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Vol. 4, Ed. 9 - August is almost gone and the film industry is gearing up for the new spec season... or is it? It seems spec screenplays have been struggling in recent years. But fear not, new writers enter the movie business every day. And in this edition of the ScriptJournal, we'll look at the changing shape of the Spec business, as well as examine a writer that didn't depend on a big spec sale to start her career.
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COVERAGE SALE - 25% OFF
ONLY $116.25! |
Through September 25th, we will be offering a back-to-spec sale! You get full coverage on a new screenplay for only $116.25.
The offer is only valid through this email newsletter by clicking on the link below:
Get Coverage!
*Please note that the offer is only good for credit card orders and the discount will show up in your final check out order form. |
This offer doesn't come around very often,
so don't miss your chance!
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Biography:
RUTH PRAWER JHABVALA
This German-born writer and her family moved to England in 1939. After her 1951 marriage to architect Cyrus S.H. Jhabvala, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala moved to India and began publishing a series of acclaimed novels, many of which dealt with the culture clash between Indians and the British. She turned screenwriter when the director-producer duo of James Ivory and Ismail Merchant sought her permission to film her novel, "The Householder" (1963). Continuing with the pair, Jhabvala penned other insights into post-Colonialism with "Shakespeare Wallah" (1965), "The Guru" (1969), "Autobiography of a Princess" (1975), and "Heat and Dust" (1983, based on her award-winning 1975 novel).
By the mid-1980s, however, partly in response to the poor box-office performance of several Merchant-Ivory original productions, Jhabvala moved with the duo to a series of intelligent, respectful adaptations of period novels, especially those of E M Forster and Henry James. "The Europeans" (1979) had been an early attempt in this direction, but the trio's first really successful venture into the drawing room was "The Bostonians" (1984). A more lighthearted follow-up, "A Room with a View" (1986), proved popular with critics and public alike, and brought Jhabvala an Oscar for her nicely judged adaptation of Forster's comedy of manners. After adapting two Evan Connell novels into a touching, time-spanning cinema portrait of "Mr. and Mrs. Bridge" (1990), she won a second Oscar for another Forster adaptation, "Howards End" (1992). Jhabvala's talent for creating strong-minded if sometimes eccentric women also found expression in her one non-Merchant-Ivory endeavor, John Schlesinger's quirky "Madame Sousatzka" (1988). She has continued to write period dramas for Merchant-Ivory, including "The Remains of the Day" (1993), "Jefferson in Paris" (1995), and "The Golden Bowl" (2000).
Next for Jhabvala and her collaborators was a sophisticated, unpretentious adaptation of Diane Johnson's bestselling novel "Le Divorce" (2003), a relaxed, sophisticated and contemporary tale of two American sisters in Paris: one a pregnant expatriated poetess (Naomi Watts) suddenly abandoned by her philandering French husband; the other a fresh, naive young woman (Kate Hudson) caught up in a seemingly cosmopolitan affair with a roguish, married and much older French diplomat.
- Education: Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London London, England English MA 1951
- Milestones: 1986 Received Oscar for her screenplay adaptation of E M Forster's "A Room with a View", a Merchant Ivory production; 1992 Won second Academy Award for adapting Forster's "Howards End" for Merchant-Ivory
All data from Baseline-StudioSystems. For more information on writers, directors, actors, and producers, please visit BaselineFT. |
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DISCOUNT ON WRITERS BOOT CAMP'S IMMERSION PROGRAM
FOR SCRIPTJOURNAL SUBSCRIBERS!
Immersion helps writers turn an idea into a fully developed first draft in one month's time. Beginning September 18th with a six-day intensive of instruction and creative support, Immersion provides practical, hands-on tools for solidifying a strong conceptual foundation on which to build a draft over the remainder of the program. An Industry Panel featuring agents & managers, producers & executives and feature & TV writers complements the daytime program (past panelists). The combination of potent development tools, feedback and creative support and the access and insight offered by the panel makes Immersion a course like no other. Script Shark Script Journal subscribers will receive a $100 discount off the regular enlistment fee. To register or for more info about the Immersion Program or other Writers Boot Camp coursework contact Dave Sparling, LA Program Coordinator, at 800/800-1733 x304. |
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SIGN UP NOW AND RECEIVE FREE GOODIES!
Are you like most screenwriters, since 1997, who have read Done Deal on a daily basis for Spec Sales? Now you can use the database driven version!
- Tracks various script, book, treatment, and pitch deals!
- Search 5,700 deals by title, writer, rep, company, genre, and more!
- Retrieve agency, management, law firm, and company information
- Read development-related industry news and interviews
- Search a database of screenwriting contests
- Stay on top of contest deadline alerts.
Done Deal Pro
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SPEC MARKET SHIFT- Changing Rules |
In the late nineties, a writer could sell a very mediocre screenplay based on an excellent idea. Just five years ago, writers, reps, and development execs were making a killing selling available scripts through bidding wars, tight producer relationships, and strategic marketing techniques. Today, however, both the script and the concept have to both be excellent to create a sale. This is largely because the decreasing strength of the Spec Screenplay market.
A spec (speculative) screenplay is a script written under the speculation that it will get set-up. Technically, any available screenplay, in which the writer has never been paid for, is a spec. In more general, industry terms, however, a spec is an available script shopped to multiple markets in the hopes that it will find a home. In order to generate revenue, sellers tend to seek well-written material that will fit the needs of a specific market at a particular time.
