Jamie Mathieson is a writer for TV programmes including Doctor Who, Being Human and Tripped. In this post (originally published on his own website) he explains why spec' (speculative) scripts are a ...

An unknown writer, a fast-rising feeding frenzy, and a true multimillion-dollar deal. It’s enough to make executives or aspiring screenplay authors dream of the heady spec script deals of the 1990s.

A little under two years ago, Vanity Fair ran a surprisingly eye opening piece about the state of Hollywood’s spec script market as it pertains to the feature film industry. In the write-up, author ...

With our Open Call submission window approaching, BBC Writersroom Development Producer, Usman Mullan has some valuable advice on what makes a great spec script. Usman Mullan is a Development Producer ...

Ah, the ’90s. Headlines of huge spec sales and bidding wars filled the trades. The spec screenplay replaced the Great American Novel as the pastime everyone and his uncle was working on. If you could ...

After three years of reboots, sequels and prequels, the market for original scripts is finally sizzling again in Hollywood. No fewer than 18 spec scripts – screenplays written without a contract – ...

Next week's episode of The Simpsons is one of the show's oldest, but it's not a re-run. Judd Apatow wrote the script 25 years ago, when he was a struggling stand-up comic hoping to break out as a TV ...

(Firstly, a definition for the non industry types. 'Spec' is short for speculative, and basically means you're writing something that no-one asked for and no-one is paying for. You simply had the idea ...