Script Pipeline

Amongst another month full of young adult novel adaptations and remakes, a few original specs cracked through, as well as some classic stories about to become new again. Sofia Coppola set to direct a live-action version of The Little Mermaid, which may stick to the original storyline by Hans Christian Anderson. Summit Entertainment continues to tap into the tween market with Dork Diaries, based on the book series. Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsman) will direct the Paul Haggis sci-fi/crime script The Juliet. And a reboot of the horror film The Grudge is also in the works. Other script sales include: – An (animated) adaptation of The Pink Panther. MGM taking the helm. – A biopic on pitcher R.A. Dickey, who after years in the minor leagues, finally makes the majors and becomes, albeit briefly, one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball. – The comedy Vacation Friends. Anna…

At long last: a movie about the early video game industry. Console Wars will pit Nintendo versus Sega, the fantasy of every 80s video game geek. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg directing–arguably, an ideal choice. Based on, if not very loosely, Dennis Rodman’s exploits in North Korea, Peter Chernin is producing the comedy Diplomats. Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill together again for a film based on Olympic hero-turned-terrorism-suspect Richard Jewell. And amongst a handful of drama and crime novel adaptations, a few no-brainer sequels: We’re the Millers, Space Jam (long overdue), and The Lego Movie. Other script sales include: – Sony will produce the horror The Bringing, based on the real-life mystery (and perhaps supernatural event) of a woman found dead in an LA hotel. – Even older video games are entirely adaptable: Vertigo and Warner Bros. taking the helm on the action/adventure Minecraft. – Still alive and kicking in…

Script Pipeline contest winner Tripper Clancy, who in December sold The Ambassadors to Fox, will write Shedd for Paramount Animation, based on an original idea from Paramount President Adam Goodman. Announced last year, Choose Your Own Adventure is a go, from the series allowing readers to “control” their story–although chances are the theater audience won’t control the plot of the movie (maybe someday). Divergent, written by Script Pipeline alum Evan Daugherty, will have its sequel, Insurgent, re-written by Akiva Goldsman. Brian Duffield penned the original draft. Thor 3 is set, and Daniel Craig will star in a spy thriller where his name is something other than James Bond. Other script sales include: – Chip N’ Dale and the Rescue Rangers get their first mainstream feature break. The project will be mixed live-action/CGI. – The sports drama The Battered Bastards of Baseball, from a true story most baseball fans aren’t even…

Amongst a number of genre pitches, in one of the final deals of the year, Script Pipeline Screenwriting Contest winner Tripper Clancy (The Ambassadors) sold his comedy pitch Winter Break to QED International (District 9). 20th Century Fox will remake Guys and Dolls. A film detailing the Berlin Olympics and Jesse Owens’ legendary performance is in motion–Walt Disney producing. And a pair of Spider-Man spinoffs, The Sinister Six and Venom, join a pair of sports-related projects, Lance Armstrong and Vince Lombardi biopics. Other script sales include: – Batman vs. Superman is a go. Zack Snyder will direct the ensemble cast that includes Ben Affleck, Amy Adams, and Henry Cavill. – Josh Gad will star in Warner Bros.’ adaptation of Gilligan’s Island. – If you’re going to remake The Naked Gun, who better to star than Ed Helms. . . ? – Tom Cruise will naturally reprise his role in a…

The superhero movie trend isn’t going anywhere for a while, with a number of script sales based on comics/graphic novels, including Sleeper, to be produced by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. And after what is soon to be six Lord of the Rings films, Tolkien himself (well, an actor playing Tolkien) will hit the big screen in a biopic produced by Fox Searchlight. Napoleon, too, gets the biopic treatment. Rupert Sanders directing. Seems like this is the case every month, but it was far more noticeable in November: nearly 100% of script sales were either a pitch, an adaptation, or material based on a true story. Other script sales include: – For those who haven’t heard of Key and Peele, you will soon, in a Judd Apatow-helmed project. – You had us at “Untitled Stan Lee Pitch,” Columbia Pictures. – Monster High, based on the Mattel line of dolls. –…

First the White House, now London. A sequel to Olympus Has Fallen, aptly entitled London Has Fallen, will be produced by Millennium Films. This was announced earlier, but bears repeating: MGM rebooting Ben-Hur. Hugh Jackson to play PT Barnum in the biopic The Greatest Showman on Earth, and Benderspink producing an adaptation of the recently-published sci-fi novel Day One. In case you’ve been on hiatus in Antarctica for a year, Star Wars: Episode VII is currently in development, with JJ Abrams on-board to direct. The story will center on a new breed of jedis and an older Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker. Other script sales include: – MGM tackling an animated adaptation of The Addams Family. – The period drama The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism to be helmed by Dreamworks. Has Spielberg all over it. . . . – Disney enters…