Literary Hollywood Wrap-up Writers Block: Market Shies Away From Lit Specs

1999 was a mixed blessing for writers.

Buyers shelled out fewer seven-figure paydays for source material than last year, and -- to the surprise of many in town -- the overall market shrunk by 23%. In 1998, about 322 literary properties such as screenplays, novels, treatments, magazine articles, plays, comic books and pitches were purchased or optioned. From Dec. 1, 1998 to Nov. 30, 1999, that number dropped to about 247 sold works.

Though only a handful of properties were purchased in the seven-figure range in 1998, studios were a little less cautious in their spending this year, as more than a dozen properties were purchased for $1 million or more.

"The studios slowed down in terms of acquisitions of material because they were making less films," said Dan Aloni, co-head of United Talent Agency's motion picture literary department. "The cost of making and releasing movies is going up and a lot of studios have slowed down their development processes. Over the last couple of weeks, however, I felt that studios were putting more movies into production. I hope sales pick up."

Part of the problem may be that there is a lack of good material, something that the industry bemoans year after year. "I just find it so hard to find a really good script for an A-list director who doesn't write his own scripts. There's not enough good material out there," said Aloni.

This year, even the best-selling author of "Jurassic Park" and "Twister" found a more frugal marketplace when his reps started shopping his latest novel. After two months of negotiations, Michael Crichton's "Timeline" was picked up by Paramount Pictures -- with one interesting caveat: no upfront money. Instead, Crichton (who also gets a producing fee) forewent the upfront payday for a sizable 15% backend. Crichton usually commands $8 million-$10 million for rights to his work.

This literary recession, which has lasted two years, is attributable to the cost-cutting efforts among buyers: the mantra across the board is fewer movies at less cost. With housekeeping deals continually being slashed, there is less impetus on studios to build up their development slates.

New buyers like Artisan Entertainment and Destination Films have opened up the market slightly, but others like USA Films have yet to dig deep into their pockets for material. One literary agent who requested anonymity said: "The market is just tighter, but anything good will still find a home."

Some of this past year's most notable writers found a mansion.

"The Sixth Sense" writer-director M. Night Shyamalan received a whopping $5 million upfront from Disney for his script "Unbreakable," a record for a spec sale. With producing and directing fees, Shyamalan stands to make $10 million.

Oscar winning "L.A. Confidential" screenwriter Brian Helgeland received $5 million for his medieval-set spec script "A Knight's Tale" in a package that will have him produce and direct.

Andrew Niccol, who scripted "The Truman Show," got a $2 million payday from New Line Cinema for his latest spec "River Road," which he is also slated to direct.

Even a first-time novelist hit the jackpot in the Hollywood lit market. DreamWorks paid $2 million upfront for Marc Levy's freshman novel, "If Only It Were True," a French-language romantic comedy that Steven Spielberg is expected to produce.

So what's a writer to do if no one's buying? Keep your fingers busy, not crossed, said Aloni. "I find more writers are writing specs because there are less assignments out there. More writers who traditionally didn't write specs should think about it now because assignments are fewer and farther between."