Butler's Script Sale of the Week...
February 17th, 2001
Some interesting sales this week. Ehren Kruger's THE BROTHERS GRIMM sounds really interesting and the premise of WEREWOLF definitely has potential. Ditto DARK FIELDS.
My pick this week is actually a twofer. Section Eight, the prodco run by director Steven Soderbergh and actor George Clooney made two acquistions this week. The first was the rights to the soon to be published post WW II novel THE GOOD GERMAN and the other was an untitled pitch by Duncan Brantley about an undercover moonshine cop in the 1950's.
Both these projects sound intriquing. THE GOOD GERMAN concerns a journalist who returns to Berlin after the end of World War II. He is searching for the woman he loved and left behind, but finds himself quickly embroiled in a murder mystery. Brantley's pitch, set in the 50's, involves an undercover moonshine cop in North Carolina. I don't think I've ever seen a flick about a moonshine cop, so this one gets big points for originality.
The reason these are my picks, however, is due to the involvement of Clooney and Soderbergh. When they formed Section Eight a few years ago the union of a former TV actor and art film director (which let's face it was what Soderbergh was until OUT OF SIGHT) seemed to be a strange pairing. Yet in hindsight it makes complete sense.
They balance each other out. They first met while working on OUT OF SIGHT(1998), a film that brought Soderbergh a little closer to the mainstream and gave Clooney some much needed cinematic respect. It was Soderbergh, it's rumored, who finally got Clooney to get rid of that annoying head bobbing mannersim he picked up during "ER". And one can't help but think that it was Clooney who may have influenced Soderbergh's decision to try more mainstream fare such as ERIN BROCKOVICH (2000) and the pair's upcoming OCEAN'S ELEVEN (2001).
In fact both of these guys have been on a roll since OUT OF SIGHT (perhaps the most underrated film ever). Clooney, who now seems to think before he takes a role (think THE PEACEMAKER [1997] and BATMAN AND ROBIN [1997] ) hit the box office big with THE PERFECT STORM (2000) and the critics' circle big with O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? (2000). Soderbergh, of course, has just garnered two best directing oscar noms for ERIN BROCKOVICH (2000) and TRAFFIC (2000), in the same year .
So here's to a great team. Clooney may star in THE GOOD GERMAN and we can only hope that Soderbergh will direct it. Regardless, with the input of these two men, both projects seem to have a bright road ahead of them.
-- Edward Butler
My pick this week is actually a twofer. Section Eight, the prodco run by director Steven Soderbergh and actor George Clooney made two acquistions this week. The first was the rights to the soon to be published post WW II novel THE GOOD GERMAN and the other was an untitled pitch by Duncan Brantley about an undercover moonshine cop in the 1950's.
Both these projects sound intriquing. THE GOOD GERMAN concerns a journalist who returns to Berlin after the end of World War II. He is searching for the woman he loved and left behind, but finds himself quickly embroiled in a murder mystery. Brantley's pitch, set in the 50's, involves an undercover moonshine cop in North Carolina. I don't think I've ever seen a flick about a moonshine cop, so this one gets big points for originality.
The reason these are my picks, however, is due to the involvement of Clooney and Soderbergh. When they formed Section Eight a few years ago the union of a former TV actor and art film director (which let's face it was what Soderbergh was until OUT OF SIGHT) seemed to be a strange pairing. Yet in hindsight it makes complete sense.
They balance each other out. They first met while working on OUT OF SIGHT(1998), a film that brought Soderbergh a little closer to the mainstream and gave Clooney some much needed cinematic respect. It was Soderbergh, it's rumored, who finally got Clooney to get rid of that annoying head bobbing mannersim he picked up during "ER". And one can't help but think that it was Clooney who may have influenced Soderbergh's decision to try more mainstream fare such as ERIN BROCKOVICH (2000) and the pair's upcoming OCEAN'S ELEVEN (2001).
In fact both of these guys have been on a roll since OUT OF SIGHT (perhaps the most underrated film ever). Clooney, who now seems to think before he takes a role (think THE PEACEMAKER [1997] and BATMAN AND ROBIN [1997] ) hit the box office big with THE PERFECT STORM (2000) and the critics' circle big with O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? (2000). Soderbergh, of course, has just garnered two best directing oscar noms for ERIN BROCKOVICH (2000) and TRAFFIC (2000), in the same year .
So here's to a great team. Clooney may star in THE GOOD GERMAN and we can only hope that Soderbergh will direct it. Regardless, with the input of these two men, both projects seem to have a bright road ahead of them.
-- Edward Butler
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