Script Sales

July was a slower month for script sales. . . . Ivan Reitman’s Montecito Picture Company will produce Cassie Daniels and Mark Bartosic’s comedy spec Besties, a comedy about a woman and her three best friends who set off on a road trip to break up the wedding of her childhood crush. Amblin and Madhouse Entertainment will team up to produce Pete Bridges’ sci-fi/action spec The Fall, which follows a newly divorced couple trying to get to the suburbs on foot, where their children are home alone during an alien invasion. New Line has acquired the rights to The Cold War, based on David Wolman and Julian Smith’s article about a turf war between ice cream trucks. Fox 2000 acquired Ted Melfi’s Fruit Loops, which has been described as being in the same vein as One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

More script sales:

– Kirsten Dunst and Nellie Kim to write the script for The Bell Jar, based on Sylvia Plath’s novel. Dunst to also direct.

– Joe Carnahan to adapt Uncharted for Sony.

– Paul Dano to direct Wildlife, based on Richard Ford’s novel. The adapted script was written by Dano and Zoe Kazan.

– Max Winkler and Matt Spicer to write the sequel/reboot The Rocketeers for Disney.

– Alcon and Madhouse have acquired Sheri Elwood’s comedy pitch Besties about a young woman who becomes besties with her new roommate only to discover she’s a dangerous psychopath.

– Eric Heisserer to write Lights Out 2 for New Line.

June was a good month for spec scripts across all genres. First up was Lucas Carter’s action/comedy The Gun Show. The script, which follows a cop who wakes up after a 20-year coma and is assigned to investigate the death of his old partner, was picked up by Paramount. STX Entertainment and Getaway Productions are teaming to produce 17 Bridges, a detective thriller written by Adam Mervis. Thunder Road Pictures acquired two properties in June: the spy action/drama Burn Run, written by Mitchell LaFortune and based on real events, and Trigger Warning, described as a female version of First Blood and written by Josh Olson and John Brancato. Matthew Orton’s political thriller Reason of State is moving forward with Black Bear Pictures, Silvertown Films, and Wildgaze Films. The supernatural thriller Mary, written by Anthony Jaswinski, found a home at Tooley Productions and EMJAG Productions. Finally, Moonfall, a disaster spec written by Roland Emmerich, Harald Kloser, and Spenser Cohen about a mission to stop the moon from hurtling into Earth, will move forward at Universal Pictures after a competitive bidding war. Emmerich is set to direct.

Other script sales:

– Bad Robot/J.J. Abrams to produce Pamela Pettler’s animated heist comedy The Flamingo Affair. Abrams will also direct.

– Phil Johnston and Rich Moore to write the sequel Wreck-It Ralph 2 for Disney.

– Blaise Hemingway to adapt The Gates for DreamWorks, based on the first novel in John Connolly’s trilogy.

– Morgan Spurlock to write/direct the adaptation of Can I Go Now, a biography of superagent Sue Mengers.

– Michael Sheen to write, direct, and star in the adaptation of the true-story graphic novel Green River Killer for Dark Horse Entertainment.

– Adam McKay’s Bad Blood (based on the life of Elizabeth Holmes) moving forward at Legendary Pictures and Gary Sanchez Productions. McKay to also direct, Jennifer Lawrence to star and produce.

– Anders Holm’s Game Over, Man!, an action/comedy described as Die Hard in a hotel, is moving forward at Netflix. Based on a story by Holm and his Workaholics costars Adam Devine, Blake Anderson, and Kyle Newacheck. Anderson, Devine, and Holm to star, and Newacheck to direct.

