The 55 highest amounts paid for speculative (spec) screenplays:

$5.75 million:

1. Steinbeck's Point of View by Brandon Camp & Mike Thompson (deal included: $750,000 up front, plus $2 million after A-list stars became interested, and a $3 million production bonus.)

$5 million:

1. Deja Vu by Terry Rossio & Bill Marsilii
2. Unbreakable by M. Night Shyamalan
3. Foreplay by Joe Eszterhas (deal included: $1 million up front, $4 million production bonus, 2.5% of box office sales and 1% of soundtrack sales) (biggest overall deal in Hollywood history)
4. Trapped by Joe Eszterhas (potential deal)
5. The Unbound Captives by O.C. Humphrey (aka Madeline Stowe & Brian Benben)
6. Signs by M. Night Shyamalan

$4.5 million:

1. Male Pattern Baldness by Joe Eszterhas
2. The Superconducting Supercollider of Sparkle Creek, Wisconsin by David Koepp and John Kamps (deal included: $2.5 million to split, plus Koepp gets an additional $750,000 production bonus, and he'll receive another $1.25 million in deferment.)

$4 million:

1. Fool on the Hill by Will Davies
2. The Ballad of Ricky Bobby by Will Ferrell & Adam McKay
3. Panic Room by David Koepp
4. The Long Kiss Goodnight by Shane Black
5. Land of the Free by Joe Eszterhas
6. One Night Stand by Joe Eszterhas
7. Evil Empire by Joe Eszterhas

$3 million:

1. Basic Instinct by Joe Eszterhas
2. Medicine Man by Tom Schulman
3. The Ugly Americans by Alec Berg, David Mandel & Jeff Schaffer
4. Bad Dog by Dale Launer
5. Married in the Morning by Harry Elfont & Deborah Kaplan
6. Untitled John August Project by John August

$2.5 million:

1. The Passion of the Ark (Evan Almighty) by Bobby Florsheim & Josh Stolberg
2. Twister by Michael Crichton and Anne-Marie Crichton
3. Jade by Joe Eszterhas
4. A Knight's Tale by Brian Helgeland
5. Untitled Will Davies Romantic Comedy by Will Davies
6. Jackson by Brandon Camp & Mike Thompson

$2.25 million:

1. You, Me and Dupree by Mike LeSieur
2. The Break-Up by Vince Vaughn, Jeremy Garelick & Jay Lavender
3. The Gemini Man by Darren Lempke and Jonathan Hensleigh
4. The Sixth Sense by M. Night Shyamalan

$2 million:

1. A Love Story by Michael Carnes & Josh Gilbert
2. The Worst Man by Michael Carnes & Josh Gilbert
3. Mozart and the Whale (The Newports) by Ronald Bass
4. Manhattan Ghost Story by Ronald Bass
5. Radio Flyer by David M. Evans
6. Forever Young by Jeffrey Abrams
7. Showgirls by Joe Eszterhas
8. Sacred Cows by Joe Eszterhas
9. Reliable Sources by Joe Eszterhas
10. Courage Under Fire by Patrick Sheane Duncan
11. Tennessee (Pearl Harbor) by Randall Wallace
12. River Road by Andrew Niccol
13. The Mark by Rob Liefield
14. Untitled Tim Herlihy Comedy by Tim Herlihy
15. The Game by John D. Brancato & Michael Ferris
16. Untitled Firestein-Pesce Action Project by Les Firestein & PJ Pesce
17. Executive Search by Gerald Di Pego
18. Going West by Jeb Stuart
19. S.W.A.T. by David Ayer
20. Untitled Michael McCullers Buddy Comedy by Michael McCullers
21. Alpha by David Benioff
22. Ghost Town by David Koepp & John Kamps

$1.8 million:

1. RPM by J.H. Wyman
2. Stay by David Benioff

Source: hollywoodlitsales.com ^*

See also

• Unproduced screenplays

External links

• hollywoodlitsales.com

Jeff Nathanson is likely getting Seven Figure paychecks in excess of $2 million for his upcoming scripts RUSH HOUR 3 and INDIANA JONES 4.

Also, Bruce McKenna scored an unspecified 'High Seven Figures' for an UNTITLED WESTERN SCRIPT that Ridley Scott is attached to direct.

Steve Faber & Bob Fisher are also netting a Seven Figure deal in excess of $2 million for their upcoming sequel WEDDING CRASHERS 2.

Lists of films