Shintaro Shimosawa
(The Echo)February 12, 2009: Shin's Answers
How is the spec market these days? It seems once you get established as a professional screenwriter the bulk of the work tends to be adaptations and scripts based on pre-sold franchises (movies, comics, ect.). Do working writers have time to develop original material, or has the spec market just become the domain of the first-timers with the high-concept break-in script?

I'm not very involved in the spec market so I can't say for sure whether the marketplace is still healthy. But I can say that writing specs are fun. Whether its a first-timer with a high concept, or it's an idea that you feel passionately about -- they're free of the headache of getting legal rights (life-rights, literary or comic adaptations), free of being enclosed in a pre-established world, and most importantly free of studios and producers hovering over you with their own ideas.

What you say is true. Most working writers DO write on assignment – literary adaptations, comics, sequels, remakes, true-life tales because that's simply what the studios are making. Not necessarily because those writers chose to. The studio slates are focused on those assignments because those are the movies they can rely on to greenlight and make money.

If the question is whether or not you should write a spec - I would highly recommend it. Most writers break-in using specs as samples to get those coveted studio re-writes by comparing the assignments to your work. For example, if you wrote a killer cabin-in-the-woods horror flick, you may have been considered to rewrite the latest Friday the 13th redux. If you write an awesome romantic comedy next, then your agent or manager has two ways to sell you. You have two good samples on your resume (that is, if they are both good).

And, there is a chance that someone will produce your spec and you can be the next Juno. To sum it up, there isn't a reason to NOT write one.

Due to these economic climes, are we going to see more and more smaller, cheaper productions getting green-lit and less of the big budget tent-pole movies?

I consulted a studio friend on this one and the trend may be more of the opposite. The tent-pole movies are the safe-bets so they won't be affected. It's the mid-budgeted films that have the most to lose. He used the $25m romantic comedy as an example. If it can't be made for less, or if the star is demanding a $10m payday, then it won't be made. You may see more bigger films, and smaller films with bigger stars. The mid-level ones will be hurt most.

I saw the first ten pages of Wanted-- A lot changed in Production... What causes that?-- Is it Perfectists, like me, who keep twiddling the script till it's shot? Or, Did something drive the Producer to scream Nyet-Nyet-I-want-a-boot-kick-in-the-elevator-panel-show-how-much-strength-he's-got... rewrite?

Wow. Tough question to answer. There are a number of reasons why scenes change in every film. You may be right, there could have been a substantial redevelop of the characters, but it could've been budget or scheduling constraints, bad performances from actors, poorly directed/ confusing sequences, or the edit.

I've worked on films where scenes from the middle of the movie (as scripted) become the opening. And that was done in the editing room. It could also be the studio tested the movie (in front of an audience) and there was too much or too little happening up front. Who knows. It really is project-specific.

But if you want to know specifically about that opening sequence of "Wanted".....I could try to find out for you.

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