October 2001 Script Sales
March 22nd, 2004
Genre: Drama
Buyer: John Wells Prods.
Producer: Kristin Harms, John Wells
Logline: After the suicide of his son, a self-made millionaire has an affair with the son's girlfriend.
Additional Information: This was a preemptive sale for the "Billy Elliot" writer.
Genre: Drama
Writer: Steven Martin
Buyer: Radical Media
Logline: Story of a bohemian named Horse Badorties, who during the 1960's has lots of misadventures trying to put on a huge outdoor concert in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
Additional Information: The book written by William Kotzwinkle's (who is repped by ICM's Ron Bernstein) and will be adapted and directed by
documentary filmmaker Steven Martin.
Genre: Sci-fi
Writer: Glen Morgan, James Wong
Producer: Glen Morgan, James Wong, Ralph Vicinanza, Vince Gerardis
Logline: Couple who is having marital problems agree to a therapy where bad memories are erased form both of their minds. After the therapy is over, the wife quickly starts to worry about what was taken from her memory and whether it were the same bad memories that were extracted from her husband.
Additional Information: Screenplay will be based on a short story written by John Kessel. Jim Wong will direct. This project has not been set up as of yet.
Genre: Drama / Romance
Buyer: Jane Startz Prods.
Producer: Jane Startz
Logline: Son of a crime family falls in love with the daughter of an FBI agent.
Additional Information: Author of the novel is Gordon Korman. Jane Startz Prods. has a first-look deal with Miramax. Book agent Bill Brattan of Curtis Brown brokered the deal. No screenwriter is attached.
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Phil Beauman
Buyer: DreamWorks SKG
Purchase Price: Mid-six figures / high-six
Producer: Happy Walters, Matt Weaver, Cary Woods
Logline: Unlucky high school basketball coach has his hands full after he recruits players from the local juvenile detention center.
Additional Information: Immortal Entertainment will produce for Dreamworks.
Genre: Drama / Military
Writer: Jared Butler, Lars Norberg
Buyer: Davis Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox
Producer: John Davis
Logline: International commandos raid a Nazi outpost in Norway where the Third Reich is developing an atomic bomb.
Additional Information: John Moore might direct. Purchase was made out of Davis Entertainment's discretionary fund.
Genre: Supernatural love story
Writer: Christopher Hampton
Buyer: Myriad Pictures
Producer: Geoff Lamb, Michael Peyerser, Diane Fillen
Logline: Theater director in Argentina during the Peron era, has the ability to look into people's faces and see what happens to their loved ones; many whom are missing or will be. Story takes a twist when the theater director's wife turns up missing.
Additional Information: Written by Lawrence Thornton. Antonio Banderas will play the lead and Christopher Hampton will direct his adaptation of the book. . Exec producers will be Kirk D'Amico, Philip von Alvensleben and Lucas Foster. Emma Thompson is in talks to play the co-lead.
Genre: Memoir
Writer: Alan Weisbecker
Buyer: Radar Pictures
Producer: Sean Penn, Ted Field
Logline: Memoir of a hardcore surfer whose best friend, "Captain Zero," disappeared and inspired Weisbecker to sell his home and travel through the Central American underworld to find him.
Additional Information: Autobiography written by Alan Weisbecker who will also write the screenplay. Sean Penn is attached to star and produce. Stacy Peralta will direct. Book will be published in March by Putnam.
Genre: Teen comedy
Buyer: Warner Bros.
Purchase Price: High-six figures
Producer: Chase, Debra Martin
Logline: Four lifelong friends all sixteen years old, separate for the summer but are linked together by a pair of jeans they have all worn. Each will keep the pants for two weeks of her trip, before exchanging them with the next girl. Each faces serious coming-of-age problems, and somehow the pants help them through.
Additional Information: Written by Ann Brasheres. No screenwriter is attached.
Genre: Teen Martial Arts
Buyer: Warner Bros.
Producer: Larry Brezner, Walter Hamada, Jonathan Hung
Logline: Described as "Harry Potter" in the world of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." Set in 19th century China, story is about a boy raised by monks and trained to fight a mortal enemy.
