 |
 A
movie has to start with a script. A screenwriter may write a
complete script on "spec" or speculation (not under
contract) and attract a studio or financier through a literary
agent or his or her own devices. Sometimes the writer "pitches"
or tells a story idea to a producer or studio executive, or
writes a treatment, an outline of the story. A studio may have
purchased or optioned the right to make a book, play or magazine
article into a movie. In this case, the studio would then hire
a screenwriter to write the script.
No
matter how the story starts, an agent or a producer brings
a completed script to a studio or to another financing entity,
which buys or options it, which is paying for the rights for
a finite period of time. A very small percentage of projects
are actually optioned or bought compared to the thousands
of scripts a studio receives every year. Studios and financiers
never accept unsolicited material that doesn't come through
authorized channels.
Once
a studio owns a script, it is not uncommon for a number of
drafts to be written, based on input from the executives,
producers and any other principals involved. Often, additional
writers are hired to rewrite the script, polishing dialogue
or writing new scenes. When the studio thinks the script is
ready, and certain key elements have committed themselves
to the project, such as the director or lead actor, the studio
"greenlights" the project, giving the go-ahead to
start the production process.
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