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Morgan Von Ancken

By Exclusive Interviews

– Morgan von Ancken, writer of Cutting Numbers (2013 Script Pipeline Screenwriting Contest winner). After being announced as the Grand Prize winner, Morgan later signed with agency powerhouse UTA. Cutting Numbers is a unique premise in a genre (essentially an indie dramedy) usually devoid of true originality. How’d the concept come about? My first job out of college was a temping gig where I transcribed thousands and thousands of handwritten names into a spreadsheet. One of the ways I coped with the monotony was by inventing a super sad series of little games. In my favorite one, I pretended that each name I invoiced was someone whose life—in some anonymous, inexplicable way—I was saving. The responsibility was empowering, and I remember extrapolating each person’s personality and appearance from their name and handwriting. It kept me sharp, too. If I screwed up and skipped a name, that person’s blood was on my…

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Fox Purchases Comedy from Script Pipeline Contest Winner

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20th Century Fox, the studio that gave Script Pipeline contest winner Tripper Clancy his first big break, will helm his ensemble comedy The Ambassadors, with Danny Boon to direct and Invention Films co-producing. Tripper won the Script Pipeline Screenwriting Competition, signed with a manager after introductions by Pipeline execs, and landed a job developing new material with Fox in 2010. He also recently sold the comedy pitch Winter Break to QED International in December 2013. SUBMIT A SCREENPLAY
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September 2013 Script Sales

By Script Sales

Script Pipeline Screenwriting Competition winner Tripper Clancy, who found representation with a Pipeline industry partner, sold The Ambassadors. Danny Boon will direct the 20th Century Fox-helmed ensemble comedy. Meanwhile, another Pipeline alum, Evan Daugherty, was hired to write GI Joe 3 for Paramount. Oscar Bait Alert: the Weinstein Company producing a biopic on acclaimed writer J.D. Salinger. Oscar Bait Alert Part II: DiCaprio may star in a biopic of Woodrow Wilson. And a ton of dramas–more than usual–round out the month. Other script sales include: – The original cast, all the way down to Jamie Foxx, will reprise their roles in a Horrible Bosses sequel. – JK Rowling returns–her book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a prequel of sorts to Harry Potter, will hit the big screen. – An adaptation of the video game Ghost Recon. Michael Bay to potentially direct. – Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill tabbed…

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Haji Outlaw

By Exclusive Interviews

– Haji Outlaw, writer of Deadmen (2013 Script Pipeline Screenwriting Contest runner-up) You were a former Script Pipeline finalist with a TV spec for the comedy Eastbound and Down. Your 2013 runner-up screenplay, Deadmen, is a western (technically), yet a “lighter,” psychological western. What’s the transition like writing straight comedy to this type of material? Honestly, the transition from straight comedy to Deadmen wasn’t much of a transition. It just comes down to telling a story and characters for me. As long as the story and characters are interesting, I’m ready to write it. I actually wrote the first draft of Deadmen about four months after I wrote Eastbound. Even though I’ve done standup for nearly 10 years and wrote Eastbound, the majority of what I enjoy watching are not comedies. My favorite TV show of all-time is The Wire (and currently Breaking Bad), and my favorite movie of all-time…

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Script Pipeline Contest Winner Writing GI Joe 3 for Paramount

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Script Pipeline Screenwriting Competition winner Evan Daugherty tabbed to write G.I. Joe 3 for director Jon M. Chu and Paramount. Lorenzo di Bonaventura producing. It's the fourth major studio writing assignment for Daugherty. Former projects included Divergent, Ninja Turtles, Snow White and the Huntsman, and in 2008, months after winning the Pipeline contest, an adaptation of Masters of the Universe. SUBMIT A SCREENPLAY
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“Recommend” Writer Sells TV Pilot to NBC

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  Script Pipeline Workshop "Recommend" writer Micah Barnett sold a one-hour drama, Ricochet, in September 2013 to NBC, a few years after finding management through a Pipeline industry contact. He also sold a feature screenplay to Warner Bros. in 2010 for six-figures (The Rabbit), with Chris Tucker attached to star. SUBMIT FOR SCRIPT NOTES
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August 2013 Script Sales

