Script Sales

Adaptations abound in November. Benderspink and Gareb Shamus’ Black Bull Media co-producing The New West, based on the sci-fi/action comic series. Also on Benderspink’s slate: Home Invasion, a found footage thriller with Joel Silver co-producing. Chris Columbus back in action with a screen adaptation of his novel series House of Secrets. Fox Searchlight producing a biopic of famed singer Susan Boyle, and Johnny Carson also getting the life story treatment. Other script sales include: – Tom Hardy to star in Splinter Cell, based on the mega-popular video game. – Danny DeVito, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Eddie Murphy join forces for a third installment of Twins (no, no. . . seriously). – One can hardly type it out, but. . . Star Wars. Episode VII. For real. Geeks and non-geeks everywhere rejoice. – No relation to Mean Girls, Cameron Diaz and Reese Witherspoon starring in Mean Moms.

Huge month for script sales. Danny DeVito producing (and with a little luck, starring) in the comedy Honeymoon with Dad. Title self-explanatory. Based on the graphic novel, Benderspink producing the action/thriller Langley High, as well as the rather cool-sounding Foretold about a man sent through time to overthrow a future, evil version of himself. Nia Vardalos is back on the rom-com–scratch that: anti-rom-com–trail with Leftovers. The spirit of The Magnificent Seven + Adam Sandler = Ridiculous 6. Perhaps a Three Amigos for the 21st century, and if so, bravo, Mr. Sandler. Other script sales include: – Elijah Wood starring in and producing Cooties, a horror about elementary school students turning into “mass savages”. . . . A very realistic horror, indeed. – Because the world needs a Scarface without a dated, albeit classic, 80s montage, Universal will reboot the crime/drama. – The doctor is in: development is underway for a…

The extraordinary writer of Safe House, David Guggenheim, sold his high-concept action spec Black Box to Universal. Speaking of which, a sequel to Safe House in the works, with Ryan Reynolds possibly starring. Disney will produce a remake of The Flamingo Kid, and Warner Bros. on board for another crack at a live-action/animated Looney Tunes movie. Powerhouses Benderspink and Heyday Films team up on an adaptation of the soon-to-be-published teen sci-fi/adventure The Planet Thieves. And rounding on noted sales include a couple former Blacklist scripts: a period drama, The Imitation Game, and the action By Way of Helena. Other script sales include: – Nic Cage is attached to the latest from Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko), the legal drama Amicus. Script Pipeline partner Darko Entertainment producing. – Soon, movie audiences can witness the power of “trading up” in One Red Paperclip, how one man, through a number of trades, goes from…

Name any genre and chances are at least one script in it sold, with close to 100 sales during a rather busy August. And four words seemed to pop up a lot: “to be based on.” Cameron Crowe returns with the drama Beautiful Boy, Plan B producing. Tom Cruise will star in a remake of The Magnificent Seven–remaining magnificent six have not yet been named. And the former, much-talked-about Blacklist script Chewie is headed toward production. The story is based on the life of Peter Mayhew, who played Star Wars’ Chewbacca. Prometheus and The Avengers also have sequels in the works. Other script sales include: – Here’s an “ologist” we haven’t seen before: The Demonologist, with Robert Zemeckis producing, based on the soon-to-be published novel about a “Paradise Lost” expert rescuing his daughter in a demonic underworld. – Riding the biblical wave, a script about the infamous Pontius Pilate. –…

Cutting right to the chase: Ghostbusters 3 has legs again, with the original cast to (potentially) return. Back on the low-budget horror train, Jason Blum is teaming up with Michael bay on Ouija. Jerry Weintraub will produce an adaptation on the life of Hugh Hefner–it’s about time, frankly. Apparently it’s under tight wraps, but four words: JJ. Abrams. Earthquake. Movie. And you know all the big studio films that were released this year? Yeah, they’re all getting sequels. Other script sales include: – Bill Murray rumored to star in St. Vincent de Van Nuys. – Another reboot, anyone? Fantastic Four may get the 5-star treatment in this new go-around. – Willow Smith probable to star in a remake of the Broadway hit Annie. Overbrook Entertainment producing. – Prometheus 2. So if it’s true that the first film was an Alien prequel of sorts, does that mean the sequel will just…

