only three characters, set in one location, etc that would be very low budget (I imagine) but i have no real ideas for that right now. And i am already of tol a good start with writing this bigger budget one.
 
Please forgive me for putting it this way, but selling your first effort at writing a screenplay will be like winning the lottery, so I don't think it's going to make much difference what it contains where budget is concerned. I believe you will look back some day at that first script, like 99.9% of all writers do, and marvel at how little you knew about the craft when you wrote it. I've only written about six finished screenplays so far, plus about another dozen or so fairly well developed ideas/outlines for others, and with each one I appreciate more and more fully what I haven't learned to do well enough yet. It's a very humbling, two steps forward - one step back kind of process (the 'steps back' being the repeated newfound realizations of what I didn't know I didn't know).

So I say unless you have plans in place to make the film within a given budget, go ahead and write whatever you like. If you succeed in selling it, whatever it is, you will be a very rare and fortunate person. If not, you will have advanced your learning of the craft, had an enjoyable time (no script I've ever written was as much fun as the first one - mainly because I had no idea how good it wasn't), and have something to show for your aspirations. many so-called 'writers' never finish a screenplay. Just doing so is actually quite an accomplishment.

Hope this helps, and is not too discouraging...
 
Wow big surprise i didn't get an answer to my question again, as on most screenwriting boards.

Firstly let me just say i am appreciative of the advice you have given me. I really am.

But i am sick to death of people on this forum, and other screenwriting forums, who may be writers, but seem to have a complete inability to READ.

Instead they answer a question that they 'wished' somebody had asked them. Instead of the 'actual' question that was asked.

I never said this is the first time i have written a script.

I re-inforced this when the first guy asked me that, and i said, quite CLEARLY, that i didn't, at this present time, want any information about 'how to write'.

I asked about an unknown writer (which is what i am) and advice about the types of spec scripts, etc.




I once asked on a directors board about the specific differences between two directors viewfinders on the market. They answered everything but that.

"Hey kid, you need one of them."
"Forget that, focus on storytelling"
"Just look through the camera"
"make a square with your fingers"

Do you see my point?
 
if your going action/sci-fi, don't consider budget.
it's a good idea to have a backup plan, as in making another script made for a different market.
either an entirely new story, or an altered version of the same story(or a different part of the story),
like making a trilogy were one of the movies is not action oriented or only has one action sequence.
 
WhereDreamsAreBorn said:
Wow big surprise i didn't get an answer to my question again, as on most screenwriting boards.

Firstly let me just say i am appreciative of the advice you have given me. I really am.

But i am sick to death of people on this forum, and other screenwriting forums, who may be writers, but seem to have a complete inability to READ.

Instead they answer a question that they 'wished' somebody had asked them. Instead of the 'actual' question that was asked.

I never said this is the first time i have written a script.

I re-inforced this when the first guy asked me that, and i said, quite CLEARLY, that i didn't, at this present time, want any information about 'how to write'.

I asked about an unknown writer (which is what i am) and advice about the types of spec scripts, etc.




I once asked on a directors board about the specific differences between two directors viewfinders on the market. They answered everything but that.

"Hey kid, you need one of them."
"Forget that, focus on storytelling"
"Just look through the camera"
"make a square with your fingers"

Do you see my point?
Click to expand...

Actually, you did get an answer to your question, and also someone asking you to clarify what you're doing so that maybe they could help. Instead of reading and understanding for your own part, you chose hysterics both times.

If people are willing to help, and they are, you have to meet them halfway and accept their help, even if that means it doesn't take exactly the form you're looking for.

So, really, dude, calm down some and just go with it. Unpack the responses you get, and you'll find helpful intent and information. Also, give the question mark key a break.
 
Answer to question "Big budget spec okay? If its good it doesn't matter.

"Anyone give me any advice on how the business works?"
What exactly are you asking? How to get an agent? How to get work?
I can only tell you what worked for me.
I had a stage play (tiny production) I'd written produced when I was 23, during rehearsals I was hired to work on a screenplay based on a unpublished novel. That was my first real screenwriting work. Other work fell in to place after that.

I think Ted and RockmanX3 are trying to answer your questions.
 
