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Buying a Screenplay? Where to start?

After finishing our last feature we are actually short on scripts for the next film; the writer we normally use is currently busy on another project and I've got another producer interested in a feature idea I pitched last week so I'll likely be busy with that script and can only provide guidance on re-writes.

Our past attempts at trying to find another writer for the team has been... well... painful. So we are exploring the idea of purchasing a "finished" script for our next film; re-write it a bit to fit our filming style and shoot it. Local inqueries have been a bust, as we are Genre filmmakers and most of the local writers are drama/comedy/historical fiction. So we don't know where to start as all our previous projects have been written locally or in-house in the past.
 
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I appreciate where you're coming from. My time is split too. There is a section in IndieTalk in the Marketplace section for film pitches--shorts and features. Also, you can check Inktip. To actually search for features, you will need to register as they do check credentials. However, you can browse the Inktip shorts for free. If you see something that interests you, you can contact the author and get an idea of their style. You can also put a call out on IMDbPro for scripts.

If you post here, you may get inundated. If you do post, be sure to describe the genre you're seeking, length (short or feature) and any particulars (limited locations, actors, etc.). Probably not helpful to list a budget as most screenwriters don't have a production background. Besides that's something you'd want to lock down after identifying a script. Best wishes in your script hunt!
 
Thanks everyone for your comments, I think I have a starting point now.

Hello Graeme. Genre film is the right way to go. Do you have an IMDb page? I'm curious to see what kinds of concepts and premises you're working with.

Here is the IMDB page for our first in-house feature http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3125748/

What genre?
And what's your time frame for approving a screenplay?

We tend to make comedy/spoof movies of the following genres, I've included in Square Brackets projects either I or others on our team have worked on, although not all are online yet:
Science Fiction - as in people lost in space or wandering the cosmos; or explorers but not the "A Team", the initial thought was Abducted People who Hijack the UFO which was a re-imagined feature of our short [S.T.A.R.].
Found Footage/Survival - Minimal cast = Minimal Cost. Lost in the woods with a life-lesson to learn.
Fantasy - Damsel in distress? These are not the heros you are looking for.
Creature Feature / Supernatural - Monster/Alien/Vampire doing what they do best, making you hid under your bed [Attack of the Gorilla] - no zombies.
Spy Movie - Think 007 or better yet, Austin Powers... must contain action as well as witty one-lingers [Retro Agents].
Horror/Thriller - Maybe a touch darker than [Ragnarock's Cabin] but we don't want focus too much in that area all at once.

The time frame we are looking for is Christmas 2014, we need to start on pre-production efforts early in the new year in order to secure cast etc in order to film in 2015.

I'll look at putting up a post in the Market Forum on IndieTalk soon, honestly didn't even know that existed.
 
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