Should I Send My Script to Other Producers if One of them Wants to Option It?

Question: A Producer who read my screenplay wants to option it. It’s the first screenplay I’ve written and I have no experience at all in the business side of things. What I’m wondering about is whether or not I should send the script to other producers.  I understand the economics of it but I am wary of offending or “playing” producers against each other. At least that is what it would seem like to me.

ScreenwritingCompass:  There are a lot of different scenarios to this question and different answers to each one. The first thing you should do is see what this producer has done. Have they produced a project recently? Are they a small producer and will have to enlist the help of a larger producer?

As an agent, the answer is obvious. Yes, you should shop the script to the highest bidder. So what if the producer finds out? Well, if they are familiar with this industry, they should expect it. Don’t worry about “playing” them. Without an agent or attorney protecting you, they are going to try and “play” you and will probably try to make a below scale deal.

Shopping this script to other producers is the best thing to do. But you need to to this quickly. It’s a small town, and you run the risk of other producers checking in with your current producer to see if it’s true that they are optioning it. If your original producer becomes offended and decides not to move forward, then they weren’t seriuos in the first place, and you saved yourself a lot of headaches.

On another note, unless it’s a real company, you should try and not option your script. Instead, give them an exclusive shopping agreement for somewhere between 3 to 6 months. If they they weren’t able to sell it in that time period, you get your script back and it was quicker paperwork. Also, it lets you negotiate your deal directly with the buyer, rather than be tied down to what the option numbers were.