Been thinking about Who Framed Roger Rabbit and the gamble Disney took at a time when they were struggling. MASSIVE hit that helped change the company's trajectory pre-Alladin, Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid & Lion King. If you're Paramount, Sony, etc. right now, this kind of risk makes sense.

The average length of a Coen Bros feature is right under 100 minutes. If they can tell their epics without going 2 and a half or 3 hours, basically everyone can. 95% of the time there's just no reason for a movie to be over 2 hours give or take.

Thriller spec sale. Husband/wife team behind DROP. Theory: it's easier to sell spec No. 2, 3, 4, etc. than No. 1 because you've been vetted by the industry. A proven commodity. That takes nothing away from the talent of the writers (congrats!!!). Just kind of a cover-your-ass industry. #scriptsky

First spec sale in about 3 weeks (that has been announced). Mini-slump is over after a hot streak. Rom-coms are selling like hotcakes. #scriptsky deadline.com/2025/09/sas-...

Black List script THUMB gets picked up. Good to see a typically slow month get so much business going. Crossing my fingers that this means a big fall for screenwriters. #scriptsky deadline.com/2025/08/mill...

4th spec sale of the week — about Kobe Bryant. As someone who's had two Black List scripts wind up in sports rights hell, doing something like this on spec is tricky... but can get you noticed or even sold with some luck. Hollywood loves a good sports story. #scriptsky deadline.com/2025/08/kobe...

Another spec sale. 3rd this week. Action romcom. Awesome seeing all this action around original material. #scriptsky deadline.com/2025/08/blak...

Second spec sale in 24 hours! Erotic thriller. #scriptsky

Hot spec sale. Will Dunn's THE PIRATE. He also wrote the Black List script THE PEASANT, which was kinda like period piece John Wick. Enjoyed that one for sure. Good to see things keep moving. #scriptsky deadline.com/2025/08/jaso...

Screw Myers-Briggs. The real personality test is your Letterboxd top 4. #scriptsky

Third spec sale of the week! This one had 11 freaking offers. I share this shit to keep our spirits up. There are reasons to be hopeful, and the industry will need strong original feature stories to keep audiences showing up at the theater — and even streaming. #scriptsky

Geeking out about HIGHEST 2 LOWEST. Love Spike. Am a Denzel stan. And this is a Kurosawa remake. Been almost 20 years since these two worked together! INSIDE MAN was one of my favorite movies from the aughts.

Specs are selling again after summer vacay hibernation. This is the second of the day announced. A comedy. The Naked Gun effect??? Anyway, good to see biz happening. #scriptsky deadline.com/2025/08/sony...

What movie taught you how to curse? For me, it was BEVERLY HILLS COP.

Spec script market seems to have cooled off. Probably just because execs/producers are all on vacay this time of year and reps are waiting to send things out to market. We're waiting to send something out right now. Shocking how much of the year is a bad time to send things out. #scriptsky

The biggest grift in entertainment right now is to label your project "anti-woke."

Action comedy spec set up at Amazon. 🔥 #scriptsky

Think confidence is the most underrated part of screenwriting. Listen to your favorite rappers and how they express their message — there’s no half-stepping. Being assured and bold convinces readers they’re in safe hands. #scriptsky

Screenwriting is a dense lattice of micro-decisions. Thousands of word choices conveying hundreds of plot choices. And because movies are as much about what you leave out as what you leave in, every decision really counts. #scriptsky

The peach allergy sequence from PARASITE is so face-melting that it relegates CALL ME BY YOUR NAME to the movie with the second most memorable peach.

Thank you, Sam! I agree that reading screenplays is vital. I was stuck in the mud before I started reading a ton of Black List scripts + spec scripts that sold. Really gave me a ton of insight on what was resonating with reps and producers. You’re kinda flying blind without that intel. #scriptsky

There's a huge correlation between classic movies and classic scores. Distinctive theme music that meshes perfectly with the story is a secret weapon.

