Script Sales

Here are some of the most notable script sales from August 2020: – 2020 Script Pipeline Finalist Crosby Selander sold his spec sci-fi script Bring Me Back to Legendary Pictures in a seven-figure deal, making it one of the largest deals for a “new,” unproduced writer in recent years. The sale occurred after Script Pipeline introduced Selander to Kaplan/Perrone, who subsequently signed him a few weeks later. – Eva Longoria’s UnbeliEVAble Entertainment, Stampede Ventures, and Sony Pictures Entertainment have picked up Spa Day, a spec action/comedy written by Christine Pietrosh and Jessica Goldstein. Along with producing, Longoria is set to direct and star. – RVK Studios and Will Packer Productions have picked up Beast, written by Ryan Engle and based on an idea from Jaime Primak-Sullivan, who will executive produce. Baltasar Kormakur is set to produce and direct, and Idris Elba will star. – Universal Pictures and LeBron James’s SpringHill…

Here are some of the most notable script sales from August 2020: – Lionsgate and 87eleven have picked up Michael Finch and Alex Litvak’s adventure/fantasy spec Arcana. – DUST, Black Label Media, and Davis Entertainment have tapped Derek Kolstad to adapt the Korean short film The Time Agent by Jude Chun. – Village Roadshow optioned the thriller spec The Prize, written by Chris Sparling. Espen Sandberg is attached to direct. – Lionsgate and 21 Laps Entertainment acquired Kevin Couglin and Ryan Grassby’s horror spec Mother Land in a competitive auction. – Scott Beck and Bryan Woods will write and direct the sci-fi/thriller 65 for Raimi Productions. Sam Raimi will produce along with Beck and Woods, and Adam Driver will star. – STX Entertainment, Zero Gravity, and Sculptor Media have tapped Joe Carnahan to rewrite the action/thriller Copshop from Kurt McLeod’s previous draft, based on a story by McLeod and Mark…

Here are some of the most notable script sales from July 2020: – Screen Gems picked up the thriller spec Sabine written by Gregg Hurwitz and Philip Eisner. The script follows a female detective who hunts down a serial killer and begins to see the world through the killer’s eyes. – Legendary Pictures and Hyperobject Industries have acquired Lauryn Kahn’s drama/thriller spec Fresh. Adam McKay will produce; Mimi Cave will direct. – StudioCanal, The Picture Co., and Billstein Entertainment Partners are teaming for Seth Owen’s thriller spec Role Play, based on an idea by George Heller, who will also exec produce. – Desert Moon Pictures optioned Lee Martin’s thriller script The Devil at Sandy Creek. – Spyglass Media Group and Phantom Four Films have acquired the rights to the short horror film “Mr. Lonely.” The short’s writer Marc Bloom and director David-Jan Bronsgeest will reteam for the feature. – Roy…

Here are some of the most notable script sales from June 2020: – Searchlight Pictures has picked up Stefani Robinson’s pitch Black Mozart, based on the true story of Chevalier de Sant-Georges. Stephen Williams is attached to direct. – Lionsgate, Good Fear, and Mangata have picked up Stephen Herman’s horror spec The Culling. David F. Sandberg is attached to direct. – Thunder Road Pictures picked up Doug Simon’s 2019 Black List script Breathe, a sci-fi/thriller. – Will Packer Productions and Universal Pictures have acquired One and Done, written by Chad Sanders and Chris Spencer. The sports drama script follows a top high school athlete who decided to attend an HBCU. – Brendan O’Brien has been tapped to script the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot for Nickelodeon Animation and Point Grey Pictures. – Christina Hodson will script the next entry in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise for Walt Disney Pictures…

Here are some of the most notable script sales from May 2020: – Jamie Lee Curtis and Russell Goldman’s climate change horror script Mother Nature was acquired by Blumhouse. Curtis will make her feature directorial debut. – Taika Waititi and Krysty Wilson-Cairnstaika will write a Star Wars spinoff for Disney and Lucasfilm. Waititi will also direct. – Paramount Pictures and di Bonaventura Pictures picked up Mattson Tomlin’s sci-fi/drama/dystopian spec 2084. – Paramount Pictures, Weed Road Productions, and The Tea Shop & Film Company are teaming for Flight. Miles Chapman’s spec is a contained thriller set on an international flight, based on an idea by Johannes Roberts. Roberts will also direct. – Paramount Pictures and Fully Formed Entertainment won out in a bidding war for Daniel H. Wilson’s sci-fi spec The Blue Afternoon That Lasted Forever, based on his short story. – Good Films Collective will produce Petter Skavlan’s true-story drama…