By Script Sales

File this under the “Why Not?” category: Avatar part two, three, and four, all in development with James Cameron and a handful of co-writers. Early box office estimates are approximately $7 gillion. Also getting the sequel special, The Bourne Identity 5. Some dramas and period scripts were in the mix as well, including The Esperanza Fire, from Legendary Pictures, based on the true story, as well as the Ron Howard project In the Heart of the Sea, a survival tale about a stranded whaling ship in the 1800s. And on a lighter note, a fully animated Scooby-Doo film is in the works. Other script sales include: – Vertigo taking the wheel on Stephen King’s epic story The Stand. – The Twilight Zone movie seems to be on the right track, at long last. – Comedian Amy Schumer bringing her talents to the big screen, both writing and acting, in an…

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2013 Screenwriting Contest Finalists

By Screenwriting Contest Results

Grand Prize Winner Cutting Numbers – Morgan von Ancken Runner-Up Deadmen – Haji Outlaw Finalists Arctic Circle by Daniel Ragussis The Artist Formerly Known as John Smith by Christian Heinze Brood X by Michael Okon Butterfly Children by Melanie Schiele The Cause of it All by John Cruz / Mark Dormitorio The Colony by Kevin Sluder Compliance by Matt Bozin Cricket by Alissa Dean  Demain Je Me Tue by Pierre Chance Dickens and Isabella by Callie Lane The Gentle Apocalypse by Adam Cosco Holy Mackerel by Glenda Ganis Paganini by John Dymale Priscilla by Dennis Luu Satan in Arkansas City by R. J. Daniel Hanna Space Cadet by Nived Ravikumar / Ben Stebor Under Angels by Jace Daniel White Line Fever by Kevin Jones

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July 2013 Script Sales

By Script Sales

Amongst a spattering of sci-fi thrillers, a few popular titles emerge, including Gran Turismo and a follow-up to the tremendously successful The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, a remake of the Swedish adaptation The Girl Who Played with Fire. Bust out an 80s keyboard and polish up your “Axel F” skills: Beverly Hills cop Axel Foley (aka Eddie Murphy) will return in a fourth installment of the franchise. And Tom Hanks is top dog in another Dan Brown thriller, Inferno. Ron Howard will direct. Other script sales include: – A biopic on the life of quarterback Kurt Warner (whose true story might be a lot more incredible than most think. . . ) – It’s about time: Artemis Fowl, coming soon. Robert De Niro to executive produce the Disney pic. – Fox taking the wheel on a big-screen rendition of the now-classic comic series X-Force. – Winner of stand-out title…

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June 2013 Script Sales

By Script Sales

Leonardo DiCaprio and Jamie Foxx team up for the crime/drama Mean Business on North Ganson Street, marking the second time the two A-list actors join forces. Speaking of reteaming: Harry and Lloyd (aka Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels) will match wits again in Dumb and Dumber To. Lionsgate dealing with White Girl Problems–what’s not to like about that title? And Ditto on the comedy Sports Chick, co-written by Jason Reitman, and the Benderspink project A Guy’s Guide to Being a Man’s Man. Universal and Vinson Films will also produce a live-action remake of the Japanses anime film Vexille. Other script sales include: – Classic throwback alert: an adaptation of the children’s classic Encyclopedia Brown. Warner Bros. and Vertigo Entertainment producing. – Susan Cooper, written by Paul Feig (Bridesmaids), an action comedy putting a female in the James Bond role. – Reboot: Tomb Raider. – An adaptation of the Choose Your…

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May 2013 Script Sales

By Script Sales

Someone opened the Drama floodgates: a greater-than-average number of specs were dramas or variations thereof, including Legacy of Secrecy, which explores the mafia’s role in the JFK assassination. Jason Blum producing the thriller Visions and Reawakening. Benderspink and Universal producing the fantasy Red Queen, with Benderspink also on board to produce a film based on Medieval Times, optioning the rights to the well-known dinner show. Also a handful of sequels to popular franchises, including Red, Blade Runner, Men in Black, Joe Dirt, Mission Impossible, and Bad Santa. Other script sales include: – Francis Ford Coppola is doing an Italian-American period drama. That’s all we need to know. – Billy Crystal to (finally) direct the 1940s baseball project Man on Spikes. – The world needs more Michael Shannon, and he’s set to star in an as-of-yet untitled action/sci-fi thriller. – John Travolta tabbed for a biopic of John Gotti Jr.

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