Black Bear Pictures and Bristol Automotive acquired Graham Moore’s spec script The Last Days of Night. The legal thriller will dramatize Thomas Edison’s lawsuit against rival George Westinghouse, whom Edison sued for one billion dollars in 1888, and will be based on Moore’s novel. Sony acquired a thriller pitch from Lori Evans Taylor about a couple whose new tenant begins to invade their lives. Akiva Goldman to produce. Emily Carmichael to write Powerhouse for Amblin Entertainment, based on an original story by Colin Trevorrow–Carmichael to direct, and Trevorrow, Steven Spielberg, and Simon Winberg set to produce. Archer Gray Productions acquired Sebastian Silva’s family thriller Captain Dad; Silva to also direct, and Catherine Keener and Michael Cera to star, with Will Ferrell in negotiations. Finally, CBS Films is moving forward with Tamara Chestna’s romantic comedy Revenge Wedding, in which a woman (with the help of her best friend) decides to turn her perfectly planned wedding into a giant disaster after she discovers her fiancé has been cheating.

Other script sales include:

– Diablo Cody, director Jason Reitman, and Charlize Theron to collaborate again on Tully, a dramedy about a mother of three who develops a unique bond with a young nanny named Tully.

– Bill Murray to star in and produce James Sclafani’s crime drama The King of Counterfeit. Josh Hutchinson and Linda Cardellini to also star.

– STX Entertainment is partnering with Happy Madison to produce an untitled animated comedy written by Adam Sandler.

– Dawson Marshall Thurber’s (Dodgeball, We’re the Millers) action script Skyscraper was purchased after a bidding war, with Legendary Pictures, Flynn Picture Company, and Seven Bucks Entertainment winning out.

– Whitney Cummings to direct and star in The Female Brain, a romantic comedy to be based on the book by Louann Brizendine, M.D.

– Bob Saget to direct Jake, a dark comedy comedy written by Joshua Turek.

Twentieth Century Fox picked up Stuber, a comedy spec from Script Pipeline Screenwriting Contest Winner Tripper Clancy for mid-six figures. Jonathan M. Goldstein and John Francis Daley (Horrible Bosses, Spider-Man: Homecoming) will produce. Two biopic specs are moving forward: Cliff Hollingsworth’s Done It All, based on the life of Merle Haggard, at GMH Productions, and Hayley Schore and Roshan Sethi’s Exposure, centering on Rosalind Franklin whose contributions to the discovery of DNA went uncredited before her death, at Entertainment One Films International. Lionsgate acquired Joshua Friedlander’s dramedy spec Couple Up, which centers on an unhappily married couple who see what life would be like if they had never met. Finally, Benderspink and Fox will produce Joe Greenberg’s elevated sci-fi spec Man Alive.

Other script sales include:

– Ben Jacoby to write The First Omen, prequel to The Omen, for Fox. David Goyer to produce.

– Sam Esmail’s 2008 Blacklist script Sequels, Remakes and Adaptations has found a home at STX Entertainment and Anonymous Content.

– Stacey Menear to write the Dennis the Menace adaptation for Warner Bros.

– Darren Lemke to write the sequel to 2015’s Goosebumps for Sony.

– Sean Anders and John Morris to write the sequel to the Will Ferrell/Mark Wahlberg comedy Daddy’s Home. Anders to also direct.

Many high-profile projects were acquired in March. Dan Harmon will produce Isaac Adamson’s Black List script Bubbles, a Michael Jackson biopic told from the point-of-view of his chimp Bubbles. It will be a stop-motion animation film. A pair of specs from Max Landis (Chronicle) were picked up in March: Deeper, a mystery/thriller about a disgraced astronaut, by Phantom Four Films and Addictive Pictures, and Bright, a fantasy centering on orcs, fairies, and police officers, by Netflix. The latter sold for $3 million. Paramount is moving forward with BenDavid Grabinski’s Bravado, about a former soldier who takes a job as a police officer. Anonymous Content picked up the drama spec Letters From Rosemary, written by Nick Yarborough and based on Rosemary Kennedy and the lobotomy that left her permanently incapacitated. Emma Stone set to star.

Other script sales include:

– Disney gave Script Pipeline winner Evan Daugherty (Snow White and the Huntsman, Divergent) the go-ahead on developing Rose Red, based on an original script by Justin Merz and a pitch by Evan.

