The Scoggins Report: 2012 Spec Market Scorecard

The Scoggins Report is a compilation of sales and trends in the industry. The Report is reprinted on ScriptMag.com by permission of the authors.

The Scoggins Report
by Jason Scoggins & Cindy Kaplan
November 19, 2012

2012 Spec Market Scorecard
as of November 19, 2012

If your development executive friends disappeared for a bit last month, they had a very good excuse: More original material hit the market in October (56 specs) than there’d been in a single month in three and a half years, since 78 specs went out in March 2009. Fortunately, 11 of the 56 got set up, and we’re now within spitting distance of breaking last year’s 15-year record high (we’re at 112, vs last year’s 119).

Wondering where eight scripts might find a home? Here’s who we’d target:

• The six studios that haven’t bought scripts yet in the second half of 2012: Disney, DreamWorks, Fox, Fox 2000, New Regency and Relativity.

• The four studios that have bought fewer scripts in 2012 than 2011: DreamWorks, Fox, Relativity and Warner Bros.

• Buyers with recent milestones like MGM (“Skyfall” is exceeding expectations, and the studio hasn’t bought a spec since March 2009), Lionsgate (which hit $1 billion at the global box office for the first time this year) and Michael Eisner’s Tornante, which has a shiny new multi-year distribution deal at Universal.

Leave it on the field, Hollywood. Happy Thanksgiving, and enjoy the grids.

2012 Overall Numbers

The first grid below shows numbers for this year’s Spec Market (that is, sales of scripts that originally went out this year). As shown in the second grid,23 scripts have sold this year that originally went out prior to 2012.

Here are the spec sales numbers through November 19 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 originally came out in years prior. The column on the right shows the percentage of total 2012 spec sales.

Spec Sales By Buyer - Studios

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

Here are the combined numbers for spec and pitch sales by non-studio buyers that have bought at least one of each:

Each of the following production companies has been attached to at least one spec sale so far this year. Companies in bold are new since the last scorecard.

21 Laps

Allison Shearmur Productions

Anonymous Content

Arad Productions

Bad Robot (3)

Barnstorm Pictures

Bavariapool

Benderspink

Bluegrass Films

Blumhouse Productions

Bobker/Kruger Films

Chernin Entertainment

Circle of Confusion

Content Engine

Conundrum Entertainment

Davis Entertainment

Disruption Entertainment

DMG Entertainment

EMJAG

Energy Independent (2)

Film 44

Film Rites

Flashlight Films

Gran Via Productions

Henceforth Pictures

Imagine Entertainment

In Cahoots Productions

Intrigue

Langley Park

Leverage Entertainment

Londinium Films

Mad Chance Productions

Mandalay Pictures

Marc Platt Productions

Matt Tolmach Productions

Michael De Luca Productions (2)

Montecito Picture Company

Movie Package Company

MXN

Mythology Entertainment

Original Film (3)

Pacific Standard

Payam Films

Pearl Street Films

Phantom Four

Platinum Dunes (2)

Prime Universe

Quadrant Pictures

Robert Cort Prods/Barnstorm Pics

Roth Films

Ruby Films

Scott Rudin Productions

Scott Sanders Productions

Silver Pictures

South Creek Pictures

Strike Entertainment

Sunnyfield Productions

Sunswept Entertainment

Underground Films and Mgmt

Unsupervised

Valiant Entertainment

Vertigo Entertainment (2)

Vinson Films

WIld West Productions

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 it took out in prior years. The efficiency rating shows the percentage of scripts taken out this year that have sold.

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

The following 95 agents have been involved with at least one spec sale in 2012:

Seven:

Mike Esola (WME)

Six:

Charlie Ferraro (UTA)

Five:

Chris Sablan (Original)

Jordan Bayer (Original)

Five (con’t):

Matt Leipzig (Original)

Rich Cook (WME)

Four:

Daniel Cohan (WME)

David Boxerbaum (Paradigm)

Three:

Bayard Maybank (Gersh)

David Karp (WME)

Devra Lieb (Gersh)

Philip d’Amecourt (WME)

Ryan Saul (APA)

Two:

Bill Zotti (CAA)

Cliff Roberts (WME)

Danny Greenberg (WME)

David Saunders (APA)

David Stone (WME)

Geoff Morley (UTA)

Greg Hodes (WME)

Joseph Cohen (CAA)

Keya Khayatian (UTA)

Lars Theriot (ICM)

Lee Keele (Gersh)

Max Michael (UTA)

Michael Sheresky (UTA)

Nicole Clemens (ICM)

Ramses Ishak (UTA)

Rob Herting (Verve)

Tim Phillips (UTA)

Todd Feldman (CAA)

Todd Hoffman (ICM)

One:

Aaron Hart (Verve)

Adam Kanter (CAA)

Adam Levine (Verve)

Adam Weinstein (ICM)

Adriana Alberghetti (WME)

Amanda Urban (ICM)

Andrew Cannava (UTA)

Barbara Dreyfus (UTA)

Beth Swofford (CAA)