You said it was your first feature script. There is a world of difference between writing a feature and any other form of script writing (shorts, docs, plays, etc.) so in most ways, in spite of your bitter complaints to the contrary, this *is* your first script. And you *will* have approximately a lottery-like chance of selling it as a spec. So the odds are 999,999 to 1 that *won't matter* what it'll cost to produce. That is your answer. You might as well be asking us what size yacht you should buy when the Powerball ticket you just bought comes up a winner. Seriously.

When you ask an obviously naive question, don't be too surprised when you get treated accordingly...
 
I think the answer to your first question is it doesn't matter what you write. At least not until you try to do something with it. What type of spec script you write will effect how and where you can market and use that script. But that is true of any type of creative work.

Here is some (weak) data on selling spec scripts.

http://www.deadline.com/2009/12/unofficial-2009-spec-market-scorecard/

I suspect if your end goal is to write large budget screenplays, it would be best to write spec scripts of that type. But don't expect your spec script to serve any other purpose than marketing your skills as a writer. Selling a spec script is not a high probability event.
 
No i never said it was my first feature script. It was my first feature 'spec' script. To re-iterate, not my first feature, not my my first short, not my first piece of writing ever.

I think my first peice of writing was 5 or 6 years ago.

calm down
Click to expand...

No.

give the question mark key a break.
Click to expand...

No.

Actually, you did get an answer to your question
Click to expand...

No i didn't, until AMR RAHMV gave me some useful info. But nothing before that. And you David has given me no advice either.

Hey Lambert thanks for the info to. I'm not asking how to get an agent. And lets take it as red that the script i'm wriitng is good. (btw, i'm not saying it is good, it could be the worse thing ever written, but lets just say its good for the hypothetical question i am asking)

Does a spec script, that is good, have about as much chance as getting bought or optioned, with it being high budget sci-fi special FX type film, or being a low budget film.

There is a world of difference between writing a feature and any other form of script writing (shorts, docs, plays, etc.)
Click to expand...

Yeah i know thanks.

in spite of your bitter complaints to the contrary, this *is* your first script
Click to expand...

No. It is not.

That is your answer
Click to expand...

Thanks for nothing.

I'll say what i already said further up in case anyone missed it. I am thankful for the advice that you gave. But it wasn't the advice i was asking for.

You guys could advise me what to eat for my dinner tonight, but it wouldn't be helpful to the question at hand.
 
HA oh David, advice on how to conduct myself here at dvxuser. I had no idea you were such an authority on the matter.

Thank you so so much. Just what i needed David.
 
...and here I get
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for calling a
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a
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LOL, this is a funny thread. To be honest, people have to understand if they come here asking questions of this nature, some of the people here are going to feel obliged to point out just how tough the industry is and how unlikely success is at an early point. They're not trying to be mean, they're just trying to lower your expectations to a realistic level.

Unfortunately, I've also found that cuts both ways, and people on this forum are about ten times more negative than reality dictates. I would say the best way to proceed on this forum is thank everyone for their advice, and promptly ignore negative advice because it doesn't really serve any purpose. I've heard over and over on here, for instance, that 99.9% of indie films don't make a dime. I guess that may or may not be true if you define indie film as someone screwing around with a camcorder recording 90 minutes or more of footage. *shrug* I don't know. I do know that in actual reality, in Los Angeles, numerous small production companies make indie film after indie film, all of which are profitable, and that's reality. So no, it's not like winning the lottery making a profitable indie film, it's pretty much a given if your budget is small, the film has a market, and you're working with professional companies that have distribution contacts in place. It's only when you live in some random state like Tennessee or Oklahoma or wherever, don't know anyone, don't know how to make a professional film with crews that worked on major productions, don't have a good script, and don't have real actors, etc., that you end up with a dud that nobody buys. So I've learned through years posting on this forum that the negative nancies are mostly just people of limited ability who are bitter about the people actually doing filmmaking on a daily basis. That is not to say all, however, and it's totally correct that selling a spec screenplay IS very difficult, even if you are a good writer, it's not by any means a given.

