Screenwriting : What's better? by Ugo Cavallo

better selling for peanuts with a guaranteed it is going to be made. But the pain hurts later when the boss buys mansions off profits from distribution deals with eastern european countries you never know existed :)

Bit of an odd question without any context.

Selling a screenplay in exchange for some ownership with no upfront fee could be massively more lucrative than even getting WGA minimums.

Selling a screenplay for $500 will see more money in than funny-money participation deals, especially on a film that fails to sell.

The fact is, no screenwriter should ever be selling for "nothing at all" unless it's something like giving away a short to a student. On any commercial enterprise, there should be some sort of compensation, either up-front, in stages, deferred, or profit related.

Your credibility goes up when you’ve been optioned or produced, even for a micro budget film.

Some may buy, but can't afford to film it.. Then your imagination will be halted .. And some may buy it with the Peanut and later give you a credibility of your lifetime

Depends who is buying. If it is someone who might do a great job with it, then it might be worth it.

The real answer is: It depends...

Yes Gary there is always that too.

You can make a meal and a career from peanuts. I have never killed off hunger with nothing.

The irony is that, if a big-time producer wants to make your script, they'll have no problem raising the funds and paying you fairly.

That's what makes kicking off a career in screenwriting so hard. For it to be sustainable and lucrative, you need to either wait for lightning in a bottle or start taking some calculated risks that generate rewards in time.

Tarantino was out there writing Dusk til Dawn for $1,500 AFTER selling True Romance and Natural Born Killers and with Reservoir Dogs looking more and more like it was going to be a studio production. Pretty much every successful screenwriter out there has done their time digging ditches.

As they say, it takes years to become an overnight success.

Podcast interview with Daniel Kunka, a writer who has sold multiple feature specs to studios. He was a nobody at one time. Listen to how he explains American Corporate screenwriting business - he actually writes for a living.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/act-two-podcast/id1500354709

Yes. That's the nature of our business, the nature of most of the arts. We have to prove ourselves before we can ask for the big bucks. And personally I have no problem with paying my dues first. I will make money off of this, one day. I will be able to live off of this one day. But I will have to work my way there.

I 've read many comments who helped me a lot, talking with other creative in the industry is the best thing. Thank you all. As said by Ronika Merl " we have to prove ourselves before we can ask for the big bucks". Writing is a long journey wich begins with little steps by steps...thank you everyone

Barry. Why are you waiting to try and market your big budget screenplay?

I'd say you can't fill in your wallet with your conscience...

It depends on who will buy the script. For me, I will give it for free if I'm sure that they will produce the film in a way that I'll like. Note: I am only saying this for my first script. What follows, I think I'll want to make money from what I am writing.

@Claude Gagne Taste and skill. Some directors have a brilliant eye, others not so much. The script is only one piece of the puzzle.

Sell it for peanuts. Then you get more peanuts the second time.

@Claude Cagne If it tanks you've got a lot more issues to worry about. I approached a department at the University of Iowa wanting to do a documentary about them. No money, no peanuts, just me with a camera in my spare time. It went over so well I was approached to do more for two research search projects. They were my first paid productions.

Depends. for me, it's about how emotionally invested I am in the story. I have scripts that I would give away, some I'd want a minimal amount of compensation, some - "ain't nobody gonna make this but me!"

Every story I write is a learning experience, and sometimes that's enough because the lessons learned will make the next one better, so the compensation depends...

Hi Ugo,

If I were a young person trying to break into the biz, I'd definitely sell something for peanuts if I felt it was beneficial to me. Some people even give away their work to get a credit. That credit might lead to something better, and those people you worked with might lead to future - and better paid - work with them.

It's no secret that there is a large inventory of scripts, and that it's been a buyer's market for at least 20 years. Prior to that, options were mostly six months long, and a low to mid four-figures up-front accompanied them. Now, options usually run 12 - 18 months, and with $1 upfront. I saw a poster last year here mention that he was offered a five-year option (!). But I'd definitely do what I had to do to get me into the biz, and if that meant selling a script for peanuts, or even giving it away, I'd do that under the right conditions and to the right person.

And like in many businesses, you usually start at the bottom. But at the same time, there have recently been a few notable first-time sales that were well, well above entry-level pay - and with emphasis on "a few." It's not entirely impossible, but it does happen every once in a while.

The most important thing to consider if you are thinking about giving away a script, selling it for little money, or optioning it is this: you really need to do your due diligence on the potential partner/producer. Make sure they can really pull off what they might promise you. Keep in mind that some/most/many/all producers have more than just one script optioned. And even if someone has no credits or verifiable experience, and is newer to the industry than more credited producers, then doubly make sure they can really pull it off. Prepare the right type of contract. Giving someone control over your script through a long option is a serious step to consider for writers.

Best fortunes in your creative endeavors, Ugo, and stay safe!