Script Sales

Echo Lake Productions and Royal Viking Entertainment have picked up Sean Sorensen’s spec We Interrupt This Program, based on the true story of Orson Welles’ famous radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds and the ensuing panic. Disney has picked up Tarell Alvin McCraney’s musical romance script Cyrano the Moor, which will combine elements from Cyrano de Bergerac and Othello. David Oyelowo and Jessica Oyelowo are set to produce. Phoenix Pictures is moving forward with A Country of Strangers, Sean Armstrong’s 2012 Black List script. The story follows the true story of a 40-year investigation into the disappearance of three young children in Australia. Murray Miller’s untitled buddy cop comedy has found a home at Universal. John Cena and Kumail Nanjiani will star, Ruben Fleischer will direct. Finally, Lisa Jones is set adapt Danielle McGuire’s non-fiction book At the Dark End of the Street for Invisible Pictures. Julie Dash to direct.

Other script sales:

– Matt Holloway and Art Marcum have been tapped to write the Men in Black spinoff for Sony.

– Eric Heisserer is set to script the Your Name remake for Bad Robot based on Makoto Shinkai’s 2016 Japanese animated film.

– Scott Bloom’s Roosevelt, a Theodore Roosevelt biopic, has found a home at Paramount. Martin Scorsese to direct, Leonard DiCaprio to star as Teddy himself.

– Sean Anders and John Morris to write Instant Family for Paramount. Anders will direct, Mark Wahlberg will star.

– JJ Abrams and Chris Terrio will write Star Wars: Episode IX. Abrams will also direct.

– Sean Carter to write and direct Suffer the Little Children, based on the Stephen King short story of the same name, for Voltage Pictures.

– Patty Jenkins, Geoff Johns, and Dave Callaham to script Wonder Woman 2 for DC and Warner Bros. Jenkins is also returning to direct.

Hyde Park Entertainment has picked up Lee Batchler and Janet Scott Batchler’s drama spec Jack and Dick. The story will follow John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon’s careers as friends and political rivals leading up to their presidential debate. Ashok Amritraj and Alan Gasmer are set to produce. Meanwhile, Warner Bros. is moving forward with Josh L. Gordon’s untitled sci-fi/thriller. Set in a near-future world where advances in artificial intelligence are threatening the human race, Gordon’s spec follows a young engineer who finds herself involved in a billionaire’s plan to alter the fate of humanity. Next up: Tyler MacIntyre and Chris Hill’s horror/thriller spec Nightlight has found a home at Columbia Pictures. Nightlight follows a 10-year-old boy who fends off invaders when he’s left home alone. Tyler MacIntyre is set to direct as well. Finally, Screen Gems and Royal Viking Entertainment are teaming for Peter A. Dowling’s Exposure. His action/thriller spec centers on an African American rookie cop who has to fend for her life after she captures corrupt officers murdering a drug dealer on her body cam.

Other script sales:

– Writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers are set to return for the Spider-Man: Homecoming sequel.

– Glenn Ficarra and John Requa are set to write the Harley Quinn and Joker spinoff for DC and Warner Bros. The writing team may also produce and direct.

– Todd Phillips and Scott Silver are set to write an unrelated Joker origin story. Phillips to possibly direct, Martin Scorsese to possibly produce, and Leonardo DiCaprio to possibly star (at least according to rumors).

– Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley to adapt Olivia Koski and Jana Grcevich’s illustrated book Vacation Guide to the Solar System for Paramount.

– Geneva Robertson-Dworet will write Captain Marvel for Marvel. Academy Award–winner Brie Larson will star.

– Lionsgate has picked up David Burke’s female-led adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray. Annie Clark (aka St. Vincent) will direct.

– And the female-led adaptation of License to Drive is moving forward at Twentieth Century Fox. The script will be written by Alisha Brophy and Scott Miles.

– And finally, Scott McGehee and David Siegel will write and direct that female-led adaptation of Lord of the Flies you’ve probably heard about on Twitter.  This one’s at Warner Bros.