Somehow plants and payoffs are still an undervalued part of screenwriting. How can I make this action/line/prop multipurpose? How can I bring it back later for a bigger bang (perhaps multiple times)? We get so cause/effect focused that we can forget the job is bringing things full circle. #scriptsky

a new clipse album and a tiny desk? happy fri-yay indeed

Universal was so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.

My big takeaway from the NYT insider and readers top 100 movies of the past 25 years poll is that we overindex drama and penalize action to some extent when it comes to “best” lists.

THE OLD GUARD 2 is 30% on Rotten Tomatoes. It took five years to figure this out? Really loved the first one so it's a huge bummer.

Holy shit. CRIMSON TIDE 2 in the works. Denzel is back pending a good script. Would love to see him in the Gene Hackman curmudgeon role this time. The Top Gunification of Hollywood continues following F1's success. #scriptsky deadline.com/2025/07/crim...

The original RUNNING MAN cooked. Shockingly good Richard Dawson performance. Perfect Harold Faltermeyer score. Yaphet Kotto, Mick Fleetwood, Jesse Ventura and Jim Brown! Nonstop Arnold one-liners. And yet room for improvement. Tentatively excited about the remake.

The world needs more Funny Ryan Gosling. Totally in on PROJECT HAIL MARY.

F1's success coming right after SINNERS is huge for anybody who has an interest in a renaissance for original big-budget features. Fuck yeah. #scriptsky

TDIL that FORD V FERRARI almost happened with Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise as the stars. Can't decide if that would've made it worse or better. Hard to imagine it being much better. Damon crushed that Carroll Shelby role.

F1 is a very Paul Newman, Steve McQueen kind of movie. A throwback with the added bonus of face-melting IMAX. Not the most surprising story or anything but it hits all the right notes. #scriptsky

Spec sale. Romantic comedy! Don't see a ton of these nowadays. About a romance novelist who is secretly a tall mountain man. Sounds fun. Always a reminder to stay speccing. #scriptsky

this plus the Disney / Universal A.I. lawsuits… bubble is so close to bursting

You: Ryan Gosling can do literally anything. Me: Did you see him play corner in Remember the Titans?

My NYT ballot for the 10 best films since 2000. This is the hardest list to make posible. Ask me again tomorow and there will be 10 different flicks. Here's the link: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Is "mouthfeel" the worst word ever invented?

One of my favorite movies of the past 25 years. @secondsightfilms.bsky.social release with a new writer/director commentary track 😍 #scriptsky

Let's call writer's block what it is. Fear. Lack of confidence. I'll break my script beyond repair. It won't meet the pro screenwriting bar. But this isn't the age of typewriters. We have a delete key! I think the secret is to playfully try shit + have faith you will eventually get there. #scriptsky

Another spec sale. This duo sold THREE HITMEN AND A BABY last year. Show's how you can capitalize on heat. Met Matt at a party last year. Super nice dude. Good for him (and Dave). This is why you stay speccing! #scriptsky

Say what you will about Jay-Z, but that man's pen is lethal.

Crowds at the LA Football Club chanting Fuck ICE! Music to my ears!

All I got to say is get ICE the fuck out of LA.

We were afraid AI would Terminator or Matrix us but it’s mostly just a research assistant that can make dumb memes.

"Are you romantic?" "About some things." "Like what?" "Football and westerns."

This is great fucking news! I don't think the industry has ever needed a movie to hit at the box office as badly as it needs F1 to deliver. The fate of Apple Studios could be tied to this. And it could be another huge signal to bet on original blockbusters after SINNERS blew up. Please go see it.

Trump and Elon breaking up was the most predictable breakup of all time. Surprised it lasted even this long. Been waiting for their "Let Them Fight" Godzilla meme moment. Hope it gets ugly.

The Australian breakout film is a dope archetype: ROAD WARRIOR, ROMPER STOMPER, CHOPPER, ANIMAL KINGDOM, TWO HANDS, MURIEL'S WEDDING, SHINE, DEAD CALM, THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT, OSCAR & LUCINDA #scriptsky

The topic of a dating app specifically for screenwriters came up the other day. And I was like, we basically have one, it's just a decentralized platform. Walk into any coffee shop in LA and open your laptop -- that's posting a profile. #scriptsky