#spec script

[doraminatook]

I wrote a spec script for Good Omens.

This past week, I was out to coffee with a friend of mine and we got to talking about writing (as we often do). She has more of a television/movie background while I have more of a theatre background.

In the midst of our discussion, she brought something called a "spec script". When asked what exactly that was, she explained (at least in terms of television), it's an unprompted and uncommissioned script written for an already established show. The purpose is to help demonstrate a writer's ability to match the style, format, and voice of a show they didn't create.

Immediately, I said, "That just sounds like fanfiction!"

(Obviously, it's not, but I enjoyed the parallels nonetheless.)

So, of course, I had to write a spec script. (Season 3, episode 1 of Good Omens.)

Let it be known that I did not do this in the hopes of joining the writing team as I know Neil has that MORE than covered. I just did it for fun, but I'm really proud of it and I hope you head on over to AO3 and take a look at it.

Probably too many swear words. Probably too much AziraCrow too quickly. Probably too blasphemous. Definitely wonky formatting.

But I had fun! And that's what fanfic is all about.

[that-left-turn]

[thebadphilosopher]

So I know I talk and joke about not writing, writer's block, and procrastination but I do write things (and occasionally finish them) so here's proof with a moment from a B99 spec script I did.

Yeah it was a while ago but like, ignore the details it's the thought that counts.

[shipwreckedcomedy]

This month's Patreon reading is an original spec script @sineadpersaud & @seanpersaud wrote for HBO's Barry. Happening this Thursday night for our $30+ patrons!

[filmcourage]

3 Tips For Writing A TV Spec Script - Billy Van Zandt

Watch the video interview on YouTube here.

[notsocheezy]

Brain Curd #211 (Substitute)

Brain Curds are lightly edited daily writing - usually flash fiction and sometimes terrible on purpose. I wrote something a bit too personal today, so please enjoy the first act of my WIP Futurama spec script, "Fry Grows a Pair."

Please comment, reblog, like, and follow if you enjoyed - I'd love to know what you think! See you again tomorrow.

[wisefoxluminary]

INT - BLACK NOIR'S APARTMENT- DAY

Noir is lying on the floor of his ninja dojo apartment in the far reaches of Vought tower, fast asleep. Snoring loudly as his chest rises and falls with each exhausted breathe. His mask rests at his lap. The blood on his hands carrying its heavy weight as he drifts off to forget it all.

But the quiet goes away when Noir jolts awake. Hot Blooded by Foreigner suddenly begins to blares loudly through the walls. He twists his head to find Soldier Boy sorting through his drawers, slugging down a bottle of whisky.

Black Noir: "Shit!!!!"

Soldier Boy: "Rise and shine, sleeping beauty!"

Black Noir: "How the fuck did you get in here?! I thought Homelander was keeping you on lock down...

Soldier Boy: "Well Homelander ain't doing shit...I make my own rules now okay...which means I keep an eye on all the freaks you wanna get in my son's blowhole...

Black Noir: "Wait...Hold on- Homelander's your son..."

Soldier Boy: "I know right...lucky me, we're all one big happy fucking family...which means I'm gonna play neighbourhood watch around here. Which means you're all gonna report to me"

Soldier Boy sorts through the drawer and takes out the poster to Cirus De Vought. He looks at it amused.

Soldier Boy: "So this is the freakshow you get your balls fondled to? When you could get swatted by the big leagues as easily as a fly...

He dumps the poster on the floor and pours whisky all over it. He is about to set it alight when Noir rises to his feet and interferes.

Black Noir: "Whoa...Whoa.. whoa...I know you're trying to get dirt on me and shit!"

Soldier Boy: "Noir's dead...and they've got some nobody hiding behind the mask....so yeah of course I wanna know who you are? Cause I can't look at you without being reminded of that backstabbing motherfucker...."

Soldier Boy points an incriminating finger at Noir. He keeps his distance.