Additional Information: Written by Chinese author Da Chen. Random House will publish book next year. No screenwriter is attached. Film will be produced in Chinese.
Genre: Horror
Writer: Jon Hurwitz , Hayden Schlossberg
Buyer: Phoenix Pictures
Producer: Lauren Lloyd, Paul Young, Peter Principato
Logline: A group of friends make a new year's resolution in the name of a college acquaintance who died a few years back. When two of friends die in a horrific way, the rest of the group realize something is terribly wrong and must do whatever they can to save themselves.
Additional Information: Picture will be developed under Phoenix Pictures new genre division.
Genre: Action / Adventure
Writer: Bernard, Sam
Buyer: Sobini Films
Producer: Mark Amin, Robin Schorr
Logline: A young prince along with a mercenary and a beautiful pickpocket set out on a treacherous journey to find Hercules who might be hidden inside a mountain home. Their goal is to get Hercules to help them fight a
barbarian horde.
Additional Information: The Lions Gate-based company is hoping to put this project before the cameras in early 2002.
Genre: Romantic comedy
Writer: Gary Goldstein
Buyer: Endless Entertainment Group
Producer: Danny Gold, Kerry David
Logline: A 19-year-old movie buff loses his virginity to a famous actress when she comes to his small town.
Additional Information: Randall Kleiser will direct.
Genre: Action
Writer: David Hayter
Buyer: Universal
Purchase Price: Seven-figures
Logline: Set in the 1950s, an ordinary guy puts on a mask and superhero costume and starts fighting three bad guys. He's joined by others who take on the same pursuit, until a law is passed that forces them to hang up their capes. Storyline for the feature version will begin with the mysterious murder of a couple of the former
crime fighters.
Additional Information: Adaptation of the DC Comic by the screenwriter of X-Men. Universal is in discussions with producer Larry Gordon to option the rights to the series, which he owns. Gordon would then produce the picture for the studio.
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Alan Zweibel
Buyer: Twentieth Century Fox/ Davis Entertainment
Producer: John Davis, Wyck Godfrey
Logline: To get closer to his son, a dad becomes commissioner of his kid's Little League. Once the battles take place on the field, dad finds that the parents act more like children than the children do.
Additional Information: Based on the screenwriter's real-life experiences. It was written up as an article for Los Angeles Magazine.
Genre: Supernatural comedy
Writer: Maurice Chauvet
Buyer: Twentieth Century Fox
Logline: A young guy attends the wedding of his childhood sweetheart, only to fall in love with the hotel's resident ghost (Portman).
Additional Information: Natalie Portman is attached to star.
Genre: Comedy / Teenage
Writer: Bill Fritz, Kurt Voelker
Buyer: MTV Films Paramount
Purchase Price: Mid-six figures / high-six
Logline: Two guys meet a female foreign exchange student and are so taken by her beauty that they decide they must go to her homeland in search of more like her, only to find out that she is a total anomaly.
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Eugene Lebowitz
Buyer: A Happy Place Prods.
Logline: Story is about a shrink who seeks out a woman who's largely responsible for his practice because she broke the hearts of so many of his patients. The shrink finds himself smitten by the heartbreaker.
Additional Information: Script was based on an idea by Dotty Archibald. A Happy Place Productions, is run by 'N Sync member Lance Bass, Rich Hull and Wendy Thorlakson.
Genre: Satire
Writer: Jesse Wigutow
Buyer: Artists Prod. Group / StudioCanal
Logline: Satire on the state of marriage.
Additional Information: Arthur Miller wrote the play. APG and Studio Canal will develop it for the big screen in conjunction with Michael Douglas, who will co-star. Milos Forman might come aboard to develop and direct the project.
UPDATE: Jesse Wigutow has been hired to adapt. Marcy Drogan will co-produce. Michael Douglas will star. Project was originally set up on 08/16/01.