– David Wain to direct a star-studded cast in A Futile and Stupid Gesture, based on the early history of National Lampoon and written by Michael Colton and John Aboud.

– A24 and Scott Rudin Productions have acquired Jonah Hill’s coming-of-age spec Mid ’90s. Hill to also direct.

– Delia Ephron to adapt her novel Siracusa for Working Title Films. Alfonso Gomez-Rejon to direct.

– Sofia Coppola to write/direct a remake of The Beguiled for American Zoetrope. Elle Fanning, Nicole Kidman, and Kirsten Dunst to star.

– EFO Films and Film 44 are teaming to produce Taylor Kitsch’s drama/thriller script Pieces. Kitsch to also direct.

– Fox Searchlight to produce writer/director Guillermo del Toro’s untitled Cold War romance/drama. Octavia Spencer to potentially star.

Treehouse Pictures acquired Katie Silberman’s romantic comedy spec Set It Up about two assistants who try to get their nasty bosses out of their hair. Emilia Clarke attached to star. Bold Films is moving forward with the superhero drama spec Samaritan written by Bragi Schut. The film centers around a young boy and a mysterious old man twenty years after a superhero defeats a supervillain and has gone missing. Tyler Marceca’s thriller specs Burnt Offering and Malpractice have found homes at Armory Films and Endurance Media, respectively. Burnt Offering is described as being Prisoners meets Silence of the Lambs while Malpractice centers around a disgraced surgeon who becomes involved in a terrorism plot. Finally, FilmNation Entertainment has acquired Oliver Kramer’s legal thriller spec Leverage, a murder mystery centered on Wall Street.

Other script sales include:

– Tim Rasmussen and Vince Di Meglio to write It’s a Small World for Disney, to be based on the ride.

– Disney has also tapped Sebastian Gutierrez to write 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo, to be based on Jules Verne’s novel and James Mangold to direct.

– Dan Hageman and Kevin Hageman to adapt Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark for CBS Films.

– H2O Motion Pictures has acquired the comedy Stiff, written by Dan Mazer and directed/produced by Michael Dowse.

– Universal Pictures won out in a bidding war for Gillian Flynn’s short story “The Grownup,” a supernatural thriller to be adapted by Natalie Krinsky.

January was a slower month for script sales. Elston Films optioned Justin Kremer’s 2013 Black List spec Bury the Lead. Independent Pictures is moving forward with Delia Ephron’s The Book. Meg Ryan will direct. Skydance Productions and Mockingbird Pictures will co-produce Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese’s Life, in which astronauts discover traces of life on Mars that may be more intelligent than they expected. Jared and Jarusha Hess to write NickToons for Nickelodeon. The movie will be based on various Nickelodeon cartoon characters, and Jared Hess will also direct.

Other script sales include:

– Drive‘s Nicolas Winding Refn is teaming with Spectre writers Neil Purvis and Robert Wade for an as-of-now untitled action/thriller with an Asian setting.

– Screenwriter Mark Boal and director Kathryn Bigelow are reteeming for an untitled film set during the 1967 Detroit riot.

– Fox 2000 has picked up Melisa Wallack’s pitch for The Fixer, which is based on the life of Denise White, a former Miss USA contestant who represents high-profile sports stars. Jennifer Aniston to produce and star.

– Nicole Perlman has signed on to the Labyrith remake/reboot. Lisa Henson and The Jim Henson Company will produce.

– Netflix picked up a few thrillers, including Tony Elliot’s Arq and Alistair Legrand and Luke Harvis’s Clinical. Both will be distributed on their site.

– Twentieth Century Fox purchased the horror/comedy Dead Mall, based on a pitch by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash. Faxon and Rash will also direct.

