Specs are so back
A review of some of the blockbuster sales of the last year
The State of the Spec Market
In my last post, I explained that a spec script (short for speculative script) is a feature-length screenplay that writers will produce in the hopes of selling to a producer, studio, or streamer.
The 1990s were famous for the million-dollar spec sale, when it seemed like every other week resulted in a splashy headline. Hollywood’s rock-and-roll spec script era is long over, but the last couple of years have shown us a bullish spec market.
Coming out of the dual strikes of 2023, the opportunities in the television landscape have rapidly declined — a recent report published by the WGA showed that there were 42% fewer television writing jobs in 2023-24 than the previous year (a net decrease of 500 jobs).
These days, any open television staffing job receives hundreds of applicants clamoring to be let in. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like the television heyday of the 2010s will be coming back anytime soon, so now everyone is eyeing the feature spec market for their next big opportunity.
And indeed, there have been a number of major seven-figure sales over the last year that have been head-turning. Perhaps the most noise was made in late November 2024 when Natan Dotan, a complete unknown to the industry, sold an AI corporate thriller called Alignment for an eye-watering $3.25 million.
But there have been a number of other 7-figure deals that have come and gone more quietly — I’ve read a number of these scripts, and wanted to review them below and speculate (pun intended) why I think they went for such large numbers.
Over Asking, by Caroline Dries
The Story:
Over Asking is a sexual revenge thriller that is imagined as a gender-swapped version of 1993’s Indecent Proposal (pictured above).
In Over Asking, Margo and Christian are an attractive, wealthy young couple hoping to buy an elite penthouse in Manhattan. Christian is a finance bro, a bonafide douche. Margo, conscious of her extreme beauty, is a bit lost as the trophy wife — the script opens with Margo trying to find some direction in life.
Margo and Christian find their dream apartment, but the real estate market is extremely competitive. The owner of the apartment, Gillian Town, is a high-powered lawyer known for successfully defending unsavory characters.
Gillian makes a proposal: she will allow Margo and Christian to buy her penthouse … if Margo will sleep with her. Christian is eager to allow this exchange to happen — it’s just one night, and after that, they’ll have their dream place. Margo is more skeptical, and feels like she’s being pimped out, but goes along with the plan.
I won’t say anything more so as not to spoil the story, but revenge, jealousy, and hijinks ensue. Here is a snippet from the morning after Margo wakes up in Gillian’s apartment:
The Sale:
After a six-way bidding war, Over Asking ended up selling for seven figures to Paramount Pictures in July 2024. The bidding war reportedly involved Amazon, Apple, Skydance, New Line and Sony.
Why I Think It Sold For That High:
Over Asking plays into the very hot genre of erotic thrillers, which it seems everyone wants at the moment. The three lead roles are fun for big name stars, especially the two female leads of Margo and Gillian (I do wonder if Dries purposely gave the characters these names to put the image of Margot Robbie and Gillian Anderson in our heads).
The script is accessible while still having fun twists and turns — it’s easy to see its commercial viability, especially with an A-list cast in the lead roles. By the time I finished reading the script, I already knew what the trailer would look like in my head.
How To Save a Marriage, by Ross Evans
The Story:
How to Save a Marriage is a wacky erotic thriller (I’m telling y’all, erotic thrillers were the name of the game last year). It’s Freaky Friday, but darker and more murderous.
The script opens with Jake and Emma, an unhappily married couple whose relationship is on the rocks.
In an attempt to spice up their sex life and turn things around, the couple invites a mysterious man named Bull to be their third. But then, while in the bedroom … Bull performs some sort of magic spell, and Jake and Emma end up switching places.
That’s right — this is a body swap movie.
The body swap shockingly comes out of nowhere, and from there, the couple must find a way to get back into their own bodies.
Here’s a snippet from the scene right after Emma and Jake switch places:
The Sale:
In March of last year, How to Save a Marriage sold to Sony Pictures for seven figures. This was screenwriter Ross Evans’s first big sale, and it was helped along with the attachment of Robert Pattinson as producer. Earlier this year, Zoe Kravitz came onboard to direct the film.