Genre: Drama
Writer: Peter Buchman, Christopher McQuarrie
Buyer: Canton Co., The Senator
Producer: Gianni Nunari, Ken Kokin, Mark Canton
Logline: Based on the life and battles of Alexander the Great, who conquered most of the world before he was 25.
Additional Information: It will be budgeted at $85m and be directed by Christopher McQuarrie ("The Usual Suspects"). It will be a co-production between The Canton Co. and McQuarrie's Aquaba Prods.
UPDATE: Martin Scorcese will now direct. Leonardo DiCaprio will star. This was originally set up in December of 2000 with The Canton Co. It will now be produced by Graham King in association with Buchman, McQuarrie, Kenneth Kokin, DiCaprios Appian Way and Scorseses Cappa Prods. IEG will fully finance and handle worldwide distribution.
Genre: Action / Comedy
Writer: Cormac Wibberly, Marianne Wibberly
Buyer: Columbia Pics. / Jerry Bruckheimer Films
Producer: Jerry Bruckheimer
Logline: Sequel to the 1995 hit.
Additional Information: Martin Lawrence and Will Smith have expressed interest. The screenwriters wrote "The 6th Day," which they sold on spec.
UPDATE: Michael Bay might direct this project which was originally set up on 4/09/01.
Genre: Action / Comedy
Writer: Scott, Darin
Buyer: Walt Disney Pics.
Purchase Price: Low-six figures / mid-six
Producer: Chase, Debra Martin
Logline: Brooklyn hairdresser is recruited by the government and sent on a dangerous secret mission to the French Riviera.
Genre: Thriller
Writer: John Brancato, Michael Ferris
Buyer: Revolution Studios
Producer: Lawrence Gordon
Logline: After his pregnant wife is murdered, a cop (known as the Owl since he never sleeps) turns vigilante. He is also hired by a woman to find her sister's killer and soon realizes that this case is linked to his wife's murder.
Additional Information: Based on the novel by Robert Forward. It will be directed by Dave Meyers who directs music videos. The project is on the fast track.
Genre: Drama / Romance
Writer: Robert Harling
Buyer: Pandora
Producer: Wendy Finerman
Logline: Story is about a small-town Georgian who falls in love with a Japanese-American gardener in 1941. The relationship takes a turn after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, when Sophie and the gardener's landlady hide him.
Additional Information: Novel was written by Augusta Trobaugh. Screenwriter Harling has written "The First Wives Club" screenplay as well as "Steel Magnolias."
Genre: Supernatural thriller
Writer: Stephen Cornwell
Buyer: Twentieth Century Fox / Scott Free Prods.
Logline: A young detective investigating a series of brutal murders, finds himself at the center of an escalating battle between supernatural forces of good and evil.
Additional Information: This is the first deal as part of Scott Free's new first-look, three year pact with Fox. Lisa Ellzey, who found project for Scott Free, will produce in some capacity
Genre: Romantic comedy
Writer: Ryan Murphy
Buyer: DreamWorks SKG Yorktown Prods.
Producer: Norman Jewison, Gayle Fraser Baigelman
Logline: Story is about a closet romantic about to get married to the perfect man...except for his secret obsession with Audrey Hepburn. When he leaves her at the altar, shes comforted by her best man, and they begin a torrid romance fueled by their mutual love for the novel, Breakfast At Tiffanys. Ultimately, the fianc�comes back to claim his bride.
UPDATE: Myriad Pictures will finance, produce and distribute. Since Dreamworks held the films rights, they have been controlled by Lakeshore, Miracle Entertainment and now Myriad. Screenwriter Murphy will direct. Screenplay was originally sold on 12/13/95.
Genre: Romantic comedy
Writer: Jeremy Leven
Buyer: Castle Rock
Producer: Rob Reiner, Alan Greisman, Todd Black
Logline: Story is about a writer who hires a beautiful stenographer to transcribe his work. As she takes down his story, the two fall in love and he is forced to come to terms with his own life as an artist.
Additional Information: Not a spec sale but an announcement that this project will be the first to come out of a new partnership formed by Rob Reiner and Alan Greisman that will be based at Castle Rock. It will be exec produced by Peter Guber, Jason Blumenthal and Steve Tisch.