Black Noir: "You know man...before the Russians radicalised your ass...I was your biggest fan. I used to watch all your movies. I was an actor and I wanted to be like you..I wanted action in my life...I wanted danger, mystery, love, all these things....I practiced your Ghost of Hanoi monologue in the mirror every day before I went for an audition. But playing Noir I don't know what the hell I'm doing...they left me with nothing and now I just gotta not talk and stay silent all the time. I have been forced to kill people...I hated it but now it's starting to feel good. These sensations I'm going through...I don't understand what they are...it's like I want more...you know what I'm saying...my dick just goes hard every time I-"

Soldier Boy waves his hand in Noir's face, not wanting to hear another word.

Soldier Boy: "Your point?!"

Black Noir: "My point is...you knew Noir, you were teammates...Payback was the raw deal back in the day. I don't know what I'm doing. I feel I'm trying too hard. You're the only one that knew him...so what was he like? What does he have that I don't?!!

Soldier Boy: "You really wanna fit in with the cool kids around here, you gotta lick the semen out like a rosemary tart...

Black Noir: "The fuck?!"

Soldier Boy: "I'm saying you gotta stop being like him. You are never gonna be him. The Noir I knew....he was a fuck up...an attention whore who only wanted to steal the money and fame I had. I put him in the fucking ground and you know where that got me....I got locked up and treated like a lab rat! I see what you are...you're weak...you're hungry for power...to all the rest of them, you're just bait for the fucking alligators who want a piece at ya...someone they can use to clean up their messes...you step one foot out of line and they're gonna kick your face into the fucking curb when they're done with you. It's kill or be killed. Survival against the fittest and this world is gonna be at the chopping block of it all..."

Soldier Boy puts his glass of whisky down and stalks towards Noir, who stands there tense, watching in fear as he approaches. His hands grip tight onto his shoulders, almost bleeding into the seams of his costume. Noir is pinned against the wall. Soldier Boy's gaze pierces through him like he is threatening to cut him down at any second. Unwavering and scaring the living daylights out of Noir. Maybe some part of him is turned on by all this.

Soldier Boy: "So I'm saying if you wanna get the respect and love you deserve...you gotta get your hands dirty...you jerk off to someone getting their spine torn out...that's your call...Don't show them how weak you are, you act like a man and you tell them to back the fuck off...you show them a little wraith and you make them kiss your ass...cause' you need to show them that you're something you're not. You will no longer be an actor. You are a killer and you will make them fear you...the blood on your hands...it just makes you stronger..and that...that is how you're gonna bring this world to its knees...I'll be there to help you show them your rage..cause eventually everyone will leave you and I'll be the only person you've got. Call it method acting if you will...we'll show the word what real man we are....

Black Noir: "Show me....what can I do to impress you?"

Soldier Boy: "How about you don't be a bitch and put the fucking mask back on?! we'll go on a little hunting trip..you and me... you kill how many people you want...hell, we'll give it to those who have got it coming. I'm fair game if you are?

Black Noir: "yeah..yeah...I am..."

Soldier Boy: "That's my boy...come on! Let's mark our eagle's nest...make your country proud"

Soldier Boy pats Noir roughly on the back as he makes his way towards the elevator. Black Noir rushes hastily after him, slipping on his mask as he runs head over heels for Soldier Boy. For the first time, he feels understood.

Blackout

*end of scene*

[reclusivedouche]

My Riverdale Spec

Okay so a long time ago (in 2021) I wrote a Riverdale Spec script to submit to a writer's fellowship I 100% did not get into (haha). Anyway, now that the show is over, I thought I'd share it because, honestly, it's still one of my favorite things I've written.

Anyway - without further ado, I present "REDACTED CHAPTER: MAD HOUSE".

This follows Cheryl as she attempts to decipher clues from her mother's past crimes to save herself from a slow acting poison Penelope slipped into her maple rum. Imagine an escape room-type plot run by Riverdale's best big bad, Penelope Blossom.

It explores Penelope's lore and how she became the criminal she was during the show (specifically in relation to the first three seasons). And, I must say, any similarities to (the ending of) Citizen Lodge are coincidental as I wrote this prior to that episode airing.

Anyway, it's a standard 60-page spec and can be found here. (google drive link)

Would love to hear thoughts/feedback. I don't plan on revising it anymore, but my love for this show will never die. Otherwise, hope you enjoy if you choose to read!