Bob Hohman (Gersh)

Bill Weinstein (Verve)

Brian Kend (CAA)

Bryan Besser (Verve)

Caren Bohrman (Bohrman)

Carolyn Sivitz (UTA)

Chris Donnelly (WME)

Chris Ridenhour (APA)

Chris Till (CAA)

Cori Wellins (WME)

Craig Brady (CAA)

Dan Vantresca (Gersh)

Danny Gabai (WME)

Dar Rollins (ICM)

David Park (UTA)

Debbie Deuble-Hill (APA)

Ida Ziniti (Paradigm)

Jacqueline Sacerio (CAA)

James Kearney (UTA)

Jason Burns (UTA)

Jeff Gorin (WME)

John Garvey (CAA)

Julien Thuan (UTA)

Kathleen Remington (ICM)

Kimberly Hodgert (CAA)

Lee Cohen (Paradigm)

Lisa Harrison (WME)

Marc Korman (WME)

Mark Ross (Paradigm)

Marissa Devins (UTA)

Martin Spencer (CAA)

Matt Rice (UTA)

Micah Green (CAA)

Nigel Meiojas (ICM)

Philip Raskind (WME)

Rand Holston (CAA)

Rebecca Ewing (UTA)

Richard Lovett (CAA)

Rob Carlson (WME)

Robert Bookman (CAA)

Roger Green (WME)

Ron Bernstein (ICM)

Sarah Self (WME)

Scott Carr (UTA)

Scott Greenberg (CAA)

Sharon Jackson (WME)

Simon Faber (WME)

Spencer Baumgarten (CAA)

Stuart Manashil (CAA)

Ted Chervin (ICM)

Theresa Kang (WME)

Trevor Astbury (Paradigm)

Will Lowery (APA)

Zach Druker (WME)

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 in years prior. The efficiency rating shows the percentage of scripts taken out this year that have sold.

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

The following 76 individual managers have been involved with at least one spec sale:

Nine:

Brooklyn Weaver (Energy)

Five:

Josh Adler (New Wave)

Mike Goldberg (New Wave)

Four:

Aaron Kaplan (Kaplan/Perrone)

Adam Kolbrenner (Madhouse)

Three:

Bard Dorros (Anonymous)

Two:

Britton Rizzio (Circle/Confusion)

Bryan Brucks (Brucks)

Chris Fenton (DMG/H2F)

Jake Weiner (Benderspink)

Jonathan Hung (Hung)

Kailey Marsh (Station 3)

Noah Rosen (Circle/Confusion)

Steve Golin (Anonymous)

Will Rowbotham (Prolific)

One:

Adam Goldworm (Aperture)

Adam Marshall (Caliber)

Alan Gasmer (Gasmer/Friends)

Alex Goldstone (Anonymous)

Alex Lerner (Kaplan/Perrone)

Alix Madigan (Anonymous)

Andrew Deane (Industry)

Andy Cohen (Grade A)

Ashley Berns (Circle/Confusion)

Benjamin Rowe (Oasis)

Brian Lutz

Chris Bender (Benderspink)

Chris Huvane (Mgmt 360)

Christopher Pratt (Elements)

Dannie Festa (Festa)

David Engel (Circle/Confusion)

David Lonner (Oasis)

Dick Hillenbrand (Heroes & Villains)

Elana Barry (Anonymous)

George Heller (Apostle)

JC Spink (Benderspink)

Jeff Silver (Fourth Floor)

Jennie Frisbie (Magnet)

Jennifer Graham (Mgmt 360)

Jennifer Levine (Untitled)

Jenny Wood (Elevate)

Jeremy Bell (Gotham)

Jess Rosenthal (Industry)

Jesse Silver (Mindframe)

Jewerl Ross (Silent R)

Jim Wedaa (Parallax)

Josh Goldenberg (Kaplan/Perrone)

Kathy Muraviov (The Muraviov Co.)

Kelly Roberts (Anonymous)

Langley Perer (Mosaic)

Lawrence Mattis (Circle/Confusion)

Lee Stollman (Gotham)

Lindsay Williams (Gotham)

Marc Manus (Manus Ent.)

Markus Goerg (Heroes & Villains)

Marti Blumenthal (59 Management)

Mason Novick (MXN)

Michael Botti (Industry)

Michael Sugar (Anonymous)

Michelle Knudsen (MXN)

Mikhail Nayfeld (Heroes & Villains)

Mikkel Bondesen (UFUSE)

Missy Malkin (Brillstein)

Nick Fariabi (Mindframe)

Paul Young (Principato Young)

Peter Principato (Principato Young)

Rich Freeman (Code Ent.)

Rosalie Swedlin (Anonymous)

Scott Leddy (Empirical)

Sean Perrone (Kaplan/Perrone)

Seth Jaret (ContentEngine)

Stephen Gates (Evolution)

Stephen Marks (Evolution)

Tom Drumm (The Safran Co.)

Zach Tann (Magnet)

Zachary Cox (Circle/Confusion)

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.