Evan Daugherty was eating sandwiches and sleeping on a mattress on a floor for several years after he got to Hollywood. You know Hollywood, the place where writers and actors come to make it big and make millions. Evan went on to sell his screenplay Snow White and the Huntsman for 3.2 million bongo bucks. That's some serious scratch, kitty kats. And, Evan who wrote the sequel, is crafting another fairy tale story offshoot with Snow White and the Seven short guys. He also wrote a film called The Killing Season with Robert De Niro and some Scientologist name Travolta. So you see spec writers, living the dream can be a reality.
What say you? Do you have he next million dollar spec script ready to be unleashed on Tinseltown.
Uncle Phil, I remember reading a professional screenwriter saying selling a screenplay is "ridiculously easy". Guess if you're as good as Shakespeare, then is "ridiculously easy".:)))Lol... PS: Could a first spec script really sell for 1 million$?(just curious...). PS#2: Was this Evan Daugherty's first script? If so, would've it sold(especially for this much) if it hadn't been about a pretty known fairytale(re-interpreted)?
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Victor: SWATH was Evan's first major sale. And, the list of million dollar plus spec sales for first time screenwriters from 2012 through 2017 would no doubt be a short one.
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Give them what they want, do it very well, and keep writing. Sounds easy enough -lol.
Of course! However, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Hope so. Gotta polish it up a bit.
Thank you for this post! Please, people, post more such success stories, as they are inspiring!:) Almost 99% of screenwriting things you read online are really depressing:(
I have 4 ready to go.
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Snow White & The Huntsman underwent some major revisions in prep. The original script was almost entirely about the huntsman. It would be interesting to hear the journey of that story transformation from Evans perspective. How and why those changes came about.
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MaxXxy:
I'd be wiling to be the Meat guy didn't get a million dollars or more.
Dan: Thanks for posting. Can you get the info on what Meat was optioned for? And congrats to Logan Martin for making the number 8 spot on the Tracking Board Hit Lit.
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Didn´t he (Evan Daugherty) win Script Pipeline with the Snow White script? There was also a bidding war for the script by three different parties. That agent he had sure did a good job, I must say, ´cause the initial offer as far as I know wasn´t anywhere near 3.2 million. Nevertheless, nicely done. :)
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Marjelein:
It depends on who wants to option your script. A "Big Six" studio can pay you a lot more than an indie filmmaker. I've attached a link to WGA payment estimates for films and television. Mind you, these are for WGA members. But it's a good reference point for what they say you should receive. http://freepdfhosting.com/b49b1288f9.pdf
Dan M - are you saying that a screenwriter needs an Agent and a Manager? I thought they were one and the same.
Thanks for the insight Dan M & Dan G. Most appreciated.
I just saw the movie and Evan deserved every last cent of that price for his screenplay!:)