Keep writing if similar to project already in development?

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midazolam

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Hi everyone,

I had a question about where to invest my creative energy. I started writing a script I had fully outlined, really liked the premise, got all excited about it. Then I found (after some investigation on IMDb) that a project with a very similar premise is in development by Universal. It's been in development (hell?) for three years, and was a spec script, so I'm not sure if that's a good or bad sign...

Anyway, should I continue writing it (I'm like 20 pages in), or just give up and move on to something else?

Thanks!
 

Summonere

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Chances are slim to remote that your story will be all that close to their story. Write it.

Guy sez, "Hey, we're doing a boxing picture. It's called 'Rocky.' What you got?"
Other Guy sez, "Me, I got a boxing picture, too. It's called 'Million Dollar Baby.'"
Uninvolved Moviegoer sez: I liked them both. Different movies.

And, as these things go, yours may be the better of the two...:)
 

Stijn Hommes

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A lot of movies that are in production never make it to the shooting stage. Films that get to the shooting stage sometimes don't get finished or don't get the right distribution. I wouldn't worry about it until it's scheduled in cinemas or for DVD release.
 
gotchan

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Just don't try and sell yours to Universal.

Movies, like all storytelling, are made in the execution. Keep working on yours. It will be different from anything else out there.
 

PaulyWally

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gotchan said:
Movies, like all storytelling, are made in the execution. Keep working on yours. It will be different from anything else out there.
Click to expand...

Agreed.

I honestly cannot think of a movie that had an original premise/theme. What makes a story unique is the author's point of view.

Put your own brand on it, and don't worry about what other people are doing.
 
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