Marvel’s back on the development horse with a few perhaps lesser-known projects, but potentially big franchises: The Human Fly and Guardians of the Galaxy, based on the popular (more or less) comic series. Also headed for screen adaptation: Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, which doesn’t need explanation for those of you who had a computer in the 80s. Jennifer Lopez may star as the renowned thief. In the world of sports, Casey Affleck has optioned the rights to Josh Hamilton’s inspirational life story as a top prospect, turned drug addict, turn MLB star. Draft Day, with Ivan Reitman directing, about the Buffalo Bills GM trying to secure the number one draft pick. How about a Bills Super Bowl movie, Reitman? Let the world live the dream once. Other script sales include: – The sequel to Script Pipeline contest-winner Evan Daugherty’s Snow White and the Huntsman. – It only…

Everyone seemed to be looking to the stars in May, so sci-fi sales soared, including a sequel to Blade Runner (with the imaginative title Blade Runner 2), Beyond Apollo about a failed mission to Venus, and Wool, set in a future where the air is contaminated, to be produced by the brothers Ridley and Tony Scott. Universal picked up the mystery thriller, The Disciple Project, and Disney hopes to score big with an adaptation of the beloved children’s book Peter and the Starcatchers. But never fear, if science fiction isn’t your favorite box office fare, a bio-pic on the life of James Bond creator Ian Flemming is also in the works, as is a fantasy comedy entitled The Canterville Ghost to be voiced by House’s Hugh Laurie and fellow Brit Stephen Fry. Other script sales include: – An update of the 1970’s TV series, The Night Stalker. – A bio…

Novel (and graphic novel) adaptations are the hot item in April, including the sci-fi Anomaly with Joe Roth producing, and The Graveyard Book with Disney at the helm. Leonardo DiCaprio will star in Live By Night, set in the 1920s during the Black Sox scandal. Since we’ve gone way too long without a good poker movie: DiCaprio also producing a film with Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake about illegal online gaming, Runner Runner. And former Script Pipeline Workshop “Recommend” writer Michael Starrbury will write an adaptation of The Great Unknown, originally published by Image Comics. Other script sales include: – A reboot of Daredevil, to be drawn from Frank Miller’s own reboot of the popular comic hero. – Based on the NBC TV series, The Rockford Files. Vince Vaughn to produce and star. – The 1982 film Poltergeist will get a Sam Raimi-esque remake. – An animated feature from Pixar,…

As in previous months (and years), plenty of novel adaptations to go around–perhaps the most specs based on books in a while. One of them few saw coming: a remake of 1984, possibly to be renamed “So None of this Stuff Actually Happened.” Ron Howard producing. Brett Ratner may direct the sequel to the 1988 film Midnight Run. Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat gets another green light, sans live-action. Based on the graphic novel, The Red Star, set in an alternate future where the USSR still exists, should add some fresh vision to theaters. And Muppets 2–hopefully it won’t take long, looking forward to 10 more 80s-quality Muppet films. Other script sales include: – Adaptation of the 2011 novel Crazy U: One Dad’s Crash Course In Getting His Kid Into College. If only Will Ferrell was involved. Say, producing through his company Gary Sanchez and possibly starring. –…

A good mix of genres, from comic adaptations to family comedies, fill what was a busy February for script sales. The Jetsons are coming to theaters from WB–live action to boot. Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson may be teaming up again in the comedy Interns. Catherine Hardwick returns with a script set against LA’s music scene, Evan Rachel Wood starring. And the potential cast of the musical comedy One Hit Wonders includes Gwyneth Paltrow, Andy Samberg, Reese Witherspoon, and Beyonce. Sounds about right, albeit Samberg seems to be the curve ball in that one. Other script sales include: – Hilarity returns in The Muppets 2. No word yet on returning human cast. – Maybe the most promising concept from February: The Curiosity, based on the to-be-published novel about a man frozen for 100 years returning to modern society. Fox to produce. – A sports bio on the legendary Jim Brown….

