Hey all! I just posted my first article on my Substack! I take a look at the classic 1986 film Howard The Duck! Go take a gander! It's free. https://open.substack.com/pub/dshorb/p/classic-review-howard-the-duck-1986?r=35c31&utm_medium=ios

So I have been working on on feature getting it ready for the Final Draft contest. I was daydreaming what if MGM were to buy my script and I wrote this little three page stinger that could be put in as a end credits scene. Just something fun I was playing around with. My Screenplay is Titled Nancy Killdare: The Russian Hustle. What I am going to share is just me playing around. This is the fun part of being a writer. Being able to take a silly idea and just play with it. Picture Idris Elba as Bond. He is in my head cannon.

This is going to be part of an ongoing series about writers (like you) breaking into the industry. Stay tuned and lmk your thoughts on the stories below! March 17, 2026 Natan Dotan had zero representation a week before he sold his spec Alignment to Fifth Season and Makeready. The deal: $1.25M guaranteed, $3M if the film gets made. The script is an AI thriller drawing comparisons to Margin Call and Contagion. He wasn't connected. He wrote something undeniable. That's still how it works sometimes. Hollywood Reporter Twenty Companies Chased This Spec in One Week Mark Townend's script Renegotiate went out on a Monday. By Friday, 20 production companies were in a bidding war. Lionsgate won — mid-six-figures guaranteed, low-seven-figures on the back end. This wasn't a celebrity writer. It was a great script with a great logline in a buyable genre. Same lesson as above. Deadline The Spec Market Is Legitimately Back Last summer saw 23 original spec scripts and pitches sold. Nine in August alone — the highest monthly volume since March 2017. Industry observers are calling it spec mania. The Ankler ran a whole piece on it. If you've been sitting on a commercial, high-concept feature because the market "doesn't buy specs anymore" — reassess. The Ankler | Final Draft Managers Are More Reachable Than You Think Right Now Post-strike, the Big Five agencies have their walls up. Referrals only. But managers are a different story. In 2026, they want material they can take out immediately — and the feature market being hot means they're actively looking for commercial scripts from new voices. A strong query to the right manager with a tight logline is not a long shot right now. It's the play. WriteSeen — Agents Accepting Submissions 2026

When you want to work. But adulthood gets in the way and you have to be a responsible adult. Ugh..

Morning Fellow Writers ✍️ I know I've been away for a while. This move kept me busy and my new job has different hours. However being a teacher is rewarding. I woke up this morning with a movie idea in mind and I got up and started writing . However I'd like to collab with someone if anyone is interested in doing a script together. Again I just got up and started writing so everything isn't fully formed or anything as yet but here's what I started writing. If interested lmk and we can meet and get it going 🙂 HAPPY WRITING YA'LL