Monday, September 05, 2005

I have been re-working my Entourage spec to make it more relevant. One of the ideas I was toying with was used in last night's epsiode, but more importantly, Ari, the agent, was fired and has begun setting up his own agency.

I want my spec to be ready by October, and of course I want it to be relevant for a little while at least. The problem is I have no idea where the show is going to take Ari, so I have no idea how to use him in my spec. Is he still at the old agency? working out of his car? has he told his wife? I feel like I am creating new details for the show for the purposes of my spec, details that will probably date my spec the minute they air the first episode of the 2nd season.

Inevitably, if you're speccing a serial show, it will be out of date in one detail or another. That's why you write a spec whose plot is tangential to the series arc. It's a one-off episode that does not depend on what's going to happen next.

You're not writing your spec as the next episode. You're writing a reasonably up to date episode, which at this point means an episode that could theoretically have aired somewhere in Season Two, which just ended. No one expects you to have an inside line into the Entourage writing room. (Though a lot of agents would kill to get one.)

8:32 AM

5 Comments:

I guess we all have a spec Entourage script in the works.

Would you ever write a prospective spec for the next season? Now that the second season of Entourage is over would you ever write a spec for the upcoming season to possibly land a freelance gig on that show? Or is this just an impossible wall to climb in the world of serial writing?

Thanks for the new updated info, Alex.

By  William, at 11:53 AM  

No. Don't write a spec for the upcoming season. They already know where they're going, and specs aren't to sell, they're to get you hired on another show.

By  Alex Epstein, at 11:55 AM  

Good luck w/your spec. Do you know where I could get sample scripts of that show? I saw one site that had the pilot... But I prefer to read a few... every show has a slightly diff. format. I'm here in LA and have written tv specs before and could probably get them from the Ari Golds I know, but that might mean having to go to his kid's bat mitzvah... ;)

Michael
http://makeminemike.blogspot.com

By  Michael, at 12:01 PM  

I was looking online for some Entourage scripts but couldn't find anything. Hit the usual suspects like Drew's but nuthin'. Michael, If you find something please post. Good luck to you too.

By  William, at 12:08 PM  

Try reading the posts about where to find scripts. Some pretty good hints in there. 'nuff said. Check out the blog fu from yesterday for the index of posts.

By  Alex Epstein, at 1:17 PM  

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