Selling specs. A reader's POV

[jtwg50]

Bear in mind that "Forrest Gump" bounced around for 10 years before someone stepped up to make it happen. Remember that Gale Ann Hurd was rejected by every studio in town with "The Terminator." The tales are legendary and legion.
William Goldman summed it all up in one sentence about the industry a long time ago: "Nobody knows anything."
That's why everyone is scared and the courage to really champion new work is more rare than seven-figure paydays for wanna-be's.
As to why studios and prodcos must have readers, they're also all very paranoid that they'll miss the one gem in the pile of ****. It's the occasional diamond, even if in the rough, that keeps everyone in the hunt.
And they do turn up. Never forget "American Beauty" and Alan Ball's payday after a furious weekend bidding war. I know his father. That deal changed the lives of an entire family.
As long as one spec a year sells for serious money, all of us have hope. That's the bottom line.
Go to www.MovieBytes.com, subscribe, and look at sales under "First Time Writers." Most are to major studios and prodcos -- and they're all specs. Many are by major agents or Big 5 agencies. A fair number are mid- to high-six figures. Some are against seven figures.
That's enough hope to keep me going.