Script Sales: Week of May 1, 2009
May 3rd, 2009
Ho-Hum week of sales and not a lot of action, frankly. Last week we reported that William Morris purged, well that was a premature. They “merged” with Endeavor, and the layoffs will be coming if they have not. According to a report, “The merger of the two talent agencies will create a new force in Hollywood at a time of uncertainty and rapid transformation.” So, where does that leave you the writer, well, with less options in terms of the majors. However, keep those independent dreams alive my friends. The theme for this past week was “Thriller” sales jumped! – H.C.
SCRIPT SALE OF THE WEEK:
SCRIPT: "Boss" (Family- Comedy) – Story concerns a 21-year-old whose promotion at work makes him his dad's boss.
Writer(s): Tony Lord, David Cohen.
Production: Walt Disney Pictures, Scott Rudin
Production Notes: High-profile producer Scott Rudin, who is known for his prestigious adult-oriented book and stage adaptations, will take a rare dip into the pool of lighthearted family fare as the project's producer.
BEST OF THE REST:
SCRIPT: “Sixty-Six” (Drama - Coming Of Age) – Coming of age story involving a group of characters in 1966 Baltimore on the eve of significant historical events such as the counterculture movement and the war in Vietnam.
Writer: Barry Levinson
Production Notes: Barry Levinson attached to direct.
PITCH/ADAPTATION: "The Butler" (Drama) – Columbia's story of Eugene Allen, a black man who served as a White House butler for 34 years. Allen started at the White House as a "pantry man" in 1952 when blacks weren't allowed to use public restrooms in his native Virginia. He ended up serving eight presidents and had a unique front row seat as political and racial history was being made, from the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement to the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. , President John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy Jr.
Writer: Danny Strong
Production Notes: Strong is an Actor-turned screenwriter… joy! Story based on Wil Haygood's Washington Post article "A Butler Well Served by This Election," which was published November 7, just days before the historic election of Barack Obama. Strong was best known for a recurring starring role on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" before writing "Recount," HBO's look at the 2000 presidential election. He scored an Emmy nomination for his work.
SCRIPT: “Signals” (Thriller) – Described as in the vein of "Three Days of the Condor," Sydney Pollack's milestone of the 1970s paranoid-thriller era.
Writer(s): RIchard Potter, Matthew Stravitz
Production: Media Rights Capital, Principal Entertainment
PITCH/ADAPTATION: "Gizmondo” (Thriller) – Story focuses on Swedish con artist Bo Stefan Eriksson, who, among other stunts, wrecked a million-dollar Ferrari Enzo going 160 mph on Pacific Coast Highway above Malibu in February 2006.
Writer: Craig Zobel
Production: Beau Flynn
Production Notes: Flynn has optioned an October 2006 Wired article by Randall Sullivan titled "Gizmondo's Spectacular Crack-up" that Zobel brought to him.
ADAPTATION/COMIC: “Forgotten” (Thriller - Fantasy) – Story centers on a man who, no matter what he does or whom he meets, is forgotten five minutes later. While it gives him great power and leeway as far as investigations and problem-solving, it leaves him incredibly alone. When the son of a long-lost friend is charged wrongly with murder, he uses his powers to get to the bottom of a conspiracy.
Writer(s): Evan Young, Jareth Grealish
Production: John Wells Productions, Angry Films, Don Murphy, Susan Montford, Claire Polstein
SCRIPT: “The Crossing” (Thriller) – Story in which a couple returning from a Mexican vacation is carjacked and the husband kidnapped. The wife must smuggle heroin across the border in order to spring him.
Writer(s): Byron Willinger, Philip de Blasi
Production: Screen Gems, Clint Culpepper (Screen Gems), Nick Phillips (Screen Gems), Pink Slip Pictures, Jeff Okin, Karen Firestone, Max Wong
Production Notes: Megan Fox attached to star.
SCRIPT SALE OF THE WEEK:
SCRIPT: "Boss" (Family- Comedy) – Story concerns a 21-year-old whose promotion at work makes him his dad's boss.
Writer(s): Tony Lord, David Cohen.
Production: Walt Disney Pictures, Scott Rudin
Production Notes: High-profile producer Scott Rudin, who is known for his prestigious adult-oriented book and stage adaptations, will take a rare dip into the pool of lighthearted family fare as the project's producer.
BEST OF THE REST:
SCRIPT: “Sixty-Six” (Drama - Coming Of Age) – Coming of age story involving a group of characters in 1966 Baltimore on the eve of significant historical events such as the counterculture movement and the war in Vietnam.
Writer: Barry Levinson
Production Notes: Barry Levinson attached to direct.
PITCH/ADAPTATION: "The Butler" (Drama) – Columbia's story of Eugene Allen, a black man who served as a White House butler for 34 years. Allen started at the White House as a "pantry man" in 1952 when blacks weren't allowed to use public restrooms in his native Virginia. He ended up serving eight presidents and had a unique front row seat as political and racial history was being made, from the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement to the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. , President John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy Jr.
Writer: Danny Strong
Production Notes: Strong is an Actor-turned screenwriter… joy! Story based on Wil Haygood's Washington Post article "A Butler Well Served by This Election," which was published November 7, just days before the historic election of Barack Obama. Strong was best known for a recurring starring role on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" before writing "Recount," HBO's look at the 2000 presidential election. He scored an Emmy nomination for his work.
SCRIPT: “Signals” (Thriller) – Described as in the vein of "Three Days of the Condor," Sydney Pollack's milestone of the 1970s paranoid-thriller era.
Writer(s): RIchard Potter, Matthew Stravitz
Production: Media Rights Capital, Principal Entertainment
PITCH/ADAPTATION: "Gizmondo” (Thriller) – Story focuses on Swedish con artist Bo Stefan Eriksson, who, among other stunts, wrecked a million-dollar Ferrari Enzo going 160 mph on Pacific Coast Highway above Malibu in February 2006.
Writer: Craig Zobel
Production: Beau Flynn
Production Notes: Flynn has optioned an October 2006 Wired article by Randall Sullivan titled "Gizmondo's Spectacular Crack-up" that Zobel brought to him.
ADAPTATION/COMIC: “Forgotten” (Thriller - Fantasy) – Story centers on a man who, no matter what he does or whom he meets, is forgotten five minutes later. While it gives him great power and leeway as far as investigations and problem-solving, it leaves him incredibly alone. When the son of a long-lost friend is charged wrongly with murder, he uses his powers to get to the bottom of a conspiracy.
Writer(s): Evan Young, Jareth Grealish
Production: John Wells Productions, Angry Films, Don Murphy, Susan Montford, Claire Polstein
SCRIPT: “The Crossing” (Thriller) – Story in which a couple returning from a Mexican vacation is carjacked and the husband kidnapped. The wife must smuggle heroin across the border in order to spring him.
Writer(s): Byron Willinger, Philip de Blasi
Production: Screen Gems, Clint Culpepper (Screen Gems), Nick Phillips (Screen Gems), Pink Slip Pictures, Jeff Okin, Karen Firestone, Max Wong
Production Notes: Megan Fox attached to star.
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