Feature Writer Paydays: The New Wild West Playbook, Explained
What the market didn’t see coming: Surprise specs, seven-figure deals, the power of writer-directors and the magic number for a greenlight
I cover agents, lawyers and top dealmakers for paid subscribers. I wrote about Hollywood’s coming mid-market M&A frenzy, interviewed WME’s indie film co-head Deborah McIntosh and reported on the state of TV pacts including the Apple’s new backend for writers.
INT. HOLLYWOOD STUDIO OFFICE — NIGHT
A wary and exhausted development exec pores over a stack of spec scripts on her desk, desperately searching for a diamond in the rough: an IP-driven romcom or horror movie from a writer-director, ideally one with an in-demand but not too expensive star attached. Is that too much to ask, she wonders, before tossing a veteran writer’s domestic drama in the growing stack of passes.
INT. STUDIO APARTMENT IN HOLLYWOOD — NIGHT
Across town, a writer stares at a blank page, the blinking cursor mocking him with every pulse. He sips his coffee, sighs and contemplates why a track record and good ideas aren’t enough to get by in this business anymore. Unless, of course, you’re one of Donna Langley’s or Steve Asbell’s favorites, which he isn’t.
No doubt scenes like these are playing out across the entertainment industry right now, as a sense of where the market is for feature writing can feel as elusive as Terrence Malick’s next project. But today, I have concrete intel after talking to a slew of talent dealmakers including Greg Slewett of JSSK, Linda Lichter of Lichter Grossman and Lev Ginsburg of Ginsburg Daniels Kallis, plus others who wanted to chat without attribution.
In short, deals remain a mixed bag. But overall there is a sense of real optimism, thanks to splashy film market buys, spec sales and some pleasant surprises at the box office
Even as some feature writers pivot to TV, I’m looking today only at the market for feature writers sticking to the movie business.
One veteran talent lawyer name checks NBCU’s Langley and 20th Studios’ Asbell when talking about how every studio head has a very short list of go-to writers — “It feels to me like there are maybe 50 writers that are on the lists now to get hired” — but the pros have great advice on how to improve the odds of landing the right deal right now and ending up in the mix. “Everybody is trying to get a job or writing a spec that they want their agency to package so they can get back into the business,” says this lawyer.
Today for paid subscribers, I’ll cover….
Which studios are still seen as talent-friendly (ish)
Real numbers: What a hot new writer vs. a veteran can expect to pocket now
How writers and reps are evaluating new streamer performance bonuses structured to “reward the winners”
Why writer-directors are commanding “astronomical” deals
The streamer quietly driving a romcom comeback
The genres where specs are actually selling
The magic budget greenlight number
When to sell as a pitch vs. a spec — and how to know the difference
A lesson in spec-onomics