Why I Think It Sold For That High:
How to Save a Marriage is … weird. Don’t get me wrong, it’s well written, but it’s weird. But look, people are really into weird right now, and the market seems to respond favorably to head turners.
The first 19 pages of the script give no indication that anything as out of left field as body swapping is about to occur, and then all of a sudden, boom, two people have switched bodies.
Perhaps the surprise of the script is what allowed it to land with such a splash.
Also, the attachment and involvement of Robert Pattison was essential in driving the price of the script higher. Between Mickey 17 (about clones) and How to Save a Marriage, I’m getting the sense that Pattinson doesn’t want to be in his own body?
Good for Evans — I’ll be interested to see how the movie turns out.
Love of Your Life, by Julia Cox
The Story:
Love of Your Life was described as an “Eat, Pray, Love but sad” — I find that summation a bit reductive.
The script opens with Maya and Charlie, a young couple who meet in Boston. Their meeting is sweet; their love is pure. But then, during the Covid pandemic, Charlie catches the virus and suddenly dies.
Maya’s life is completely upended. In her grief, she abruptly leaves the States without telling anyone or saying goodbye, and embarks on a journey traveling abroad to find her mooring. A central question that the script asks is: do you only get one love of your life? Or is it possible for a person to have multiple?
Here is a snippet from Maya and Charlie’s wedding scene, where their best friend Jason is giving a speech honoring the couple:
The Sale:
In October 2024, Love of Your Life sold to Amazon MGM Studios for a reported $2 million. At the time, it was the largest spec script deal in recent memory, until it was topped a month later by Alignment. Ryan Gosling was attached to produce, and the script saw a competitive bidding situation from multiple parties.
In 2025, Rachel Morrison came on to direct and Margaret Qualley was tapped to star as Maya.
Why I Think It Sold For That High:
When Love of Your Life went for $2 mil, many people were shocked that a romantic drama would command such a price. There was no thriller element, there was no genre element, and it didn’t have any shocking plot twists.
But while the concept may seem “simple,” Love of Your Life is very well-executed. Cox turned in a beautiful script, and most importantly, Maya and Charlie feel like real people. Their love felt realistic, yet specific, and I was invested in what happened to them from the start.
Plus, it doesn’t hurt that Maya, who goes through quite the emotional rollercoaster over the course of this script, is a big star draw. When the script first sold, industry watchers speculated if someone like Florence Pugh or Daisy Edgar-Jones would end up in the lead, before Qualley ultimately ended up winning the role.
Given the massive success of It Ends With Us (in spite of all the drama), I’m sure studios were searching for their next big romance hit, and Love of Your Life happened to hit that sweet spot.
Overall takeaways:
Some of the major commonalities I noticed between these three specs:
Perhaps the most important thing for a big spec sale is to write star parts. For all three, it was easy to imagine the main characters drawing the curiosity and interest of major A-list actors. If you build the star part, they will come.
Romance sells. All three scripts contained a marriage at its core, although two of them had failing marriages and a thriller element to them. Regardless, all three did see some sort of romance develop outside of the main marriage.
It’s okay to go long. It’s often recommended that spec scripts should come in around 100 pages or less (How to Save a Marriage clocks in at 102 pages). But if you need the length to really develop your characters, and you do it well, it’s okay to go the distance. Both Over Asking and How to Save a Marriage come in at 120+ pages.
Overall, it’s great to see the feature spec market so healthy. Congratulations to all three writers for their huge sales last year — I can only hope to be so lucky as to write a script that someone else will blog about one day in a seven figure-headline round-up.
And yes, I know I need to eventually get around to checking out Alignment.
Keep on writing friends! And if you have thoughts on the recent spec market boom, feel free to leave a comment below!
If you have comments, compliments, or concerns, email yuoughtaknow@gmail.com.
Surprised erotic thrillers are having such a moment when Gen Z audiences seem to be less interested in sex-heavy storylines. Thanks for the review/analysis!
Is the general public able to access these scripts? I'd love to read them if possible.