At a moment when established (and monetized) intellectual property assets, sequels, remakes, and recognizable franchises dominate much what we see in theatres and on streamers, is it really a so-called ‘Golden Age’ of spec scripts for the lowly screenwriter?
Backrooms and Obsession notwithstanding – and Jordan Peele movies, of course – it does not feel like a golden age.
Writing spec scripts is a peculiar hobby one might equate with insanity. You spend months writing something absolutely nobody asked for, followed by the equally peculiar process of trying to persuade someone in the business that they wanted your script all along.
People in my position have words on paper, nothing more. Finding a producer, director, talent and the right financing can be truly and infinitely more difficult than writing the script.
None of this is news, but what might be different today is the fact that spec script screenwriters have more avenues for pitching their wares than ever before. There is no lack of technological outlets to highlight a script or connect with an industry insider.
But, with that, comes higher gatekeeper walls. When it comes down to it, the increased ability to promote has been negated by the increased ability to block incoming queries – leaving the spec script pitch back where it started – person to person interaction.
If you write spec scripts, you might view that as a bad thing. I find the exact opposite to be true, however.
People my age (late Boomer era) evolved in a time when live networking was the way you did business. It was and is natural and immediate. More stressful? Yes. More time consuming? Yes. More rubber chicken? Absolutely.
But that exercise could translate into quantitative results; a new idea, a connection or a sale.
The only way to find out if your script is great or crap is to get it seen. And a script gets seen by eyes – human eyes.
Maybe the Golden Age of the spec script isn’t about having more ways to reach Hollywood – it’s about remembering that, in the end, you still have to convince another real-life person that your story is worth telling.
