Screenwriting : Catherine the Great Spec Script Success Story: I offer my commentary by Phillip E. Hardy, "The Pro From Dover"

In between writing spec scripts at the behest of others, or ones from my own imagination, I occasionally read up on what’s going on with other writers. Last year’s spec script success story was Kristina Lauren Anderson, who topped the 2014 Blacklist’s roster of the most liked spec scripts of the year. Her Catherine the Great (CTG) biopic created quite a buzz among industry folk and according to IMDb, has several producers attached to it. And why wouldn’t someone want to bag this recently acclaimed screenplay? According to Christopher Pendegraft, the reviewer at Scriptshadow, the story is “f#%king badass”. Here is an excerpt from his review: “We meet Sophia Augustus at 17 years old, masturbating, an exercise she’ll also use a horse to achieve later in the story. Not really sure what masturbating had to do with this movie, but I think it’s to clue us in that Sophia isn’t a slave to the expectations of women at the time.” Okay, the first thing that impressed the hell out of the reviewer was that the main character is masturbating and then practices beastiality. That’s what I call taking the high road. Now, since I have not read Ms. Anderson’s script, I will endeavor not to be a total judgmental prick. However, I’m not sure equestrian porn is something I’d like to be most remembered for incorporating into my work. And though I’m sure it’s tastefully depicted, that type is titillation is something I normally forgo in my work. Out of curiosity, I did a google search to determine if Katherine the Great is in production and lo and behold, Angelina Jolie has announced she’s making a CTG movie with her husband Brad. OMG! So it’s a happy ending for writer Kristina Lauren Anderson. Hollywood’s ultimate power couple, the Liz and Dick of our age, are going to make the ultimate Czarina movie. Not so fast, the bad news is Angelina’s not using Ms. Anderson’s script. Mrs. Brad Pitt has optioned the rights to Simon Sebag Montefiore’s book, Catherine the Great & Potemkin: The Imperial Love Affair, which was published in 2000. Is Angelina’s optioning this book just an unfortunate coinkydink? Or did she just steal the idea? Did this A-list actress get her hands on Ms. Anderson’s spec script and think to herself, “Hell, I can do this better?” I suspect we’ll never know. We’ll just have to wait to see who gets their CTG project to the screen first, Mrs. Jolie or Ms. Anderson. If I was a betting man… Here are all the relevant story links about Katherine the Great spec script and review. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/black-lists-no-1-writer-759443 http://scriptshadow.net/screenplay-review-catherine-the-great/ http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jul/06/angelina-jolie-film-catherin... http://www.firstshowing.net/2014/2014-black-list-of-best-unproduced-scri...