Spec Script Trailers?

Ever since the spec script boom in the late 80s, one thing we could rely on seeing every so often was a gimmick. This NYT article from July 8, 1990 cites one example:

The psychological game of selling spec scripts has another important player: the Hollywood agent. It is the agents who whip up the frenzy.

Triad Artists sent ticking clocks to studio executives the week before sending out the script of ‘’The Ticking Man.’’ Says Marty Bauer, whose Bauer-Benedek agency has sold more than a dozen spec scripts for more than $250,000 apiece, ‘’What you do is put studio executives under time pressure to get their competitive juices flowing, so they have to make a decision based on their competitive instincts, not their rational instincts.’’

I’ve heard of dozens of these type of things. It gets to the point of obnoxiousness that from time to time, such gimmicks are perceived to be a negative, not a benefit to the script, so they fade from popularity. Then after several months, here comes another version of a ticking clock… and the whole gimmick thing starts up again.

Recently something has started to happen that may not be a gimmick, but rather a trend that could continue: Spec script trailers. That is a short teaser trailer to accompany the script to give buyers a sense of the concept, genre, and tone of the story.

For example, there is a spec going out called “Grim Night” [written by Bryan Bertino]. You can go here to see its teaser trailer.

Do you think this is a gimmick or a trend that will last? Indeed will there be a point that writers are expected to present something visual like a trailer to help sell their spec? Or is it a cheat and we should all go back to relying on what’s on the page?

UPDATE: The teaser is no longer available for screening.

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