Thanks for the link, Scott! You are the best.

You are good people, Scott, good people.

My heart goes out to Caitlin.

The first script I wrote, "Give It Up for Chimpy" (2003, copyrighted in 2004) has the logline:

"A man’s ability to interpret for a monkey wins him a job hosting a late night talk show where the girl of his dreams works."

Doesn't sound too much like "The Zookeeper" AT FIRST.

"The animals at one particular zoo decide to break their code of silence in order to help their loveable zookeepr gain the attention of one particular woman."

BUT my story starts out in a zoo. Where a zookeeper pines for a lady who works in the movie buisness. And much of ACT I takes place in a zoo -- in Los Angeles.

For a while I worried about it. "Oh my god they stole my idea!" Or more likey read the script and developed a simular idea, carefully skewing a few things of course.

But now, so long as this story doesn't mirror TOO CLOSELY what I've done, I'm cool with it. Heck, "The Zookeeper's" sucess might even improve the chances I can sell "Give It Up for Chimpy." Would LOVE to see Judd Apatow do it. (fingers crossed)

You're not the only one Caitlin with similar concerns. My advice to you is use that concern to your advantage. Maybe this circumstances will help you sell your script. K9 AND Turner and Hootch BOTH got made, which is the end-all bottom line, isn't it?

Once again, my heart goes out to you Caitlin, I hope your story has a happy ($$) ending.

- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

Hey, Caitlin-

It happens to the best of us. About five years ago I started writing a script I was calling SCREAM QUEENS. I got as far as the midpoint, but just couldn't seem to find a way to finish it. The basic premise was this:

Sidney Prescott (SCREAM), Rachel Keller (THE RING), Jamie Lloyd (Laurie Strode's younger sister from HALLOWEEN), and a brand new Scream Queen who'd just escaped her fate, join forces to hunt and kill the Preternatural Killers that have plagued them all their lives.

I even posted the first five pages on Done Deal a few years ago. The problem was, I just couldn't break the story. I'd pick it up every now and again, the last time a few months ago. But I couldn't find the inspiration if it burrowed a hole up my tush.

Then, yesterday, a friend of mine sent me this, ostensibly from some tracking board site (probably TrackingB):

"HOLLY McC

Representation: David Boxerbaum (APA)

Written by: David Schow (THE CROW, TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE)

You know that one girl at the end of every horror/slasher movie that escapes (from the prom gone bad or the babysitter home alone). Well, what if four of them teamed up to catch the killers that wreaked havoc on their lives. Stacy Maes attached to produce."

Now, I don't know if he's sold this, yet, but he is a produced writer, so he's definitely got the one up on me. Besides which, it's obvious he's cracked the story. Well, more power to him -- good luck, David. And stick with it, Caitlin.

Jess

It's the same logline as AMERICAN PIE -- with chicks.

I had a similar experience, Scott. I started with a more generic concept (private detective losing his sight) only to discover that such an idea had been done more than once.

So I dug deeper, researched like crazy (via Done Deal Pro, Google, and IMDB) and pushed the concept to turn it into BLIND 5POTS. Had I not done that, I doubt you (or anyone) would be reading it right now.

Part of why I write blended-genre speculative fiction is the desire to craft as unique a premise as I can with every story. The other, of course, is because I love those kinds of stories.

So far, it's been win-win -- I can't find anything like the ideas I've been writing. It pays to research and work concepts as hard as possible.

This actually occurs somewhat regularly with me, enough that at this point, I stopped freaking out and merely shrug and say, "well I guess I'm on the right track..."

My writing partner in the 90's and I devised a nifty little script that actually got us representation for a time with a project called "57 Outdoor." Flash foward a year later and we're basically watching our concept onscreen as John Sayles' "Lone Star." As disturbing as it was (worse, Sayles film was, of course, miles better than ours... I mean, c'mon, John Sayles???) we at least had landed an agent off the script so all was good.

Our follow up for this particular agency was a re-imagining of the old Washington Irving tale "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Ours was a modernization of the tale and, again, this particular agent was pretty jazzed about it. The project fell apart quickly but imagine my shock that two years later, Tim Burton's version hit the screen. Again, no big deal, Burton's was, of course, terrific and now, in hindsight, I can see how flawed our take on the script was.

There have been other times too, some slightly resembling, others a near carbon copy.

All it really means is that you're an active member of the times you live in and are consciously plugged into the miasma that is modern life. As writers, ain't that our gig?

Caitlin, all is good, sounds like you're doing everything right, not the opposite.

"blended-genre speculative fiction"

Yeah, that's what I do too, Luzid. Luckily for me, I have a knack for coming up with those unique concepts, so chances are I won't have much of a problem having something sold out from under by feet.

I should also note that most of the concepts people would come up with tend to bore me just enough that I would have no interest writing them. It's because of that, really, that I have to write things that are different...because they are much more exciting to me.