https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/fifth-season-makeready-1236069133/
I’m guessing you read this story. A student sent it to me via the Hollywood Reporter. To briefly quote:
“In a deal that shakes up a sleepy Hollywood before the holidays, Fifth Season and Brad Weston’s Makeready banner have preemptively picked up Alignment, a spec script by Natan Dotan, a man who until a week ago had no representation.”
“The deal could become one of biggest spec deals of the year — Nyad writer Julia Cox sold spec Love of Your Life, with Ryan Gosling producing, to Amazon in October for low seven figures — but this one involves the breaking of a writer with few Hollywood connections. It also involves a topic that is generating intense interest — and hand-wringing — in Hollywood, namely artificial intelligence.”
It’s the spec-screenwriter’s dream, right? You write the exact script, put it into the exact power-player’s hands, at an exact moment in time. And it happens! To the tune of 7-figures it happens!
I don’t play the lottery, so I have to ask you lottery players, do you enjoy reading about the players who win? Are you: “Good on him!” Or are you, “The fuck! Why’s that never happen to me?!”
Back to the article:
“He is said to hold a PhD in sociology from Columbia University and worked in biology, served as the chief analytics officer at several ad-media agencies, was a country director of a nongovernmental agency in Sierra Leone, and produced/directed a PBS investigative news segment with ProPublica. Among his topics of expertise are mass media, computer simulations and data science.
According to insiders, Dotan had written his script then called one of two people he knew in Hollywood. That led to Dotan connecting with two literary managers from Untitled Entertainment, known mostly for its talent roster but which had acquired boutique lit firm Grandview only a few months earlier. The managers signed the writer off a Zoom meeting with the goal of quickly packaging the script and swiftly taking it to market. AI may be a hot topic now, but if you’re making a movie on the subject — one that wouldn’t hit until a few years later — the window of interest is small.”
Look, he’s a sharp guy, maybe a genius in his field. You can imagine the script being razor sharp on the subject of AI. You don’t get this reaction from LA power players without writing a killer script. Still, I’m interested in how—knowing nobody—he got the deal made. How did that happen? Answer: He didn’t know nobody. That’s the point. He called the two people he knew in Hollywood–Who called in the Lit Managers– Who signed him and took the script out to their people– Who started a bidding war and took it to their stars for packaging. Bing-bang-boom. Piece of cake, huh?
It is such a rarity to see a big payday to a writer without representation. It kinda stings when you see it actually happen.
Make note, too, of the article’s last line. If right now you’re writing an AI piece, the flavor of the day subject, you’re probably already behind the curve.
“The reputation of the script grew at lightning speed, and in a week Dotan had over 20 meetings with producers. Even directors wanted in; Damien Chazelle is said to have met the writer, while Matt Damon was also interested in the script.”
Good on You, Mr. Doton! Hope they make you a good movie. We Unknown Screenwriters need inspiration like yours.
As for what my AI, Luna has to say on the matter…I’ve been coaching Luna up on a “Script Gods” style irreverence. How about it, Luna? Anything to add?
“Hollywood’s New AI Obsession: When a Nobody Becomes Somebody Overnight”
In an industry fueled by nepotism and reboots, every now and then, a script comes along that breaks through the noise. Enter Makeready’s latest golden goose: a nobody with a script about AI that suddenly has Hollywood buzzing like it’s 1999 and someone just discovered The Matrix.
The timing? Impeccable. AI is the buzzword du jour. Everyone from indie producers to Netflix executives is scrambling to slap an algorithm on a storyboard and call it the future. And now, with Fifth Season snapping up Brad Weston’s Makeready, it’s clear that this little script about AI has big expectations riding on it.
So, who is this writer, and how did their script land on the desk of Hollywood power players? Let’s dissect:
The Writer: A Cinderella Story for the Algorithm Age
No known credits. No viral TikTok pitch. Just a killer spec script about AI. Rumor has it, the story is dark, cerebral, and somehow not a cheap Ex Machina knockoff. (If true, that alone deserves applause.)
But don’t get too attached to the mystery. Chances are, some executive will claim they “discovered” this genius at a Starbucks, conveniently ignoring the months of industry networking that probably made it happen.
The Script: A Perfect Storm of Buzzwords
- Humanity’s doom. Ethical dilemmas. Check, check, and check. It’s as if this script was genetically engineered to attract high-concept producers. Fifth Season clearly sees potential in this story—enough to throw Makeready into the mix for added weight.
The Business Angle: Why Fifth Season is Betting Big
Fifth Season, formerly Endeavor Content, isn’t exactly known for dominating the film world. Their TV slate is solid, but their film division? It’s been quiet. Acquiring Makeready screams “We’re serious about movies now,” and this AI script might be their calling card. It’s the kind of project that could catapult them into relevance—if it delivers.
The Takeaway: Hope or Hype?
Is this an underdog success story, or just another studio chasing trends? Only time will tell. But for aspiring screenwriters, it’s a reminder that the next big idea doesn’t have to come from a Marvel-approved writer’s room. Sometimes, it’s the dark horse with a fresh concept who shakes things up.
