Winner Madonnas by Fabrizio Muscia Runner-up After Hollywood by Laura Rivera
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A top 20 finalist in the Script Pipeline Screenwriting Competition, Sgt. Will Gardner released in February 2019. Written/directed by and starring Max Martini (The Unit) the film centers on an American veteran coping with homelessness, PTSD, and the long journey toward emotional recovery, highlighting the very real concerns of vets. A percentage of the film's profits were donated to three veterans charities: Higher Ground, Warriors Heart, and the Special Operations Charity Network. Watch Sgt. Will Gardner on Amazon
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Lionsgate, Point Grey Pictures, and 3Pas Studios have picked up Jeff Bushell’s comedy/fantasy spec Bad Dog. The story follows Satan’s favorite dog after he is mistakenly booted from Hell and adopted by an unsuspecting family. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg are set to produce. Jill Soloway will write and direct the Red Sonja movie for Millennium Films. Their film will be based on the character created by Robert E. Howard and comic writer Roy Thomas. Over at Screen Gems, Bert V. Royal is set to write and direct a spinoff for Easy A. Royal wrote the original screenplay. Finally, Quentin Tarantino and Jerrod Carmichael are teaming up to write the sequel/crossover Django/Zorro. The movie will be based on the comic book by Quentin Tarantino, Matt Wagner and Esteve Polls. Other script sales include: - Zack Andrews and Bobby Roe have been tapped to rewrite Dan Kay’s A Wicked Tale for…
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Winner Redflags by Nathan Patton Nathan Patton didn’t grow up in a rural Arkansas town, population 85 — he grew up on the outskirts of that town. That seclusion led to a lot of time spent inside his imagination, writing and drawing his own comic books, or acting out unmade Indiana Jones sequels in the woods and creeks behind his house. While he’s still inexperienced at adulting, but he did eventually get a job, doing some work in the comics field, and working as a freelance journalist and political cartoonist before eventually deciding to get his MFA in Writing. He’s a former Michener Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin, where he still lives with his wife, son, and dog — all of whom are way cooler than him (for one thing, they never talk about themselves in the third person). His feature script, Waitress #2, won the 2018…
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Winner Visitation by Helen Gaughran Helen Gaughran grew up in Dalkey, Co. Dublin, Ireland--the tiny hometown of James Joyce and George Bernard Shaw (who have also enjoyed modest writing success). There, she attended a castle-convent where she was taught Latin, discipline and a love of literature by nuns who could easily have played Bridge professionally. She graduated from an Irish university you’ve never heard of and moved to San Francisco, where she worked as a waitress until she won a green card in the lottery. (God bless America!) She proceeded to squander her good fortune by working in a raft of ad agencies, where she picked up a One Show pencil and a Clio (along with the urge to write something more personal and meaningful). Helen has written three other feature screenplays: Pop Psychology, The Patriot Test and The Domina Effect. She also won an all-Ireland medal for math at…
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Howard Jordan Jr., runner-up in the Script Pipeline TV Writing Competition with the comedy Family Be Like, was staffed on the CBS series Superior Donuts in 2017. His first solo-written episode, "Sofia's Choice," aired in February 2018. The show starred Judd Hirsch, Jermaine Fowler, Katy Sagal, and Maz Jobrani. Superior Donuts was his first writing opportunity on a network series. He later joined the staff of Netflix's Family Reunion, starring Tia Mowry (Sister, Sister) and the CBS sitcom The Unicorn in 2019. "When I relocated from NYC to LA to pursue sitcom writing, everyone I met in the industry said it wasn’t about entering competitions, it was about entering the right competition," Howard said. "Script Pipeline was the turning point." Read Howard's latest Script Pipeline interview here.
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For this month in script sales, we start off with Voicemails for Isabelle. The romantic comedy spec, written by Leah McKendrick, was picked up by Escape Artists and Sony and follows a woman dating in Los Angeles. Sharon Maguire is in talks to direct, and Hailee Steinfeld will star. Next we have the suspense/horror spec Don’t Go in the Water, which was written by Peter Gaffney and found a home with Universal Pictures, 21 Laps Entertainment, and Lit Entertainment Group. The story follows an alcoholic in an isolated cabin who contends with a massive tentacled creature in the nearby lake and fights to survive. Other script sales: - Miss Universe found a home with, appropriately, Universal Pictures. Abe Forsythe’s script is described as Miss Congeniality meets Men in Black. Forsythe will direct, Lupita Nyong’o is set to produce and star. - Jane Campion is adapting Thomas Savage’s novel The Power…
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Winner of the 2011 Script Pipeline Screenwriting Competition with his screenplay Henchman, Tyler Burton Smith's career has soared in recent years, most recently with the Child's Play reboot starring Aubrey Plaza and Mark Hamill. Previously, Tyler worked with Gil Kenan (Poltergeist) on an adaptation of the popular video game Five Nights at Freddy's and co-wrote Kung Fury 2 with David Sandberg, the original creator of the Kung Fury short. The film wraps production in 2019 and stars Michael Fassbender, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Eiza Gonzalez.
