John Ridley wrote '12 Years A Slave' for free

American writer-director John Ridley says he wrote the script of the Oscar-nominated slavery drama '12 Years A Slave' for free.

Helmed by Steve McQueen's '12 Years a Slave' has secured nine Academy Award nomination including the best picture and best director, reported Daily Express.

"There was no development money whatsoever for this project, so I said I'd take it on as a spec project, which means I'll write it for free," Ridley said.