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===History=== * '''1900''': One of the U.S.'s first screenwriters, New York journalist [[Roy McCardell]], is hired to write ten scenarios (each about 90 seconds long) for $15 each ({{inflation|US|15|1900|fmt=eq}}).{{inflation-fn|US}} * '''1949''': [[Ben Hecht]] is paid $10,000 a week (about ${{inflation|US|10000|1949|fmt=c|r=0}} in {{inflation-year|US}}).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0372942/bio|title=Ben Hecht|website=IMDb|access-date=20 December 2018}}</ref> Claims [[David O. Selznick]] paid him $3,500 a day (about ${{inflation|US|3500|1949|fmt=c|r=-2}} in {{inflation-year|US}}). * '''1984''': [[Shane Black]] sells the screenplay to ''[[Lethal Weapon]]'' for $250,000. * '''1990''': Kathy McWorter, who was promoted by her agent as a 21-year-old ''wunderkind'', though in fact she was 28 years old, sells her sex comedy ''The Cheese Stands Alone'' for $1 million.<ref>{{cite news |title=Screenwriters Adjust to Being Bit Players Again |date=9 December 2001 |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/09/movies/film-screenwriters-adjust-to-being-bit-players-again.html?pagewanted=2}}</ref> This was followed by nuclear-terrorist technothriller ''The Ultimatum'' by [[Laurence Dworet]] and Robert Roy Pool, and WWII action comedy ''Hell Bent... and Back!'' by [[Doug Richardson]] and [[Rick Jaffa]], both of which sold for a million dollars. None of these movies has been produced so far. * '''1992''': [[Sherry Lansing]] is hired<ref>{{cite web |last=Lowry |first=Brian |title=Lansing in new Par pic post |url=http://variety.com/1992/film/news/lansing-in-new-par-pic-post-100695/ |website=Variety |access-date=7 June 2020 |date=5 November 1992}}</ref> to run [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]] and spends $3.6 million in less than a week, $2.5 million for a two-page outline of ''[[Jade (1995 film)|Jade]]'' by [[Joe Eszterhas]],<ref>{{cite web |last=Marx |first=Andy |title='Jade' deal a $2.5 mil gem |url=http://variety.com/1992/film/news/jade-deal-a-2-5-mil-gem-100619/ |website=Variety |access-date=7 June 2020 |date=9 November 1992}}</ref> and $1.1 million (about ${{Inflation|index=US|value=1,100,000|start_year=1992|end_year=2018|r=0|fmt=c|cursign=$}} in 2018) for the script ''[[Milk Money (film)|Milk Money]]'' by [[John Mattson]].<ref name="MiMo">{{cite web |last=Eller |first=Claudia |title=Par in 'Money' as DDLC riled |url=http://variety.com/1992/film/news/par-in-money-as-ddlc-riled-100574/ |website=Variety |access-date=7 June 2020 |date=13 November 1992}}</ref> Both deals are records, respectively, for outlines and romantic comedy specs. * '''2005''': [[Terry Rossio]] and [[Bill Marsilii]] are paid $3 million against $5 million for the script of ''[[Déjà Vu (2006 film)|Déjà Vu]]''.<ref name="latimes">{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-may-16-et-writers16-story.html|title=A tale of Hollywood e-harmony|first=Chris|last=Lee|date=16 May 2005|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=20 December 2018}}</ref>
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