SPEC TIME!

Soooo…I’ve been busy polishing up my 3rd spec script which is due to hit the market in the next week or so. This is a special time for a writer — going out with an original screenplay. A time when ulcer building can begin in earnest.

It’s the ultimate in putting yourself out there. You basically throw the script out into the market and see what happens. Does it bounce or thud?

There are a million ways this can go, but normally you have a fairly good idea what’s going to happen pretty quickly. The hardest part about the whole process is that NO ONE on the studio side wants to be the first to make an offer. This is the maddening part because you’ll hear from the agent, “So-and-so at such-and-such studio LOVES the script, but…they wanna see what everyone else does.”

HUH? Or as Lil’ John might say, “Whooooooooo-what??”

Then, a day later — another studio’s exec will say the same thing! Then another and another. I’ve been in a situation where I had 5 execs tell my agent they want the script, but didn’t want to make the first offer. Meanwhile, I’m on the bell tower with a rifle picking off innocent bystanders. As I see it – the only outlet for my rage.

But, then there’s the flip side. If you can get TWO people to make an offer — it’s go time. Two people in Hollywood means IMMEDIATE validation. That means it’s safe for EVERYONE to bid for the script. And if you’re really lucky – a bidding war ensues.

Not sure which way this latest spec’s gonna go, but I know which way my wife is voting. I was lucky to sell my first two – a fact I constantly remind my agents of – insisting they refer to me only as “Automatic.”

Sadly, they’ve never done this. Not once.

Sooooo…keep your collective fingers crossed in the coming month or so. And for you religious folk, pray like you’ve never prayed before. I could use the help.