Here are some of the most notable script sales from April 2020: – Paramount Pictures and Gina Rodriguez’s I Can and I Will Productions have acquired Ryan Firpo’s sci-fi/comedy spec The Aliens Are Stealing Our Weed. Along with producing, Rodriguez is attached to star. – Anthony McCarten’s Whitney Houston spec I Wanna Dance With Somebody found a home with Primary Wave and Muse of Fire Productions. Stella Meghie is in talks to direct. – Lionsgate, along with Zaftig Films and Vertigo Entertainment, picked up John Fuqua and Glenn Ficarra’s zombie spec 16 States. – See-Saw Films, Anonymous Content, and Screen Australia are moving forward with Thomas Wright’s crime/thriller The Unknown Man. Wright will direct, and Joel Edgerton and Sean Harris are set to star. – David Callaham will write the live-action Hercules remake/adaptation for Disney. Anthony and Joe Russo will produce. – Paramount Animation, Hasbro Studios, and eOne have tapped…

Here are some of the most notable script sales from March 2020: – Paramount Pictures and Original Film have picked up Murder in the White House, a crime/mystery/thriller spec written by Jonathan Stokes. After the President is murdered during a private dinner, a female Secret Service agent has until morning to identify the killer to prevent a peace agreement from failing. – Over with Warner Bros. and J.J. Abrams’s Bad Robot, The Pinkerton found a home. Daniel Casey’s spec is described as a supernatural revenge-western hybrid. – The faith drama When We Pray is moving forward with Cinema Libre Studio, Fight to Fame Films, and Fast Mouse Films. The script was written by Jamie Foxx and Donald Ray Caldwell, and Foxx will also direct. – Loos Change Films has optioned Max Goodson’s drama script The Rescuer, which follows a young pastor torn between turning his church into a glitzy megachurch…

Here are some of the most notable script sales from February 2020: – Taika Waititi and Jennifer Kaytin Robinson will script the next installment in Marvel/Disney’s Thor franchise: Thor: Love and Thunder. Waititi will direct, and Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, and Tessa Thompson will also return, with Christian Bale potentially joining the cast. – And in more Marvel/Disney news, Michael Waldron will rewrite Jade Bartlett’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness script. Sam Raimi is in talks to direct, while Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, and Elizabeth Olsen are set to star. – Chris Thomas Devlin will script the Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot/remake for Legendary Pictures and Bad Hombre. Fede Alvarez will produce; Ryan Tohill and Andy Tohill will direct. – Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler, and Diane Keaton will star in a spiritual sequel to The First Wives Club entitled Family Jewels. The script, written by Peter Hoare,…

Here are some of the most notable script sales from January 2020: – Previous Script Pipeline winner Evan Daugherty (Snow White and the Huntsman) will script the Anaconda remake for Columbia Pictures. The original movie was written by Hans Bauer, Jim Cash, and Jack Epps Jr. – …and previous Script Pipeline winner Tripper Clancy (Stuber) has an action/comedy series over at Quibi. Titled Die Hart, the series is written by Tripper and Derek Kolstad and directed by Eric Appel, and it stars John Travolta and Kevin Hart. – Rian Johnson’s sequel to Knives Out is in development. Johnson will write and direct, and Daniel Craig will possibly star again as well. – Jennifer Harrington’s sci-fi/action/comedy sped It’s the End of Liz as We Know It was picked up by The Detective Agency and Sony Pictures Entertainment. – Robert Sudduth’s ensemble Latina female-driven drama spec Tias found a home with Will Packer…

Some of the most notable script sales for December 2019: – Jimmy Warden’s untitled bear spec has found a home with Lord/Miller (Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s production company), Radio Silence, and Universal Pictures. The horror/comedy is described as a cross between Good Boys and The Revenant, and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett will direct. – Sanjay Shah’s untitled script about an Indian boy band was acquired by Universal Pictures, Marc Platt Productions, and Lighthouse Management & Media. Nisha Ganatra is attached to direct. – Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby were tapped to adapt the Skybound/Image comic book Stealth, written by Robert Kirkman and Marc Silvestri. Lee Daniels will produce/direct for Universal. – Anvil Pictures and Universal are moving forward with Storybook Ending. The fantasy ilm was written by Dean DeBlois and Bill Teitler, and DeBlois will also direct. – William Boyd will adapt John Treherne’s novel The Galapagos Affair…