Genre: Children
Writer: Brad Kaaya
Buyer: Universal Jersey Films
Logline: Story is about the adventures of two kids in Harlem who try to raise money to go to summer camp, but things keep going awry.
Additional Information: Described as "Little Rascals" meets a younger version of "Friday." Magic Johnson is co-producing.
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Cedric The Entertainer, William Stokes
Buyer: Universal / Overbrook Entertainment
Purchase Price: Low-six figures / mid-six
Producer: Eric Rhone
Logline: Four preachers get together to save their church in highly unique and funny ways.
Additional Information: Cedric "The Entertainer" and his manager Eric Rhone gave the pitch. Rhone will produce along with Will Smith's Overlook Entertainment.
UPDATE: Sale was originally made on 10/23/2000 as a pitch. Cedric The Entertainer and William Stokes wrote the screenplay. Brad Kaaya has just been hired to do a rewrite.
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Patton Oswalt, Brian Posehn
Buyer: Miramax / Red Hour Films
Purchase Price: Low-six figures
Producer: Michael Aguliar, Stuart Cornfeld, Ben Stiller
Logline: Three struggling comics enter a comedy competition in a last-ditch attempt at fame.
Genre: True Story
Writer: John Sayles
Buyer: Walt Disney Pics./ Imagine
Purchase Price: Seven figures
Producer: Ron Howard, Brian Grazer
Logline: Story of the great Texas battle that took place. It will be written in the same vein as "Braveheart."
Additional Information: Ron Howard might direct.
Genre: Sci-fi / Action
Writer: Cyrus Vorris, Ethan Reiff
Buyer: Paramount
Producer: Topher Dow
Logline: Set in the future when traffic disputes are settled by a duel.
Additional Information: Screenplay will be based on a story by Harlan Ellison. Alex Proyas ("The Crow") will direct.
Genre: Romantic drama
Writer: George Wing
Buyer: Working Title Films
Producer: Alix Madigan, Larry Kennar, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner
Logline: Ambitious trapeze artist's dreams are dashed when a tiger scratches one of his eyes. He travels to Italy to get a new glass eye but it's swallowed by the child of a local woman with whom he falls in love.
Additional Information: Working Title is still in negotiations on this project. Might be a star vehicle for off-screen couple Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe. Film will be produced by Alix Madigan and Larry Kennar of Anonymous Content, (which manages the writer) along with Working Title partners Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner.
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Hope Royaltey, Katie Ford
Buyer: USA Films
Purchase Price: Mid-six figures / high-six
Logline: Two bored Long Island housewives accept a free to trip to Italy as part of an easy money art smuggling scheme. While in Italy they run into trouble with the Mafia and the FBI.
Genre: Thriller
Writer: Caroline Thompson
Buyer: Constantin Films
Purchase Price: $ 5 mil / $ 8 mil
Producer: Bernd Eichinger
Logline: An 18th century Parisian becomes a serial killer because of an obsession with smell.
Additional Information: Written by Munich-based Patrick Suskind. The novel was published in Germany 1981. Ridley Scott is scheduled to direct.
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Patton Oswalt
Buyer: New Line / Red Hour Films
Producer: Ben Stiller, Stuart Cornfeld
Logline: Male in his thirties begins to experience the effects of puberty for the first time.
Genre: Supernatural thriller
Writer: David Benioff
Buyer: Regency
Purchase Price: $1.8 mil.
Producer: Tom Lassally
Logline: Psychologist at an Ivy League university attempts to prevent one of his students from committing suicide. In the same vein as "The Others" and "The Sixth Sense."
Additional Information: Regency outbid five other companies for this one.
Genre: Teen Drama
Buyer: Twentieth Century Fox 2000
Purchase Price: Up to seven figures
Logline: Two girls discover a mermaid in the pool of their neighborhood beach club. When the mermaid develops a crush on a boy who works at the club, the girls have to plot to return her to the sea to save her life.
