I recently had what turned into a rather heated discussion on Twitter with a writer who was looking for someone to "collaborate" on a script with him. He said that he had a "great idea" but that he knew that his own screenwriting skills were lacking.
I suggested that he hire someone to help him, and directed him to this site, among others. He took umbrage at this, and said that he wanted to find someone who believed in his idea as much as he did (and wouldn't expect to get paid for helping develop it).
So I was wondering where other people draw the line between partnership/collaboration (good) and unpaid development services (bad). Or is it more of a spectrum?
I've written about screenwriting teams:
https://www.moviemaker.com/archives/...dshed-partner/
I also used to maintain a thread on the Amazon Studios forum with more than 1000 writing "gigs" that were basically "I've got a great movie idea. Write it for me for free and we'll share the profits."
What's a legitimate request for collaboration/partnership, and what does each party have to bring to the table?
On the other hand, what's a request for free writing services?
How valuable is a "great idea" as currency, when only one collaborator is doing the bulk of the writing?
When presented with an "opportunity" like this one, how would you approach it?
I suggested that he hire someone to help him, and directed him to this site, among others. He took umbrage at this, and said that he wanted to find someone who believed in his idea as much as he did (and wouldn't expect to get paid for helping develop it).
So I was wondering where other people draw the line between partnership/collaboration (good) and unpaid development services (bad). Or is it more of a spectrum?
I've written about screenwriting teams:
https://www.moviemaker.com/archives/...dshed-partner/
I also used to maintain a thread on the Amazon Studios forum with more than 1000 writing "gigs" that were basically "I've got a great movie idea. Write it for me for free and we'll share the profits."
What's a legitimate request for collaboration/partnership, and what does each party have to bring to the table?
On the other hand, what's a request for free writing services?
How valuable is a "great idea" as currency, when only one collaborator is doing the bulk of the writing?
When presented with an "opportunity" like this one, how would you approach it?
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