That being said, I always laugh at the advice given here along the lines of, "Your first 12 scripts are going to suck, only your 13th will be good!" or "You cannot write a first screenplay that's good, it's impossible, unless you're a total genius." I'm not sure what that means...? So is it impossible to think of a good film idea? Because if you come up with a great idea for a film, it's clearly quite possible to come up with a great first script, too, it just may take A LOT more work than your 10th script. You may have to enlist the advice of numerous professionals to help you re-write and re-edit the thing repeatedly. My first screenplay turned out very good, good enough to be partnered with a production company in Hollywood to make this thing a feature this summer, and these are guys who read a ton of screenplays and certainly found mine to be entertaining, fun, funny, and well structured. I've taken formal writing classes on screenplays, I've published books, I've been a freelance professional writer for ten years, but it was still my first actual full-length screenplay finished. And it did take about 15 drafts to get it to where it was actually good. Even my second screenplay went way more smoothly and was a lot easier to avoid some of the mistakes of the first, but screenplay writing isn't rock climbing -- when you make a mistake, you don't fall off a mountain, you can still go back and fix your mistake before you ever call the screenplay "done." So I really don't see why someone would argue that you need to write X number of screenplays before you get a good one. That just isn't true, unless you're an idiot and you wrote your first screenplay without having read a single book on the format, without even knowing how to write *in general* let alone screenplays, etc. I devoured every book on screenwriting I could find, I studied other screenplays that had been written in this genre, I did my homework before diving in...

I think the OP here has a point that at least we should ASSUME he did his homework, and he asked a question he wanted answered, rather than to be told how difficult it is and how his screenplay is probably going to stink. Sure, I just assume anyone here talking about their indie film probably sucks at filmmaking, because those are the odds, but I don't treat everyone like that because it'd be rude. I'd prefer to give them the benefit of the doubt! ;)
 
To the OP.

I'm not clear about what your definition of high bidget is BTW.

What is your definition of high budget?
 
If you've read much of the excellent material on Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio's website:

http://wordplayer.com

You'd note that these two, who have written numerous mega-hits (like Shrek, Aladdin, and all of the Pirates Of The Caribbean films) didn't even *send out* any of the scripts they wrote for the first five years or so (IIRC). They waited instead until they were as certain as they could be that they had something great to offer before they did, and the rest is history (say what you will about their films, which I don't love all of, but those films have grossed billions of dollars). They now acknowledge that pretty much everything they wrote early on was crap.

And I will stick to my guns where spec scripts are concerned. It's lottery odds for an unknown, (presumably) unrepresented, un-agency-signed writer to sell one. More so a high budget one, but who's counting when it's a .0001% chance versus .00001%?

As for first time-feature scripts (or movies) making money, sure they do if they're low enough budget and excellent. I workd on Whit Stillman's "Metropolitan", his first film as writer/director, and it was nominated for an Oscar (best original screenplay). It cost about half a million to make, and was pretty profitable.

But a first spec script success story by an unknown? One in a million.
 
To be fair to the OP his question was - all things being equal, assuming the script is geat, etc, does it THEN matter what the budget is?

Not "what are my chances of selling a spec script?" period.

So the question: "does it matter if my first spec script is big budget?"
As I understand it, in theory, no, not if it's good. If it's good but they don't want to risk committing to it they may ask you to give them something else or they'll buy it and have someone else rewrite it. It should show that you can write more than anything else so if you are passionate about the idea then go for it. Enter it into a bunch of contests and get noticed.

But good luck. All of the other stuff everyone is saying is true too. But all the advice about how hard it is to break in and how unlikely it is that your first script would be a masterpiece would apply whether your budget is micro, reasonable, or over the top. So again, to the only question asked - does it matter if your budget is high for your spec script - I don't think so, not it if it's good. It might not get made but it might get you an agent. Again if it's really good and you can even get it to anyone that matters.
 
Another way to look at this would be in the form of a question:

Can anyone offer a list of people whose first-time spec scripts sold for any significant sum of money by Hollywood standards? And within that list a subset of big-budget ones? I'm sure there have been such cases. But I'd be curious to know who they were, when they did it, and how much money was paid (in spec script sale money, not necessarily film profits). Another interesting number to know might be (roughly) how many spec scripts are sent to Hollywood each year, all up - signed, represented writers, unknowns - the whole lot.

If it proves my position in previous posts to be wrong, then so be it...

But I don't think it will...
 
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