I was gonna say, this really is a no-brainer. How has this not been done yet haha? However, I realized that Road Trip had the same premise (though that is a road-trip movie and this is not).

The ultimate "why didn't I think of that" spec sale. Blurgh.

I have a feeling there are a ton of folks out there that have written a story similar to this...

Had the idea ready to go -- 120 pages...

But their story was just not strong enough or to be quite honest, couldn't break through the wall of LA and get a read.

How many folks out there have... or had... a story about friends that sleep together but move about their lives with... I don't know...

"No Strings Attached."

I have a feeling this Sex Tape story has been beat around plenty but this time...

The right person...

Found the right person...

Then made it happen with a great story...

With perfect timing.

The crap shoot we call...

Screenwriting.

Courtney, I'll do you one better (or worse, as the case may be...)

I have three (count 'em, THREE) story concepts in the bullpen right now that I'm pretty sure are flippin' hot... I mean, the oven is all the way up to broil, the pot is bubbling over HOT.

One is an action film, one a thriller, the other what they like to call 'high concept' comedy.

The problem?

Execution.

I can't seem to iron out ANY of these. The problem, in my case, is that I come from an extensive "indie" film writing background and that's where my mindset has been for 25 years. Now that I'd like to throw my hat into the ring and play with the 'big boys and girls' (or at least get rejected with the big boys and girls, hardy har) I can't seem to quite close the deal on these scripts!

It is, as you can imagine, more than frustrating.

I believe the point you lament, that 'tons of folks out there' have tales such as this, is achingly accurate.... perhaps they toil in this self-imposed dungeon such as I? I've tested these concepts, bouncing them off family, friend, and stranger alike, all have said, 'yeah, I'd cross the box office palms with silver to catch that show!' and yet the actual drafts remain elusive and just beyond my grasp.

GAH!

Will this end by them realizing that they were so drunk that they never put a tape in the camera? And they went through mounds of shenanigans which made them look foolish and now they'll have a great big laugh?

Like Adam says, it's kind of similar to Road Trip, but the fact that it's a married couple with kids who are trying to find it makes it -- in my opinion -- a better concept.

Yeah, definitely a no brainer.

I kinda agree with @ Courtney.

While everything Scott lists is spot on -- there seems to be an innate problem raising the stakes with that premise.

Someone stole a sex tape. There is obvious conflict and a specific goal -- but if the tape does leak, what are the main characters really losing? If anything?

How does this get more complicated in a manner that actually matters?

Ultimately, I don't think their lives would be all that changed if the sex tape is leaked. At least not in the negative (the loss of the sex tape isn't really a "bad thing.")

Look what leaked sex tapes did for Kim Kardashin, Paris Hilton, Pam Anderson -- if anything it HELPED their career.

If the whole story revolves around trying to get the tape back, it sounds like a huge dud of a film to me.

Where I could see stakes raising was if, despite the couples best efforts, the tape leaked and now there is a demand for them to produce MORE sex tapes -- that could be a very interesting, humorous turn of events.

Thanks for all your comments. Specific to Courtney and James, I had many of the same thoughts when I first saw the deal go down. The conceit -- person loses sex tape - strikes me as a good idea, certainly for a TV episode (Larry Sanders Show had a great one), but how to sustain for 90+ minutes as a movie?

I think this is worthy of another post where I'll ask readers to brainstorm ways to do that. I guarantee you there have been pitches and scripts flow through Hwood with this basic premise, and probably the only reason this one sold is because the writer came up with crafty solutions to questions that have been raised here, whereas other writers did not.

This is the fundamental challenge of a screenwriter: How to make a script work as a movie? More later.

To comment once again on "why didn't I think of that"...

"No Strings Attached" was recently released.

"A guy and girl try to keep their relationship strictly physical, but it's not long before they learn that they want something more."

And coming soon...

"Friends With Benefits."

"While trying to avoid the clichés of Hollywood romantic comedies, Dylan (Timberlake) and Jamie (Kunis) soon discover however that adding the act of sex to their friendship does lead to complications."

And...

If you Google the title I believe there is spec floating around entitled "Fuckbuddies." It's on the 2008 Black List.

"A guy and a girl struggle to have an exclusively sexual relationship as they both come to realize they want much more."

(Notice the trend)

I had a story similar in my head called... well... I'll just keep it there just in case the string of FB's continues.

And I bet there are many others out there that have thought about a similar story as well.

But once again...

These folks were at the right place...

Knew the right people...

And hammered out GREAT stories.

With all of that said. Keep writing! As you can see there is no "one and done."

So if you have a great story about YOUR lost sex tape keep at it...

The world just may want to see it.

Wait... that's not what I really meant!

Fuckbuddies actually is Friends With Benefits. The spec went out as Fuckbuddies, but Paramount wasn't about to release a movie with the word fuck in it, so it got switched to Friends with Benefits.

RE: Sex Tape. According to TB, there are about 4 or 5 projects with that same premise that are either currently floating around in limbo, or have previously been floating around in limbo, and none of them ever get past development. So I think Courtney hit it right on the head. Great premise, but no one's been able to back it up with something deeper than the tagline.

@Nate

Thanks for clearing that up.

Didn't do my research! : )

Yeah, was gonna post what Nate said :p F*ckbuddies had a name change.

Wasn't there another similar one?

I more or less remember the "couples" than the movie titles.

Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway?
Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman?
Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis?

I mean seriously -- that's all there is to those movies.

There's also some specs that could be similar. The F Word (Which doesn't stand for what you think: Friends) and BFFs.

Although, I have both of those I haven't actually read them.

Plus Diablo Cody has Young Adults which I did read, but have totally forgotten (not a good sign, considering I remember both Juno and Jennifer's Body and read those before her newest one).

The motto is no longer similar, but different.

It's similar, but copyrightinfringingly exactly the same.