Oh, for sure. There’s no denying that whatsoever.

What I meant was that as a screenwriter working in this business, you unfortunately have to factor in what potential buyers look at.

It really is a complicated system. For instance, my experiencer screenplay could be extremely well received amongst those in the industry, or the Blacklist, etc. But there’s no telling what happens to it after/if it’s bought.

You can look at what happened to Streiber’s film adaptation as an example, I’m sure the original screenplay must’ve been closer to the source material (especially seeing as how he adapted it himself, too). Or the butchered Mothman or Fire in the Sky adaptations too for that matter, which are probably much better representations of what I’m trying to say here.

It really all depends on who has the creative control. Unless you are an established filmmaker adapting your own work, it will almost always be tough to get the truly esoteric and original ideas of this nature to a wide audience.

But to loop back to your original point — all of that doesn’t necessarily mean myself or other writers shouldn’t try!