The Scoggins Report: 2012 Spec Market Scorecard – February 17, 2012

This week’s edition of The Scoggins Report is our first Spec Market Scorecard of 2012, with numbers from January 1 through February 17. As we started to do with last…

This week’s edition of The Scoggins Report is our first Spec Market Scorecard of 2012, with numbers from January 1 through February 17. As we started to do with last week’s Pitch Sales Scorecard, we’re now including combined spec and pitch sales tallies throughout, along with more detailed year-over-year comparisons than previously.

Rather than droning on and on about how WME keeps lapping the field, here are a few other tidbits worth noting in the below grids:

  •  The studios have picked up a total of 8 specs so far this year, compared to 5 at this point last year. Even more interesting is the fact that none of this year’s 12 non-studio buyers bought scripts in 2011.
  • Seven of this year’s eighteen spec sales (39%) were of scripts that originally went out prior to 2012.
  • Year-over-year numbers for genres are basically the same, which suggests buyers’ tastes remain steady.

Enjoy the grids.

2012 Overall Numbers

The below grid shows sales of scripts that originally came out this year. In addition to the below, 7 scripts have sold this year that originally went out prior to 2012. Here are the spec sales numbers through February 17 on their own...

...and here are combined total spec and pitch sales numbers for the same period.

Spec Sales By Genre (sold/total)

Each cell in the below grid shows the number of specs in each genre that came out and/or sold that month, plus the number that sold that month that came out previously. The percentage column on the right is that genre’s percentage of total 2012 spec sales.

Spec Sales By Buyer - Studios

Sharp-eyed readers might notice we previously had Disney buying a spec in January. We’d incorrectly tagged the Untitled Max Landis Space Adventure as a spec (it was a pitch). Disney’s February purchase is Kelly Marcel’s 2011 Black List script Saving Mr. Banks.

Here are the combined pitch and spec purchase numbers for the studios that have bought at least one of each:

Spec Sales By Buyer - Other Buyers

Each of the following production companies has been attached to at least one spec sale so far this year.

  • Blumhouse Productions
  • Intrigue
  • MXN
  • Quadrant Pictures
  • Ruby Films
  • Strike Entertainment
  • Sunswept Entertainment
  • Vertigo Entertainment
  • Wonderland Sound and Vision

Spec Sales by Seller - Agencies (sold/total)

Each cell in the below grid shows the number of specs each agency took out and/or sold that month, plus the number it sold that month that it took out previously. The efficiency rating shows the percentage of scripts taken out this year that have sold -- it’ll be more meaningful as the year wears on.

Here are the combined spec and pitch sales numbers for the agencies that have sold at least one of each: 

The following 16 agents have been involved with at least one spec sale in 2012:

Four:

  • Mike Esola (WME)

Two:

  • Dan Cohan (WME)

One:

  • Adam Levine (Verve)
  • Amanda Urban (ICM)
  • Chris Sablan (Original)
  • Danny Greenberg (WME)
  • David Karp (WME)
  • Jordan Bayer (Original)
  • Julien Thuan (UTA)
  • Kimberly Hodgert (CAA)
  • Matt Leipzig (Original)
  • Matt Rice (UTA)
  • Philip Raskind (WME)
  • Ron Bernstein (ICM)
  • Ryan Saul (APA)
  • Stuart Manashil (CAA)

Spec Sales by Seller - Management Companies (sold/total)

Each cell in the below grid shows the number of specs each management company took out and/or sold that month, plus the number it sold that month that it took out previously. The efficiency rating shows the percentage of scripts taken out this year that have sold -- it’ll be more meaningful as the year wears on.

No management company has sold both a pitch and a spec yet this year.

The following managers have been attached to at least one spec sale:

Three:

  • Brooklyn Weaver (Energy)

One:

  • Adam Goldworm (Aperture)
  • Bryan Brucks (Brucks)
  • Elana Barry (Anonymous)
  • Jennifer Levine (Untitled)
  • Jesse Silver (Mindframe)
  • Jewerl Ross (Silent R)
  • Jonathan Hung (Hung)
  • Josh Adler (New Wave)
  • Kailey Marsh (Kailey Marsh)
  • Mike Golderg (New Wave)
  • Nick Fariabi (Mindframe)
  • Rosalie Swedlin (Anonymous)
  • Will Rowbotham (Prolific)

About The Scoggins Report:

The Scoggins Report is a terribly unscientific analysis of the feature film development business based on information assembled from a variety of public and non-public sources. The numbers in the reports are by no means official statistics. Caveat emptor. Mol??n labé.

Details on every person, project and company covered by the Report can also be found at www.ItsontheGrid.com, a proud division of The Wrap News, Inc. IOTG is the only place mere mortals can find listings of Hollywood’s active open writing and directing assignments, not to mention comprehensive pitch sales and spec market data; active film development information; and relevant credits for released movies going back to 1988. 

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