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For those who aren't familiar with the term, a spec script is one that is written with the intention to sell it, but without a pre-arranged deal in place. This contrasts with a script that a writer is hired by the studio to write based on a story idea they have.
But yeah, no joke, of ALL the fucking movies it's Deja Vu.
According to this article from WeScreenplay:
To this day, Déjà Vu remains one of the absolute highest selling spec sales of all time. Written by Bill Marsilii and Pirates of the Caribbean’s Terry Rossio, Déjà Vu features a scifi thriller plot imbued with time travel and a healthy dose of 9/11 paranoia. In some ways, it feels like an endnote in the wave of existential thrillers that permeated the 90s and early 2000s, from Dark City and The Matrix, to Gattaca, Minority Report, and even Memento. The film itself, directed by the late, great Tony Scott, released to somewhat mixed reviews and mild box office success.
Writer's Fee: 5 Million
Budget: 75 Million
Box Office: 180 million worldwide
Here are a few more top sellers:
Another David Fincher vehicle, this one starring Jodie Foster and a young Kristen Stewart as a mother daughter duo who find them trapped in the titular, state of the art panic room during a home invasion. The film did solid numbers worldwide and attracted a respectable amount of acclaim from critical circles. It also represented a massive payday for the film’s scribe, David Koepp, who remains one of Hollywood’s most sought after genre writers even to this day.
Writer's Fee: 4 million
Budget: 48 million
Box Office: 196 million worldwide
Another year, another stunning spec sale for Shane Black. At the time, Black’s then-record-setting 4 million dollar payday made The Long Kiss Goodnight the most expensive script ever written. Fortunately, the film fared better with critics than The Last Boy Scout, though it lamentably failed to connect with audiences worldwide. The film stars Geena Davis as a suburban schoolteacher who hires a private investigator (played by Samuel L. Jackson) after experiencing a series of seemingly random and increasingly violent flashbacks. To this day, the film maintains something of a cult status amongst fans of neo-noir, which is perhaps part of why there were talks of a television revival a few years back.
Writer's Fee: 4 million
Budget: 65 million
Box Office: 89 million worldwide
Hot on the heels of Anchorman and Elf, it would seem thatHollywood couldn't get enough of Will Ferrell (speaking of which, they still can’t). Written alongside frequent collaborator, and fellow SNL alum, Adam McKay – who most recently directed 2015’s The Big Short – Talladega Nights presented a lovingly satirical look at the world of NASCAR racing. The script sold for a massive 4 million dollars – money well spent, given that the film won above average reviews and a more than respectable box office take.
Writer's Fee: 4 million
Budget: 72 million
Box Office: 162 million worldwide
Still buzzing from his Oscar winning script for L.A. Confidential, Brian Helgeland surprised Hollywood with an adaptation of the first story from Chaucer’s literary masterwork, The Canterbury Tales. The eventual film received mixed to positive reviews and decent box office success, and is perhaps most notable these days for the late Heath Ledger’s central performance.
Writer's Fee: 2.5 million
Budget: 56.5 million
Box Office: 117 million worldwide
The Game, otherwise known as David Fincher’s most criminally underrated film, was a mild box office success worldwide, though it failed to light a fire with audiences in the same way that Se7en had (though Fincher would rectify that a couple of years later with Fight Club). In any case, the screenplay fetched an impressive two million dollars before lingering in development hell before Fincher eventually came on board. The film centers on a banker, played by Michael Douglas, who finds himself at the center of a deadly, labyrinthine alternate reality game.
Writer's Fee: 2 million
Budget: 70 million
Box Office: 109 million worldwide
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