Script Pipeline

2015 started out strong for former Script Pipeline Finalist Matt Altman, who sold his sci-fi/action spec Sam & Liz: A Killer Love Story to Relativity Media. Oren Uziel (22 Jump Street) has been hired to rewrite Zombies vs. Robots, based on the comic book by Chris Ryall and Ashley Wood. January was also a good mention for comedy with Barry Sonnenfeld signing on to direct Nine Lives by Dan Antoniazzi and Ben Shiffrin in which a businessman finds himself in the body of the family cat. Aaron Buchsbaum and Teddy Riley sold their comedy pitch Psych to Sony and Columbia. Bobby Farrelly has signed on to direct the comedy One Night Stan, written by Kevin Barnett, Chris Pappas, and Mike Bernier. Benderspink and CBS Films are producing Senior Year by Andrew Knauer and Arthur Pielli, a comedy about a high school cheerleader who wakes up from a coma after twenty years and decides to go back to school to become the prom queen.

Other script sales:

– Gone Girl team Gillian Flynn and David Fincher will pen and direct (respectively) an adaptation of Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train.

– Edgar Wright is moving forward on his action/comedy Baby Driver, which is centered on a young getaway driver for bank robbers.

– In news related to the two biggest Star franchises: Simon Pegg and Doug Jung to write the third Star Trek, and Chris Weitz will script the as-of-now untitled Star Wars spinoff.

– Selma director/co-writer Ava DuVernay will write, direct, and produce a drama with elements of mystery and romance set against the backdrop of Hurricane Katrina.

– Matt Lieberman will adapt The Jetsons for the big screen.

If ever there was a writer/director who audiences share a love-hate relationship with. . . .

Wes Anderson established a unique approach to storytelling and style early in his career (although "unique" doesn't exactly express how distinct this technique has become, compared to the current studio-level landscape), and The Grand Budapest Hotel serves as the next iteration of his brand. But the screenplay isn't exactly a primer for beginning writers. It's rather long, rather wordy, and rather low-key as far as plot, even for the genre, a dramedy that, like many of his other films, almost defies a specific categorization. Novel-like in its execution.

So why should you read it, especially if you're a long-standing member of the "Wes Anderson Makes No Sense and is Terrible" club? Because of the writing. Imagine that--a screenplay worth reading because of the writing. Believe it or not, though, not all great screenplays feature great writing. Some nail the mark in plot, or an extraordinary structure. Or dialogue and character, solo. With Grand Budapest, you could argue it's not the most engaging storyline, yet Wes' ability to draw us in through character and dialogue is nothing short of remarkable.

Then again, he's been doing this a while. That whole "learn the rules before breaking the rules" idiom? Wes Anderson's at the stage where he can break the rules he's already set. And the byproduct is an uncommon voice in an industry dominated by the common.

Read The Grand Budapest Hotel Script