Additional Information: Written by "Practical Magic" author Alice Hoffman. No screenwriter is attached.
Genre: Romantic comedy
Writer: Kirsten Buckley, Brian Regan
Buyer: Intermedia
Producer: Mark Johnson
Logline: Exploits of a female character from a romantic comedy who is suddenly thrust into the "real" world. She's behind on her rent, the homeless aren't cute or funny; in other words the world is a tough place.
Genre: Romantic thriller
Writer: Jan Eliasberg
Buyer: Propaganda /Mandolin Films
Producer: Luis Mandoki, Mimi Gitlin, Marlise Karlin, James Egan
Logline: Story is set during the race between the Allies and the Germans to build the atomic bomb. It follows a top interrogator in the U.S. Army who is sent to Los Alamos, N.M., to track down a spy who is believed to be sending secrets to the head of the Nazi nuclear bomb program. Things go awry when our hero falls in love with a female scientist, who happens to be the Army's prime suspect.
Additional Information: Luis Mandoki will direct and produce. His company has a first-look deal with Propaganda.
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Tom Brady, Rob Schneider
Buyer: Walt Disney Pics.
Producer: John Schneider
Logline: Mean-spirited teenage girl wakes up one day to see that she has been transformed in a thirty year old guy. While trying to figure out what happened and return to being a girl, she learns about herself.
Additional Information: Rob Schneider has been signed to star. Tom Brady will direct. Adam Sandler's company, Happy Madison might produce along with Rob's brother, John Schneider.
Genre: Drama
Writer: Steven Barancik
Buyer: DreamWorks SKG
Purchase Price: Low-six figures / mid-six
Producer: Lindsay Doran
Logline: An honest cop is betrayed by his fellow officers. A sexy lawyer whom he falls for, convinces him to go against everything he believes to bring down the conspiring cops.
Additional Information: Producer Lindsay Doran developed the script with Barancik for several months. Her Three Angels Motion Pictures will produce for DreamWorks. The script will be sent out to directors shortly.
Genre: Action / Adventure
Writer: Christian Gudegast, Paul Scheuring
Buyer: Warner Bros.
Purchase Price: High-six figures / $1.2 mil
Producer: Joel Silver
Logline: Story is about Speed Racer, whose Mach 5 could jump, go underwater or clear a path of trees. Speed has a girlfriend named Trixie, a kid brother Spritle and pet monkey Chim-Chim and together they battle the bad guys.
Additional Information: Based on the classic animated series. Hype Williams is attached to direct the picture, which would be produced by Joel Silver and the Donners Co.
Genre: Black Comedy
Writer: Kathy Gori, Alan Berger
Buyer: Dakota Pictures
Logline: Story is about a family of California highway patrolmen, centering on two cousins who are into wife-swapping.
Additional Information: Troy Miller might direct.
Genre: Biography
Writer: Cliff Hollingsworth, Charlie Mitchell
Buyer: Universal Miramax
Logline: Story of Jim Braddock who was known as the Cinderella Man when he rose from obscurity to defeat heavyweight champ Max Baer in a grueling 15-round battle in 1935.
Additional Information: Lasse Halstrom has signed on to direct. Russell Crowe has been offered the lead role.
Genre: Romantic comedy
Writer: Eve Ahlert, Dennis Drake
Buyer: Twentieth Century Fox 2000
Purchase Price: Mid-six figures / high-six
Producer: Dan Jinks, Bruce Cohen
Logline: Feminist writer finds herself involved with a womanizing journalist.
UPDATE: Renee Zellweger might star. Project was sold on 02/17/2000. Peyton Reed will direct.
Genre: Thriller
Writer: Mark James
Buyer: Myriad Pictures
Producer: Lucas Foster, Kirk D'Amico, Phillip von Alvensleben
Logline: Story is about two CIA agents -- one or both of whom might work for the Russians.
Additional Information: Not a spec sale but an announcement that Antoine Fuqua ("Training Day") will direct this project for Myriad Pictures.