While there are a number of reasons for the decline of the Spec Market, it probably adds up to one very simple notion - oversaturation. The main set of buyers - the studios - spent a large amount of money during the mid-late nineties stocking their shelves with a vast amount of material. Because of this, there isn't the appetite to buy projects without significant pieces of talent already attached.
In turn, this creates a trickle down effect, starting at the studios and ending at the screenwriter. With less pusrchasing, agents and managers have a lower spec-to-sale ratio, making it harder for them to take on new clients. This, in turn, pushes the honus on writers to come up with better written material - not better concepts. As an effect, agents and managers tend to be moving toward pushing their writers to work with a sole producer and develop the story out. The investment here translates into a company that wants to see their project pushed through the studio gauntlet.
So what's the best thing to do about this? Write an excellent screenplay. More than ever, the quality of writing must be consistent, and the ability to execute characters, story structure, and general mechanics is demanded.
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http://www.scriptshark.com/insider/Home.asp/nsc/contest/
The Nashville Screenwriters Conference is pleased to announce the second National Screenplay Showdown. The Screenplay Showdown was created to honor the work of the best new screenwriters from around the country, and to serve as a bridge between those writers and the Hollywood film industry. The Showdown evaluates screenplays solely on the basis of storytelling ability -- all story genres have the same chance of winning. Three winners will be chosen in each of two categories:
- All Genre scripts
- Music-themed scripts
Both first place winners will receive a trip to the 2006 Nashville Screenwriters Conference, two nights hotel accommodations and $250.00 spending money. The two winners will also enjoy the perks of the Conference’s Silver Screen Pass, which includes admittance to the VIP Party, a great opportunity to meet and mingle with top industry professionals. The total value of the first place prize in each category is over $1,400.00. |
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Presents:
Development Snapshot
New projects in D at the studios:
MY OUTSOURCED LIFE |
Writer: |
Larry Stuckey |
Director: |
Jay Roach |
Production Co: |
Everyman Pictures |
Studio: |
Universal Studios |
| Logline: A writer attempts to join the outsourcing craze sweeping corporate America. He decides to apply the practice to his modest writing career and soon has a team of India-based assistants, handling every part of his life, including dialogue with his parents and gifts for his wife. |
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HIGH T |
Writer: |
George Wing |
Actor: |
Steve Carrell |
Production Co: |
Landscape Pictures |
Studio: |
New Line Cinema |
| Logline: When a man starts taking testosterone shots, his behavior varies wildly from crying to aggression based on his hormonal levels. |
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PANIC |
Writer: |
Jeff Abbott (novel) |
Studio: |
The Weinstein Company |
Logline: A young documentary filmmaker goes on the run from a dangerous spy ring
after the murder of his mother. He soon learns that most aspects of his
life have been total fabrications. |
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UNTITLED YAKUZA PROJECT |
Writer: |
Erin Benay, Matthew Benay |
Production Co: |
Imagine Entertainment |
Studio: |
Universal Pictures |
| Logline: A white American kid, orphaned in Japan and raised by yakuza gang members, becomes one of their fiercest leaders during an all-out gang war. |
All data from Baseline-StudioSystems. For more information on writers,
directors, actors, and producers, please visit BaselineFT. |
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The entertainment industry's ultimate searchable archive of intellectual property. With thousands of professionals using Baseline for their daily business needs, the stage is set for The Spec Market to become the most important new talent discovery system available to writers.
*Targeted browsing provides direct professional access to your material. |
*Superb system architecture shapes effective professional search patterns. |
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*Attractive new design to make your project look professional. |
*Detailed information on your work provides professional accessibility. |
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*Advanced searches give your material an opportunity to be discovered by executives and reps. |
*Submit any type of filmed entertainment: features, television, and even media-based projects. |
LEARN MORE
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Writers to discuss succeeding in more than one medium on Sept. 3 in Glendale
The Alameda Writers Group (AWG) presents producer/writer Julie Marsh and author/screenwriter Steven-Elliot Altman on Saturday, September 3, 2005. They will discuss how writers can succeed in books, film, TV, comics, and other media.Doors open at 9:45 a.m. and the meeting begins at 10 a.m. at the Glendale Central Library, 222 East Harvard St., Glendale. Admission is free, and the library validates parking in the structure at Harvard and Maryland. Marsh has more than a decade of experience in feature film development. She offers story consultation to writers, producers, and managers through her site, YourBestDraft.com and is a founding partner of Marsh/Speakman Pictures, a production company that opened earlier this year. Her writing credits include the Disney/ABC cartoon Teamo Supremo, and two award-winning short films, RINGTONE BLUES and SILVER PATRIOT.Steven-Elliot Altman is a best-selling author, playwright and screenwriter. His novels include CAPTAIN AMERICA IS DEAD, ZEN IN THE ART OF SLAYING VAMPIRES, and DEPRIVERS. His first graphic novel, THE IRREGULARS, was published by Dark Horse Comics. Earlier in his career, he wrote and produces more than 60 TV commercials, as well as radio spots. He is currently attached as an executive producer and co-showrunner to three television series in development.The AWG presents lectures by novelists, screenwriters, agents, producers and other industry professionals at free monthly meetings. In addition, AWG members may attend special interest groups that offer support and feedback for works-in-progress.
Visit www.alamedawritersgroup.org or email feedback@alamedawritersgroup.org for more information.
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3415 S. Sepulveda Blvd, Suite 200, Los Angeles, CA 90034 |
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