January was unfortunately a lighter month for script sales (you can blame holiday recovery and Sundance for that), so here’s a list of the most notable stories:
– Unburdened Entertainment and SB Projects have tapped Alyssa Hill to adapt Elaine Brown’s memoir A Taste of Power. The story follows Brown’s time as the first and only female leader of the Black Panthers from 1974–77.
– Lisa Joy (Westworld) is set to direct Reminiscence from her 2013 Black List screenplay. Her Westworld co-creator Jonathan Nolan is set to produce.
– Universal Pictures optioned Kim Liggett’s novel The Grace Year, set to be published this fall. Elizabeth Banks is set to direct.
– Pete Davidson, Judd Apatow, and Dave Sirus’s untitled comedy script has been picked up by Universal and Apatow Productions. Based on Davidson’s own life, the film is set to star Davidson and will be directed by Apatow.
– Amblin Partners and Anonymous Content picked up Anya Kochoff’s Rich Old Broads. The comedy follows a group of 60-year-old friends on a weekend getaway.
– Oren Uziel has been tapped to script the Detective Pikachu sequel, which sounds pretty awesome, to be honest.
– C. Robert Cargill and Scott Derrickson will return to write the Doctor Strange sequel, and Derrickson will direct again. It’s probably safe to assume that Benedict Cumberbatch will return as well.
– Blumhouse and Universal have tapped Saw’s Leigh Whannel to write and direct the Invisible Man remake. Based on how fun Whannell’s directorial debut Upgrade was, this should be a good one.
– And in other Saw alumni news, Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan will write the Final Destination reboot.
– Seth MacFarlane’s Fuzzy Door Productions is producing the female ensemble comedy Fairy Tale Ending with Universal, which was picked up based on Jim Hecht and Tracy McMillan’s pitch.
– Disney’s doing a live-action Hunchback of Notre Dame movie with David Henry Hwang writing.