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Jeff Rothberg
Buyer: Universal Silver Prods., Casey
Purchase Price: Mid-six figures / high-six
Logline: In order to avoid capture by pet dealers, an endangered lizard infiltrates a group of eccentric reptiles that perform at children's birthday parties.
Additional Information: This was a preemptive purchase that came out of Silver's discretionary fund. It will be a live action and cgi animated project.
Genre: Family
Writer: Ted Elliot, Terry Rossio
Buyer: DreamWorks SKG
Additional Information: The writing team of Terry Rossio and Ted Elliot will be back to write the sequel to the mega hit.
UPDATE: David Stem and David Weiss are now writing the remake. The team has written "Clockstoppers" which was produced by Gale Anne Hurd.
Genre: Action / Adventure
Writer: Craig Titley
Buyer: MGM / Zide Perry
Purchase Price: $400k / $800k
Producer: Marc Platt, Warren Zide, Craig Perry
Logline: Based on the true story of an expedition that was organized by Chicago commodities trader and lawyer Maury Kravitz to find the lost tomb of Genghis Khan. It written in the vein of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "City Slickers."
Additional Information: Zide/Perry which has a three year, first-look deal with MGM will produce.
Genre: Drama / Military
Writer: Carlo Bernard, Doug Miro
Buyer: Miramax
Producer: Marty Katz
Logline: During World War II, a group of U.S. soldiers, led by an ambitious young colonel are sent to liberate American prisoners of war from a Japanese camp in the Philippines.
Additional Information: Not a spec sale. John Dahl ("Joy Ride") is negotiating to direct. Johnny Depp might star.
Genre: Action
Writer: Don Michael Paul
Buyer: Franchise Pictures
Logline: Criminal masterminds a plan to infiltrate a prison in an attempt to persuade a death row inmate to help him find $200 million in gold from an old heist.
Additional Information: Rapper Ja Rule will co-star opposite Steven Seagal and Morris Chestnut. Don Michael Paul will write and direct.
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Greg Erb, Jason Oremland
Buyer: Warner Bros./ Gaylord Films
Purchase Price: Mid-six figures
Producer: Hunt Lowry, Casey La Scala
Logline: Not so bright guy with unlimited resources travels the world righting wrongs and picking up relics along the way.
Genre: Drama
Writer: Takashi Matsuoka
Buyer: Universal
Producer: Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall
Logline: Story is about two warring 19th-century samurai lords and three American missionaries, who arrive in Japan just as the country is opening up to the West after centuries of isolation.
Additional Information: The author, Takashi Matsuoka is repped by Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy have a first-look deal at Universal.
Genre: Sci-fi
Writer: Miguel Sapochnik, Ivor Powell
Producer: Lawrence Bender, Ivor Powell
Logline: Set 100 years in the future, when genetically engineered human clones are used as slaves, story concerns one clone who defies the system and leads a rebellion against the human race.
Additional Information: Based on Miguel Sapochnik and Ivor Powell's short film "The Dreamer." Sapochnik and Powell are writing the screenplay. Miguel Sapochnik to direct.
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Mike Lisbe, Nate Reger
Buyer: Pandemonium
Purchase Price: Mid-six figures
Logline: Twentysomething guy's life is ruined when a classmate from grade school returns to seek revenge for a slight that occurred in the fourth grade.
Additional Information: Scribes are TV writers. Project is on the fast track.
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Babaloo Mandel, Lowell Ganz
Buyer: Twentieth Century Fox 2000
Producer: Alan Greenspan, Amanda Posey
Logline: Statistics-obsessed math teacher uses his summers to follow the Boston Red Sox. Complications arise when he meets a women and must choose between her or "his team."
Additional Information: Reamke of the 1997 British film which was based on the Nick Hornsby book. Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel have been hired to Americanize the tale and change the focus from soccer to baseball, and specifically the fabled futility of the Boston Red Sox.
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Gregory Colleton, Edwardo Jackson
Buyer: Twentieth Century Fox Searchlight Edmonds Ent.
Producer: Tracey Edmonds, Patrick Polk, Nick Osborne
Logline: A black version of "Road Trip" in which college students converge from across the country for an annual picnic in Atlanta called Freaknik.
