Where do you buy your screenplays from?

H

harmonica44

If a director just starting out, wants to direct his/her first feature, wanted to look through some screenplays, to see which is the best one for him/her, that he/she could afford, where does one purchase them from? Are there any sites that specialize in that? So far I have found these two sites:

http://www.sellascript.com/source/sales.cfm

http://www.screenwritershowcase.com/screenplaySearch.php

But is there a better one aimed more towards low budget filmmakers? Or where you get your's from when first starting out? Thanks.
 
Here ---> The Black List

This is what I use.

The Black List is "a closed network of script buyers, script representatives, and script writers that makes everything easier for everyone involved".
 
Okay thanks. A lot of people wanting to be directors also write their own scripts, even when they want to make something big I have noticed. Is their an advantage to writing your own, as oppose to buying one from someone who may be a more talented and experienced writer? Cause not near as many aspiring directors are buying others it seems.
 
harmonica44 said:
Is their an advantage to writing your own, as oppose to buying one from someone who may be a more talented and experienced writer? Cause not near as many aspiring directors are buying others it seems.
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The obvious advantage to writing your own screenplay is that the story is tailored to your specific tastes, needs. and resources. It's been my experience that most aspiring directors want to write their own screenplays because they feel the movie isn't really theirs unless they do which I think is a big mistake.

It's better to use someone else's screenplay because you can look at the screenplay objectively and make changes. It's tough finding a screenplay that you feel completely passionate about, but it can be done. Beyond objectivity, there's creative fatigue. By the time you finish, writing, directing, and editing, you can be sick of your own work.
 
Yes I have had that problem before. Being sick of your own work, and not being able to look at it subjectively. The disadvantage of trying to direct another person's is that sometimes it can be hard to know the characters, and I worry about making changes that are out of character, as oppose to creating your own and knowing your characters, and therefore, it makes it easier. However, where is a good place to find scripts, or buy them? A lot of people do not want to sell theirs cheap obviously.
 
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The job of the director is to know the story inside and out including all of the motivations and beats as well as augmenting the story. If the screenwriting and directing aren't separated, the screenplay may not be fully realized and problems won't be identified. A director can certainly ruin a great screenplay, but a lot of writer/ director projects are exercises in hubris.

You might try Inktip.com or simplyscript.com or place ads the specify your needs.
 
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