Hollywood moved a little slower this month, as is to be expected for the holiday season. MGM picked up Matthew Orton’s untitled historical thriller spec about Mossad agents trying to capture Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann. Chuck Hayward’s sorority dramedy Ain’t No Half Steppin found a home at Broad Green Pictures. The story follows a black sorority girl who agrees to teach black Greek stepping to stereotypical white sorority girls who are about to lose their charter. Good Universe is moving forward with Jessie Andrews’ dramedy script Empress of Serenity about a lawyer forced to take a cruise to bond with his estranged father. Bill Hader to star, Andrews to also direct. Max Landis’ Deeper is moving forward at Phantom Four Films and Addictive Pictures. The psychological thriller focuses on a disgraced astronaut on a mission to reach the bottom of an oceanic trench and the mysterious forces he encounters. Finally, Casey Affleck will produce and direct Damien Ober’s Far Bright Star, based on the novel by Robert Olmstead.

Other script sales include:

– Christopher McQuarrie has signed on to write/direct the sequel to his Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.

– Paramount has tapped William Monahan to write an Evel Knievel biopic, based on the book by Sheldon Saltman.

– DreamWorks Animation has picked up Edgar Wright and David Williams’ untitled family comedy/fantasy. Wright to direct.

– Jon Spaihts and Eric Heisserer have signed on to reboot Van Helsing for Universal.

– DreamWorks optioned T.J. Miller and M. Miller Davis’ action/comedy pitch Ex-Criminals. Miller to possibly star.

Fox picked up Brian Duffield’s spec Underwater, a thriller following a crew after an earthquake destroys their underwater station. Fox also bought Ascension, a sci-fi spec written by Shannon Triplett focusing on a scientist after Earth’s gravity disappears. Matthew Vaughn (X-Men: First Class) to possibly produce and direct. Focus Features acquired Matt King’s drama/thriller spec Boomtown about a sinister criminal conspiracy in North Dakota oil boom country. And New Line optioned Gregg Rossen and Brian Sawyer’s female-driven heist spec Met Gala Heist.

Other script sales:

– Dennis Kelly to pen the sequel to World War Z, based on an earlier draft by Steven Knight.

– Olivia Milch has been tapped to write an all-female remake of Ocean’s Eleven. George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh to produce, Gary Ross to direct, and Sandra Bullock to potentially star.

– 42 to produce the thriller In Darkness, written by Anthony Byrne and Game of Thrones‘ Natalie Dormer. Dormer to star, Byrne to direct.

– Universal picked up Ori Guendelmann and Rob McClelland’s 2015 Blood List script Bump.

– Bryce Kass’ Lizzie Borden script found a home at The Playtone Company and Artina Films. Will feature Kristen Stewart and Chloe Sevigny.

– Paramount picked up Luna Park, a sci-fi heist script by Jason Fuchs. Doug Liman will direct. Tom Cruise to star.

Warner Bros. acquired Hammerspace, a sci-fi script written by Mike Van Waes. The story focuses on a terminally ill teenager who discovers an alternate, animated dimension while searching for his missing father. After a bidding war, Universal bought Todd Jones and Eral Ritchey Jones’ family drama/fantasy spec Humbug, an updated version of Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol. Ice Cube is set to star and produce. And New Line picked up Michael Gunn’s The Virginian. The period-action spec follows a young George Washington who, eager to join the British Army, goes on a dangerous mission to conquer a French fort and save the American colonies.

Other script sales:

– The infamous website Silk Road is getting the movie treatment in Dark Web. Will Staples (Call of Duty) is set to write.

– Liam Neeson has signed on to Byron Willinger and Phil de Blasi’s thriller The Commuter.

– Jordan Peele’s horror/thriller script Get Out has been picked up by Blumhouse Productions. Peele is also set to direct.

– The recent, universally acclaimed thriller Sicario will get a sequel. Original writer Taylor Sheridan will oversee.

– Amazon is moving forward on Tom Kuntz’s dark comedy Desired Moments. Kristen Wiig attached to star.

– Adrien Brody will produce/star in Brian Tucker’s thriller Expiration.