Additional Information: Co-production between Edmonds Entertainment's specialty film division e2 filmworks and Oz Films.
Genre: Historical drama
Writer: Jim Uhls
Buyer: Warner Bros.
Purchase Price: $1 mil +
Producer: Brian Grazer
Logline: British general teams up with a black prince in order to liberate Ethiopia from Italian rule at the start of WWI.
Additional Information: Pitch was given by journalist/author Howard Blum. "Fight Club" screenwriter Jim Uhls will adapt.
Genre: Black Comedy
Writer: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Buyer: Universal
Producer: Ethan Coen, Brian Grazer, Jim Jacks, Sean Daniel
Logline: Hollywood divorce lawyer finds himself the target of revenge by a client's ex-wife which gets a bit complicated when romance gets in the way.
Additional Information: This project is based on a Coen brothers rewrite of a Mathew Stone, Robert Ramsey script. George Clooney will star. Over the years, Ron Howard, Andrew Bergman and Jonathan Demme have been attached to the project.
Genre: Drama
Writer: Dean Georgaris
Buyer: Paramount
Purchase Price: Seven figures
Producer: Lauren Shuler-Donner, Michael Aguilar
Logline: Character-driven drama about a man who must deal with the consequences and life adjustments after being released from prison, where he spent time for a crime he did not commit.
Additional Information: Mel Gibson might star, Richard Doner might direct. Deal also includes a blind script commitment from the writer for another script. Mel Gibson's Icon Prods. and the Donners Co. will produce for Paramount.
Genre: Action / Thriller
Writer: Chris Hauty
Buyer: Studio Canal /Artists Prod. Group
Producer: Edward Burns, Edward Lubin
Logline: A liberal newspaper columnist searches for the criminal gang responsible for his wife's murder, only to find himself the target of a rogue cop.
Additional Information: This was a preemptive sale. Edward Burns is attached to star. Pitch was created and developed by Edward Burns, producer Aaron Lubin and screenwriter Chris Hauty.
Genre: Thriller
Writer: Seth Pearlman
Buyer: Phoenix Pics.
Producer: Leonard Goldberg, Vincent Malle, Neil Koenigsberg
Logline: Set in NY, story is about a woman whose plan to have her lover kill her husband goes awry when teens steal his getaway car, commit a murder of their own and pin it on the lover.
Additional Information: This will be an updated remake of "Elevator To The Gallows," a 1957 film directed by Louis Malle. Rights were controlled by Malle's brother, Vincent Malle, who has produced many of his brother's films.
UPDATE: Michael Radford ("Il Postino') has signed on to direct. Originally set up on 05/01/2001.
Genre: Thriller
Buyer: Eagle Cove Deluxe Ent. Panoptic Pics.
Producer: Tony Ludwig, Tony Riche
Logline: A pre-law student's perfect life is disrupted when he gets a fraternity brother's girlfriend pregnant and opts to kill her rather than suffer the consequences.
Additional Information: Novel was written by Andrew Lyons. Joel Gotler of AMG/Renaissance recently sold the publishing rights to St. Martins Press in a low to mid-six figure deal. Book is expected to be published in Fall 2002.
Genre: Thriller
Writer: Todd Komarnicki
Buyer: Atlantic Streamline
Producer: Laura Bickford, Marco Weber, Vanessa Coifman
Logline: Homicide detective discovers the corpse of a young man who appears to have starved himself to death. As the cop investigates, his own past begins to intertwine with the victim's.
Additional Information: Published by Arcade Publishing in January 1997. Screenwriter Kormarnicki will also direct. Laura Bickford produced "Traffic."
Genre: Horror / Thriller
Writer: Jonathan Lemkin
Buyer: Warner Bros.
Purchase Price: High-six figures / low-seven
Logline: A werewolf hunter who, after 500 years, corners his prey in modern-day Texas.
Additional Information: Screenwriter Lemkin will make his directorial debut.
