A spec script, also known as a speculative screenplay, is a non-commissioned unsolicited screenplay. It is usually written by a screenwriter who hopes to have the script optioned and eventually purchased by a producer, production company, or studio.
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Spec scripts have not always held as much cachet in the business as they do now. Ernest Lehman describes how his original script for North by Northwest was unusual at that point in his career:
Originals were not smiled upon in those days, believe it or not. There was very little interest in originals in those days. [...] Studios, distributors wanted the assurance of someone else having thought a property worth publishing[...] In those days, if you went to a party in the Hollywood community and somebody would ask, "What are you working on, Ernie?" and you replied, "I'm doing an original now," the response would be "Oh." [...] Like they were a little embarrassed[...] If you were working on something that you were going to create all by yourself, they'd secretly think, "He's in bad shape. Working on an original." That definitely was the climate at one time in this town.[1]
If the writer of a spec script has an agent, the agent will identify a number of prospective buyers who may range from small independent producers to executives working in the major studios, and attempt to build up 'heat' under the script. The script is sent out simultaneously to all the prospective buyers in the hope of attracting a bidding war.
If the script sells, the writer may receive a payment of anything from a few tens of thousands of dollars to several million. If not, the script is sometimes dead in the water because it is now in the databases of the studios and development executives, and has been marked as having been 'passed' on.
Most of the tens of thousands of spec scripts penned each year are written by unknown or amateur screenwriters. (See the screenwriting documentary Dreams on Spec.)
Most often if they are unique in content and concept, they are purchased based on the speculated end result of entertainment (and assuming rewrites by studio-hired screenwriters, if needed).
If a spec script is not picked up, but the script is good, the screenwriter is usually offered another writing assignment. Spec scripts are often written by unknown professional screenwriters looking to prove their storytelling ability and make a name for themselves in the film industry.
Sample scripts are not intended for production but are used for showcase purposes only. Unsold or unproduced screenplays often go on to be sample scripts.
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