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With most of the WGA having fired their agents, things slowed down a little in terms of script sales. Red Wagon Pictures and Sony Pictures have scooped Thomas O’Donnell’s spec I Heart Murder, a female-driven horror crime/thriller. Meanwhile, Lionsgate and Temple Hill Productions have picked up Matt Lieberman’s comedy spec Meet the MacHines. The story follows two robots who try to find a family for their recently deceased creator’s son as they to blend in modern suburbia. Good Fear, BRON Studios, and Kituufu Films have picked up Sabrina. The script, written by Kristen Buckley, tells the true story of Sabrina Greenlee, single mother to four children (including NFL wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins) who was attacked and left for dead but nevertheless persevered. Sam Bailey will direct. John Wikstrom’s 2018 Black List thriller AMA (Ask Me Anything) found a home with Assemble Media. Zelda Williams will direct. Other script sales: -…
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Paramount Pictures and Temple Hill Productions won out in a bidding war for Kay Oyegun’s comedy spec Assisted Living. The story follows a thief who hides out from her old crew in a retirement home. Entertainment One and The Picture Co. picked up the sci-fi/thriller Out There. Ian Levy’s spec follows a family fighting to survive after a mysterious event changes the world. David Bruckner is attached to direct. Finally, Zach Baylin’s King Richard, a spec based on Richard Williams’ efforts to bring his daughters Venus and Serena to tennis superstardom, found a home with Star Thrower Entertainment and Overbrook Entertainment. Will Smith is attached to star and produce. Other script sales: - Sony picked up Derek Kolstad and Gerard McMurray’s pitch Booker, described as a John Wick-esque thriller with an African American lead. - Ian Nelms and Eshom Nelms are set to adapt Carol Burnett’s memoir Carrie And Me…
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Pipeline Media Group Senior Executive Matt Joseph Misetich co-hosted the session Screenwriting 101: Demystifying Hollywood with Script Mag Editor Jeanne Veillette Bowerman at the 2019 Writer's Digest Conference in New York City. A long-time sponsor of the WDC, Book Pipeline was pleased to help lead the discussion on the basics of becoming a screenwriter and lend some insider advice in breaking into the film and TV industry. New Yorker cartoonist Bob Eckstein was on-hand to document the conference--in epic form, as usual. Learn more about the Writer's Digest conference, held annually in Midtown Manhattan, and the Novel Writing Conference in Pasadena, CA.
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Spenser Cohen’s spec Distant found a home with Amblin Partners, Automatik Entertainment, and Six Foot Turkey Productions. The sci-fi/romance follows a miner who has crash-landed on a hostile alien planet and must rescue the only other survivor, a woman trapped in an escape pod, as they run out of oxygen. We’re sure the movie will leave us breathless. Universal Pictures picked up Chris Borrelli’s action/thriller spec, which will be directed by Simon Crane. Although details are being kept under wraps, this marks Crane’s directorial debut after an impressive career as a stunt coordinator (credits include Salt, World War Z, and Edge of Tomorrow). Finally, Paramount Pictures and LuckyChap Entertainment are moving forward with Big Gay Jamboree, written by Jonathan Parks-Ramage and Maria Mindelle. The musical follows a raunchy woman who finds herself stuck in a 1940’s musical, sort of like Isn’t It Romantic? meets Judy Garland. Margot Robbie is set…
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No Film School listed Script Pipeline as one of the top 5 screenwriting competitions worldwide. Previous Script Pipeline winner Evan Daugherty, who was introduced to management by Pipeline execs, sold Snow White and the Huntsman to Universal in one of the biggest spec sales of all-time. The success reverberated throughout the industry soon after and helped other contests gain more traction and legitimacy with producers. Read the full list of top screenwriting competitions here. Submit to the Screenwriting Competition Submit to the TV Writing Competition
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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…
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Biophilia, co-produced by Script Pipeline, won the Best Screenplay award at the 2018 Brooklyn Film Festival. Written and directed by Marina Michelson, the short is "inspired by the effects of the 2008 recession" and serves as a commentary, in part, on self-reliance and our intimate connections to nature. The story: "Rachel, a former Brooklynite, has persuaded her boyfriend to take a stab at farming on his family’s abandoned sheep ranch. But the dream of self-reliance reveals itself to be a harsher reality and strains their relationship. When a sheep dies under their watch, Rachel becomes determined to deal with the remains and in doing so, prove her worth." Biophilia was also accepted to three other festivals in North America. View the trailer. Read Marina's interview with Women & Film and Film Pipeline. Follow: Facebook | Instagram
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