Script Pipeline

A handful of sci-fi epics mix with a good deal of dramas and remakes. For those of you who went to elementary school in the eighties, Dreamworks will produce an adaptation of Roald Dahl's fantasy classic The BFG (which could mean so many things in the 21st century, but stands for "The Big Friendly Giant"). Also, in a move that makes Script Pipeline's GM cringe and yet simultaneously grow giddy: Point Break will get a reboot. Although the only thing they could improve upon is dialogue. And maybe tone down the tomboyish antics of Lori Petty. Other script sales include: - Paramount takes on the biblical epic of Noah. Darren Aronofsky to direct and produce. - Definitely the coolest concept in a while: the sci-fi/fantasy script Time Zones, where a man travels through various parts of the world, each area different points in time, in order to save his wife.…

A ton of remakes are in the works, including The Thin Man with Johnny Depp, Dirty Dancing, Wargames, Flatliners, The Wild Bunch. . . . There's more, but you get the idea: the industry needs more great, original ideas. A handful of mostly romantic comedies and dramas fill out the remainder of September. Although the one bright (and pretty cool) spot comes from 11/22/63, where a man travels back in time to try and stop the JFK assassination. Based on an upcoming Stephen King novel. King's epic tale The Stand is also getting a re-boot in feature form. Other script sales include: - Legendary director Ridley Scott takes on a new and seemingly less legendary-like challenge: a film based on the board game Monopoly. - Abigail Breslin will star in the teen comedy A Virgin Mary, signaliing her official entrance into the PG-13 teen/sex/comedy crowd. - A sequel to the…

First month in a while where the majority of script sales (and there were a ton) are comprised of some pretty "well-tread" plots. But all is not lost, as screenplays based on the true stories of Bonnie and Clyde and the trapped Chilean miners of 2010 are in the works. Steve Carrell, Nicholas Cage, and Jack Black will star in a comedy--who cares what it's about? Has to be funny with that line-up. What's not so funny? A movie adaptation of Entourage. Somewhere, a real talent manager is cringing. Other script sales include: - Captain Planet gets the live-action treatment. No word on who will play the main villain: a plastic circly thing that goes around soda cans. - Gore Verbinski will direct a new adaptation of Clue. Details are being kept under wraps. . . how fitting. - George Orwell's Animal Farm. The Geico duck rumored to star. -…

Can't decide between going to a movie or playing Angry Birds? Well, relax cowboy: the game by Rovio will have an animated (obviously) film adaptation. No word yet on whether there will be a Angry Birds Rio movie, which would make it the first movie based on a game based on a movie. On another animation note, Spy vs. Spy gets the royal treatment with Ron Howard to direct. A remake of War Games is also in the works. And the Nicholas Sparks story The Best of Me, about a guy and girl who used to be in love, and then they weren't, but then it'll all work out in the end to ultimately make women cry (well, that'll probably be the gist, anyway). Other script sales include: - Swear to God starring everyone's favorite slightly-furry comedian Will Ferrell, who plays a hedge fund manager that sees God. - Diablo…

May was a fantastic month for spec sales. Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa sold his remake of the 1976 horor "Carrie." Yogi and Boo Boo are back in Yogi Bear 2, written by Joshua Sternin and Jeffrey Ventimilia. In what sounds reminiscent of Terminator 2, Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant penned the film "The Machine," about a humaniod robot discovered and befriended by a young boy. Vin Diesel to produce and star. Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg are teaming up again for the film "Turkey Day," another Adam McKay project, pitched by Robert Carlock and Scott Silverie. And "Responsible Adults," a romantic comedy about a 30-year-old woman falling for a 22-year-old guy, only to find out that she used to be his babysitter 15 years earlier, sold this month. Script is written by Alex Schemmer, with Katie Holmes to star. Other script sales include: -The Girlfriend Equation, written by Tim Rasmussen and…

Multiple bio-pics were set up this month. Dreamworks to make a Martin Luther King Jr. film, penned by Kario Salem and produced by the King family. Ponzie's Scheme, based on the life of Charles Ponzi and written by Christopher Weekes, to be produced through Starry Night Entertainment. "Groundhog Day" for kids: Goosebumps author R.L. Stine's yet to be published book, It’s the First Day of School…Forever! to be produced consecutively with the release of the book. Timely for the royal wedding, Scott Neustadter and (500) Days of Summer writer Michael Webber sold a romantic comedy for seven figures about a midwestern girl going to the UK and marrying a prince. Ian Edelman sold his street basketball script to Paramount - Mark Wahlberg to produce and star, along with Justin Bieber in the cast. And a week before the release of the fifth installment of "The Fast and the Furious," the…

A second busy month in a row, with over a hundred new projects, March wrapped up with the sale of the latest script for the Iron Man, with Drew Pearce's Iron Man III. Three movies, with three different writers for the francise. With Jon Favreau opting to direct Magic Kingdom instead, Shane Black, writer of the Lethal Weapon series, will direct. Based on the loveable penguin characters from the movie "Madagascar," Alan J. Schoolcraft and Brent Simons, the screenwriters for Megamind, sold the script for an untilted project to Dreamworks. Perhaps connected to the success of Katy Perry's last music video, Universal picked up Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger's Candyland, based on the bord game by Hasbro. Kevin Lima (Enchanted) is attached to direct. Other notable script sales this month include: - The latest reboot of Les Miserables, penned by Bill Nicholson, picked up by Universal - SNL writer Bryan…

February is usually one of the busiest months of the year in the screen trade, and with over 100 script sales this month, 2011 was no different. The month included two sales based on Houdini, "The Secret Life of Houdini," by Noah Oppenheim, which will be produced by Summit Entertainment, and "Voices from the Dead," by J. Michael Straczynski, to be produced by DreamWorks. The latest adaptation of Pinocchio, written by Matthew Robbins, and based on a story by himself and Guillermo del Toro, will be produced by The Jim Henson Company, and will be shot in stop-motion 3D. Moving in a new direction away from movies like "Donnie Darko" and "Southland Tales," Darko Entertaiment greenlit Richard Kelly's latest script, "Corpus Christi," a more dramatic look at a mentally unstable war vetran. Other notable sales include: - Susannah Grant sold a bio-pic to Disney based on the life of Lynn…

January was a great month for script sales. Hat's off to Adam Lorenzo's for his script sale of "Lidsville" to Dreamworks Animation. Based on the 70's t.v. show, this children's fantasy is about personified talking hats and headgear; Conrad Vernon is set to direct. Warner Brothers picked up Steven King's "The Stand," a story about a worldwide flu epidimic; although made into a mini series in the nineties, producer Roy Lee will be bringing this Horor/Sci-Fi to the big screen. Dan Fogelman sold his script "My Mother's Curse" to Paramount, with SNL's Lorne Michaels along with John Goldwyn to helm the project. Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand to act/produce in this road comedy. Other sales include: -"Cobu 3D," written by Duane Adler, a dance/music project set up at Lionsgate -"Age of Rage," written by Mark Heyman, a sci-fi at Fox Searchlight, Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer) to direct. -"Men…