[portezibestuff]

For a couple of days, I decided to write a short spec script for people in the film industry to read and judge to see if I am a good scriptwriter to hire.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1INIEXXhY_ZeveWP42iVyN4-F_kk-a6_8/view?usp=drivesdk

[friendlycatwife]

Sometimes I’ll think about writing a Helluva Boss spec script, but all I got so far is Moxxie accidentally cheats on Millie 😅

[bisclavret]

this is so funny i knew eoin said he thought gwaine got up and went on his merry way with a concussion and zero recollection of the entire series but i didn't know he got super excited about making a short film about it. it's kind of a huge-brained idea actually since gwaine's character arc starts out with a concussion. mr macken please this could be your magnum opus there is still time

[filmcourage]

5 Entry Level Jobs For TV Writers - Zimran Jacob

Watch the video interview on Youtube here.

[slutforpringles]

visacashapprb: Reliving Daniel’s first F1 victory as we head back to the track where it all happened 🇨🇦 📸: @vladimirrys

[showrunnerihardlyknowher]

think about.......1950's g/t...

[youregonnabeokay-kid]

SO. i was able to figure out the general structure of the script JLH leaked.

[explanation under the cut]

in order for all this to make sense, the first thing you need to know is that in north america all screenplays (scripts) are written in the same format

knowing this, we can deduce the general structure of the scene and even the length of some of the words

first we need to address the big question everyone's been asking:

are they talking about Bobby or Eddie?

screenplays are always typed in courier font, and in courier the capital letters B and E are identical at their left sides.

so while i enjoy people trying to figure out if the blurry letter in line 24 is a B or an E, the answer is it could honestly be either

where we really need to look is line one. the screengrab is blurry so i've outlined the word "going" and circled the area we should pay attention to

at first, the last letter of the prior word looks like an undistinguishable blob, but there is actually one key thing we can discern from it: the letter can't be y, it doesn't hang low enough

there is a chance that the word is not a name and is "he" which would not rule out Bobby or Eddie. however, that would mean the conversation goes on for at least 14 lines without mentioning "him" by name which is (heavily) frowned against in screenwriting. so chances are they're talking about Eddie

also, with what we know about the characters it's most likely Eddie. can you really see Bobby not talking to Buck because of... well, anything? and we already know that Eddie has a difficult time communicating. so i've decided to go with him for this script but haven't 100 per cent ruled Bobby out

moving on to the actual script itself, anything not highlighted in red is something i'm confident is either the exact wording or something similar. the red sections are the parts that i'm less confident in or know are incorrect somehow

Maddie's first dialogue block is the part i had the most trouble with. with context from the following conversation i figured that she probably asked something along the lines of when [Eddie] will be back at work. the main issue with this section is that the top line is actually six letters shorter than what i have written. this also means that the word that follows "going" has to be at least eight letters long. i tried messing around with the dialogue a bit but couldn't come up with something that would fit the appropriate letter count so for now i just wrote a line similar to what i think the actual line probably is

line six has to be either 12 or 13 spaces long and the first word has to be at least four letters long so i used "really soon" as a place holder, but i'm not completely confident in it

for line eight i initially had "Oh, that's good." but the line was one space short so i changed the "Oh" to "Hey" instead. i don't feel too poorly about this one but it still doesn't feel right to me. if the actual script says "Hey" i wouldn't be surprised if JLH changes it to something else or forgoes the exclamation completely

the final line is just a rough guess of what it could be. i'm not sure how formal the 911 writers are with action lines so i just took a random guess. some writers are extremely formal with action lines while others are more comedic with it (Neil Gaiman is a great example of this). i'm guessing the 911 writers are more the former but i honestly have no clue

[redandfranticfeelings]

as long as we're all pitching ideas for the solar opposites valentines day special I'll throw mine into the ring:

terry and korvo decide they need a cuter "how we met" story and make a series of simulated "meet cutes" a la hallmark movies, only for the various "meet cute" clones to come to life and annoy the hell put of the prime terry and korvo with their excessive cliche romance tropes.