Screenwriters made a strong showing in July, with many projects finding homes over the course of the month. Voltage Pictures snagged Brian Edward Hill’s untitled horror/thriller spec. The script has been described as a supernatural take on Se7en but with a female lead. Miramax picked up Jason Markarian and John Mirabella’s spec The Armstrongs. The action/comedy follows a divorced couple in witness protection who have to team up when their son is kidnapped. Eli Roth is set to produce Casey La Scala’s 1974, a thriller spec inspired by true events about a man convicted of murdering his parents and siblings. La Scala is set to direct as well. New Line Cinema purchased Super-Intelligence, an action/comedy spec written by Steve Mallory. Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone are also set to produce. Finally, Lionsgate acquired Shay Hatten’s action spec Ballerina, which follows a female assassin out for revenge. The script might become a spinoff to the John Wick movies.

Other script sales:

– Universal Pictures and Mandeville Films acquired Kristina Lauren Anderson’s pitch for Swan Lake. Felicity Jones is attached to star.

– Chris Columbus and his production company 1492 Pictures to produce Gregory Allen Howard’s untitled biopic about the life of Fannie Lou Hamer.

– Barry Jenkins to write/direct an adaptation of James Baldwin’s novel If Beale Street Could Talk for Annapurna Pictures.

– David Leslie Johnson to script the Invasion of the Body Snatchers adaptation/remake for Warner Bros.

– Vanessa Taylor has been tapped to write the live-action adaptation of Aladdin for Disney.

– Todd McFarlane will write/direct an adaptation of his comic book series Spawn for Blumhouse Productions.

June was a lighter month for script sales. 20th Century Fox picked up Courage, a sci-fi spec written by Karl Gajdusek. The movie is described as in the same vein as Inception and Edge of Tomorrow. Amazon Studios meanwhile has picked up Flint Wainess’s 2016 Black List script Linda and Monica about the relationship between Linda Tripp and Monica Lewinski. Zodiac Features is teaming with Bankside Films and Head Gear Films to produce Devon Graye’s horror/thriller I See You. Helen Hunt is set to star.

Other script sales:

– Universal Studios picked up Sarah Rothschild’s workplace comedy pitch 24/7. Eva Longoria and Kerry Washington are set to star in and produce the film.

– Material Pictures is moving forward with Patrick Ness’s Home, based on George Saunders’s New Yorker short story.

– Lauren Graham to write and produce an adaptation of Jennifer E. Smith’s YA novel Windfall.

– Margie Claus found a home at New Line Cinema. Ben Falcone and Damon Jones wrote the script. Falcone to direct, and Melissa McCarthy to star.

– William Fichtner to direct Cold Brook, an adventure drama he co-wrote with Cain DeVore.

– Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant have been tapped to writer the Cannonball Run remake for Warner Bros.

– Mike Van Waes to write the Conjuring 2 spinoff The Crooked Man.

May was a slower month for spec sales. Adam D’Alba’s horror spec The Infinity Reel has found a home at Paramount, with 21 Laps Entertainment and Bullitt Entertainment producing. The movie, based on D’Alba’s pilot, will follow a paranormal investigator who investigates a strange phenomenon in small town and along the way finds an eerie connection to his own past. Amazon Studios has picked up another spec, This Is Jane by Daniel Loflin. The drama is based on Laura Kaplan’s non-fiction book The Story of Jane: The Legendary Underground Feminist Abortion Service, set in the years just before Roe v. Wade.

Other script sales:

– Andy Bellin will adapt Brett Velicovich and Christopher S. Stewart’s Drone Warrior into a script for Paramount.

– Peter Ackerman to write the Angry Birds sequel for Columbia.

– Greg Russo to write the Resident Evil reboot for Screen Gems. James Wan to produce.

– Ol Parker (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) to write/direct the Mamma Mia sequel for Universal and Playtone.

– Gary Sanchez Productions picked up Andrew Model and Jarrad Paul’s pitch about a washed-up TV star who reconnected with his TV show son who’s now a huge star. Will Ferrell and Jason Momoa to star.

– Annapurna Pictures, Plan B, and Gary Sanchez have teamed for Adam McKay’s Dick Cheney biopic, which McKay will write and direct. Christian Bale, Steve Carell, and Amy Adams are set to star.