The Big Deal: Hollywood's Million-Dollar Spec Script Market

by Thom Taylor

The Big Deal takes you right inside the Hollywood movie machine with behind-the-scene stories from hundreds of players--writers, agents, directors, producers, and studio execs who share their secrets of success and cautionary tales of woe. Whether you're a genuine scribe or diehard fan who craves the real dish, The Big Deal will put you in the picture.

Genres: Nonfiction

336 pages, Paperback

First published April 7, 1999

About the author

Thom Taylor is automotive journalist whose work has been featured in Hot Rod, Rodders Journal, Hagerty, and MotorTrend.

He has authored a number of books, including Hot Rod & Custom Chronicle and several guides for drawing vehicles like a pro, which pull from his distinguished ventures as an automotive illustrator.

Thom lives in Southern California.

Abridged from Motorbiscuit website

Reviews

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, what can I do but praise my little brother's first book?

[Du4 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty interesting read even though it's a bit dated. The author presents the stories of several Hollywood spec scripts and how they eventually got made. Some were very successful, like Seven, and some bombed, like Waterworld. Within these stories you begin to get a picture of what working in such a weird town like Hollywood is like, at least for writers. These aren't stories I haven't heard before, and it reinforces a lot of what I've experienced out there on the Awesome Coast. But for the laypeople out there who want to know how tough it is for writers to get any respect in Hollywood, this is a good place to start.

[Carmen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not sure where the speculative script market is these days. Reading magazines to find out. Hey, do magazines count? Anyway, when I read this I found it very informative; hopeful. It's filled with stories of nobody's who made it big in the world of spec scripts. [please excuse my use of the word 'nobody' -as it's just a figure of speech. thanks]

[John Devlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

A fun read about a few big script sales in Hollywood.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Kris for a super read!