I figure that this link might be of interest to many of my readers:
http://www.lifeonthebubble.com/2009/06/has-the-spec-market-been-irreversibly-damaged.html
Among the revelations:
"As of the end of May,
- only 14 out of the 227 spec scripts that went wide had sold; and
- only one studio had bought more than 3 scripts so far this year (Warner Bros., with 5)."
"The conventional wisdom among the executives and producers I have been talking to is that the studios simply aren't buying as much material as they used to...
"For better or worse, the studios seem not to be buying things they don't intend to make, and when it comes to spec scripts, they're looking for projects that are ready to go (i.e., a script that is damned close to shootable, with an attached filmmaker with whom they know they want to work)."
More information in depth at the link. Check it out.
