Just realized that a horror movie I've been dying to write has been done already (last year) - same exact title, very similar situation. HOWEVER - it looks like the movie never made it to the theaters and isn't even on Netflix (there's only a tiny entry for it on IMDB). So I guess it fell off the radar pretty quickly. Should I write this movie anyway?

Quoted from MS1 Just realized that a horror movie I've been dying to write has been done already (last year) - same exact title, very similar situation. HOWEVER - it looks like the movie never made it to the theaters and isn't even on Netflix (there's only a tiny entry for it on IMDB). So I guess it fell off the radar pretty quickly. Should I write this movie anyway?

It's all been done before. The trick is to find your special spin.

Write it only if you are passionate about it. Maybe it will morph into...

???

Good luck!

Sandra

Just to echo Sandra here, it really depends why you'd be writing it.

In my opinion, if you want to write it because you really like the premise and think it's neat and would sell, then there's probably not any point at this point.

If you're writing it because you're passionate about the message of the screenplay, because you want to say something specific with it, then the premise doesn't really matter, and no-one will even think of comparing it to the other film once they read it (though they still might before they read it...).

Definitely keep on writing!  If you're able to view a synopsis of this film, see what you can do to improve it.  It obviously faltered for a reason.

I ran into a similar situation recently... I was writing a modern adaptation of David and Goliath, and as I was writing it I had dreams of it being a 300-style action film.  Low and behold, I find out the film is already in works, Director hired and all :(

But does that mean I'm going to stop?  Hell no!  I don't like the angle the writers took on it, so maybe it won't make it through production.  I'm passionate about the story I want to tell, and I want to see a final draft of it regardless whether anyone ever options it or not.

Moral of the story: keep on writing if your passionate about the story.  Those scripts usually make the best reads.  Good luck!

Any chance you will reveal a little about the story?  I'm always curious

Thanks for the replies! It's all good advice. I actually just took a closer look at the IMDB entry for it and saw that it was billed as "drama/romance/thriller" whereas mine would be pretty much straight horror. This, plus your advice, gives me more motivation to do it!

Thanks,