Here are some of the most notable script sales from the month of November: Erin Cressida Wilson is attached to write The Invisible Woman for Universal, based on a pitch by Elizabeth Banks. Banks is set to produce, direct, and star as well. John Logan is set to write a currently untitled Michael Jackson biopic for GK Films. The life rights were acquired from the Jackson estate. J.T. Petty to write and direct Appetite for Productivity Media and David S. Goyer’s Phantom Four Films. The thriller follows a mother’s investigation into her daughter’s disappearance, which leads to terrible consequences. Ryan Ridley’s script Renfield found a home with Skybound Entertainment and Universal. The horror/drama follows the character R.M. Renfield from Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Adam Hoff’s script Signing Day signed with Unanimous Media and Sony Pictures. The drama follows a sports agent who desperately tries to sign a coveted basketball star. Joe Epstein’s untitled horror/thriller found…

October was a lighter month for spec sales. New Line Cinema and A-Major Media picked up Elliott San’s untitled spec last month. Although details are being kept under wraps, it’s described as a mind-bending genre tale that centers on an Asian-American lead. Meanwhile, TriStar Pictures, Unique Features, and Arlook Group are moving forward with Cooper McMains’ spec The Tip. The thriller follows a waitress who finds herself in a dangerous situation after receiving a $10,000 tip. John Strickland will direct. Robert Zappia’s 2018 Blood List script The Devil’s Light found a home with Lionsgate and Gold Circle Films. The supernatural thriller follows a nun who performs exorcisms while combating a sexist church that believes only priests should be allowed to perform exorcisms. Other script sales: – Bret McKenzie has been tapped to write the script and music for the Jim Henson Company’s adaptation of Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas. – Evan…

A few interesting specs found their way to production companies last month. Todd Komarnicki’s action/thriller spec Savior found a home with Oakhurst Entertainment, Lightbridge Entertainment, and Guy Walks Into a Bar, Inc. The story follows a group of mercenaries who plan to set off World War III through a series of seemingly unrelated terrorist attacks. Meanwhile, Paul Feig’s Feigco and Universal Pictures have picked up Meredith Dawson’s romantic comedy spec When Michael Met Carrie… and Other People. Dawson is set to direct as well. New Line Cinema (along with Farah Films & Management, Vertigo Entertainment, and Cinestate) scooped up Shut In in an auction. Written by Melanie Toast, the thriller spec follows a single mother who must protect her children and herself after her violent ex takes her captive. Finally, AGC Studios picked up Jay Martel’s fantasy/dramedy spec The Present, which is about a young boy who finds himself in…

Legendary Pictures and Jon Shestack Productions picked up The Last Adventure of Constance Verity, a spec written by John Raffo and based on the novel by A. Lee Martinez. The story follows Constance Verity, the chosen one who has battled supernatural forces her entire life and now just wants to settle down with a boyfriend, a normal job, and best friends. Awkwafina will star. Chester Tam’s untitled romantic comedy spec found a home with Screen Gems and Underground Films. The story follows a Black woman and an Asian-American man who start a relationship, surprising family and friends since neither is typically the other’s type. Gabrielle Union is attached to produce and star. Tango Entertainment and Eat the Cat scooped up Joshua Giuliano’s horror/thriller script River about three siblings stalked by a masked killer after being stranded in a boat on a country river. Giuliano will also direct. Leon Chills’ action-drama…

The horror and thriller genres had a good month. Sony Entertainment and Sam Raimi’s Ghost House Pictures picked up Gavin Heffernan’s untitled supernatural thriller spec. Details about its plot are being kept under wraps, but Escape Room’s Adam Robitel is attached to direct. Another untitled supernatural thriller spec landed with Paramount Pictures and The Picture Co., this one written by Jacob Chase. The plot follows a man with a classified line of work who takes his family on a perilous trip while protecting them from the horror he has in tow. Chase is also set to direct. Finally, Michael and Shaun Rasmussen’s horror spec The Unheard found a home at Burn Later Productions. No details about plot, but Chris von Hoffmann is set to direct. Other script sales: – Taika Waititi is returning to write and direct Thor: Love and Thunder for Disney/Marvel. Natalie Portman will also return to the…