What might be one of the more original spins on the typical true WWII story, George Clooney is set to star and direct The Monuments Men, where a group of historians and curators embark on a mission to rescue art stolen by the Nazis. While it’s not confirmed, Jim Carrey may reprise his role as Bruce in a sequel to Bruce Almighty. Toy giant Hasbro is entering the film world with scripts based on Stretch Armstrong and the board game Candyland. And if you haven’t had your fill from the first three Paranormal Activity movies, you’ll have a fourth shot at horror. Other script sales include: – Kids and people-who-were-not-so-long-ago-kids, rejoice: Ben 10 is coming to the big screen. – In the hopes of squeezing every last possible story from the X-men, a sequel to X-men: First Class. – The found-footage horror script, Bermuda, chronicling a missing documentary crew. Sounds…

A final trickle of spec sales, as well as a good number of novel adaptations, to close out the end of December and 2011. Two superhero scripts, based on characters by comic guru Stan Lee, are slated for development, with Lee to serve as producer on both. Disney and Benderspink are teaming up on Bob the Musical, a comedy about a man whose life turns into a musical. And on a more dramatic note, the true story of Jacob Barnett, a child genius diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome. Other script sales include: – A remake of American Psycho, minus the genius of Christian Bale. Lionsgate to produce. – Grown Ups 2, sequel to the Adam Sandler ensemble comedy (although wouldn’t “Grown Upper” be a better title?) – Gangsters, vampires, and aliens do battle in, where else, 1920s Prohibition-Era America. From the graphic novel Turf.

Plenty of novel adaptations mark the over 100–yes, 100–November script sales, yet perhaps the most exciting (and odd) is an adaptation of the mega-popular children’s “book” Where’s Waldo? An actor has not yet been found, but he’s probably hiding behind something red and white. Writer and longtime Script Pipeline partner Alejandro Seri sold his thriller Final Girl, Prospect Park producing. One of the most underrated Stephen King novels, Rose Madder, is headed to production, and Leonardo Da Vinci will finally get a biopic. Other script sales include: -Starship Troopers fan? We know you’re out there. The film will get a re-boot. Sony and Original Film to produce. – What’s the last thing anyone living in California needs to see? Correct: San Andreas 3D. It’s classified as disaster, but horror would apply. – Woody Woodpecker and Popeye will get the supreme CGI treatment in a new animated film – Godzilla. ….

A few Facebook-inspired movies, sans Jesse Eisenberg and intense web programmer drama, are in development. Less techie, more whimsy, Johnny Depp could take on another biopic role as Dr. Seuss. What seems a natural fit, the infamous Boston mobster Whitey Bulger is getting film immortality with the Afflecks attached to star, produce, write, direct, and possibly head craft services. More importantly, though, Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels may reprise their roles in Dumb and Dumber 2. Better late than never. And better early than never: Code Name Geronimo will detail the hunt for Osama Bin Laden. John Stockwell to direct. Other script sales include: – The sci-fi dramedy The Future of Us, where two teen girls in 1996 stumble upon their as-of-yet-uncreated Facebook profiles and decide whether or not to change their future. Meanwhile, current Facebook users can’t escape the past. . . (yeah, we get it–you had a lot…

A handful of sci-fi epics mix with a good deal of dramas and remakes. For those of you who went to elementary school in the eighties, Dreamworks will produce an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s fantasy classic The BFG (which could mean so many things in the 21st century, but stands for “The Big Friendly Giant”). Also, in a move that makes Script Pipeline’s GM cringe and yet simultaneously grow giddy: Point Break will get a reboot. Although the only thing they could improve upon is dialogue. And maybe tone down the tomboyish antics of Lori Petty. Other script sales include: – Paramount takes on the biblical epic of Noah. Darren Aronofsky to direct and produce. – Definitely the coolest concept in a while: the sci-fi/fantasy script Time Zones, where a man travels through various parts of the world, each area different points in time, in order to save his wife….