Anything Goes : Comparables query by Douglas Esper

Hey, Douglas Esper. I don't put comparables in query letters, but I put them in pitch decks, treatments, show bibles, and Stage 32 written pitches. I use three or four comparables for a project.

I list the titles and box office gross in treatments, show bibles, and Stage 32 written pitches, and I use posters and box office gross in pitch decks.

I pick comparables based on the style of movies/shows, how similar the stories are to my story, and box office success, and the year (I try to use recent comparables).

Interesting topic but I’ll be honest:

I don’t compare my scripts to other films.

Not because I think comparison is useless but because, for me, it’s misleading.

Attaching my work to existing titles might give the illusion of cliché, or worse, that my story is just a remix of something familiar. It’s not.

Each of my screenplays exists in one version only the one I wrote.

There is no parallel project, no spiritual twin, and certainly no formula to replicate them.

Not even I could write them twice.

So I don’t dilute their identity by saying “it’s like this or that.”

That’s not arrogance. That’s precision.

My stories weren’t built to echo.

They were built to last.

Best,

Petru Gradinariu

Screenwriter | Executive Producer

TitanWrites 2025™

Maurice, thanks. coming from novels/short stories the querying process varies...some agents want 3-4 and others want a lot more. They are getting better at specifying, but still the wild west in some aspects.

Petru, if I had it "my" way and was filming my own movie with no help/no partners, I probably wouldn't include comparables, but since I'm here playing the game, I might as well learn the rules and abide by them (or at least understand when I can circumvent them, heh.) I understand your points and agree each screenplay stands as a unique piece, but I recognize influences, style choices and even, gasp, structural similarities to draw on that help inform my writing.

You're welcome, Douglas Esper. Yeah, I've noticed the comparable count varies. I also like to include a comparable quick pitch ("it's Mission: Impossible meets Ocean's Eleven").

Maurice, that's what I'm working on now too. Wondering if throwing a third film into that mix makes it too long/complicated. Weird to spend as much time on query/log line/comparables as it is to just sit and write a screenplay :)

I tried to throw a third comparable in, but it was too long/complicated, Douglas Esper.