Genre: Romantic comedy
Writer: Boyce Bugliari, Jamie McLaughlin
Buyer: Universal Mostow-Lieberman
Purchase Price: Mid-six figures
Producer: Lauren Lloyd
Logline: A married couple on the verge of a divorce who switch bodies and set out to dismantle each other's lives.
Genre: Psychological thriller
Writer: Marc Moss
Buyer: Warner Bros.
Purchase Price: Mid-six figures / high-six
Logline: Aspiring rock musician house-sits for a would-be benefactor and finds himself in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse.
Genre: Action / Drama
Writer: Eric Bernt
Buyer: USA Films
Producer: Larry Kennar
Logline: Described as "Bonnie and Clyde" meets "Robin Hood." small-time crook who falls in love with a beat cop's daughter. The couple becomes the stuff of folk legend, stealing and giving the proceeds to the poor.
Additional Information: Rapper Snoop Dog will star. Annonymous Content will produce for USA, where they have a first-look deal. Producer Kennar is Snoop Dog's manager.
Genre: Supernatural thriller
Writer: Dan McDermott
Buyer: Twentieth Century Fox 2000 Davis Ent.
Purchase Price: High-six-figures / Low-seven
Producer: John Davis
Logline: Man who experiences the worst day of his life, relives it with unexpected results.
Additional Information: Screenwriter is also an exec at Dreamworks.
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Byron Taylor
Buyer: Rockstone Pictures
Producer: Camille Irons, H.M. Coakley
Logline: A TV star is stalked by a sociopath while stranded in a snow-covered hillside mansion with seven of her closest friends.
Additional Information: This script was originally optioned in May of this year. This is an announcement that Rockstone will produce and finance the picture which will star Elise Neal ("The Hughleys"). It will be shot later this year and directed by Craig Ross Jr.
Genre: Action / Comedy
Writer: Rodgers, Adam German, Glenn
Buyer: Universal
Producer: Brett Ratner, Jay Stern, Michael Taylor
Logline: While an FBI agent is transporting the bad guy to court, the FBI agent has a personal emergency which forces an unusual bond between the two.
Additional Information: To be produced by Brett Ratner's Rat Entertainment and Michael Taylor Prods. Brett Ratner has a first-look deal at New Line where he has several projects set up.
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Jack Angelo, Sam Brown
Buyer: New Line
Producer: Chris Bender, J.C. Spink
Logline: Woman falls in love with a guy who turns out to be a centaur, (half-man/half-horse) brought to mortal life through the aid of magical potion.
Additional Information: Management co. Benderspink will produce for New Line.
Genre: Romantic comedy
Writer: Jan Sardi
Buyer: Australian Film Finance Corp.
Producer: Jane Scott, Sarah Radclyffe
Logline: Set in the 1950s, story is about a bride who arrives Down Under from Italy and falls madly in love with her husband's brother.
Additional Information: Not a spec sale but an announcement that Giovanni Ribisi and Australian actors Adam Garcia and Rose Byrne have been added to the cast of "Love's Brother." Writer Jan Sardi will have her directing debut on this picture
and will begin shooting early 2002.
Genre: Fantasy
Writer: Lenore Andriel, Udana Power
Buyer: Enlightenment Films Matador Pictures
Producer: Lenore Andriel, Peter Watson-Wood
Logline: Christmas story about an old curse and unrequited love from medieval times that changes a young widow's life when makes a sculpture of a prince out of snow. Her little girl's Christmas Eve prayer for a father is answered when the prince comes to life
Additional Information: Directing assignment for Charles Jarrot ("Anne of a Thousand Days"). Script is based on an original story by Bernadette Elliott and Andrew Denemark.
Genre: Action
Buyer: Warner Bros. /Red Hour Films /Weed Road Pics.
Producer: Ben Stiller, Stuart Cornfield, Alan Riche, Tony Ludwig
Logline: Feature version of the TV show.
Additional Information: Todd Philips has come aboard to direct and develop the project which is out to writers.
Writer: Sal Stabile, Andrew Wasser
Buyer: Walt Disney Pics.
Purchase Price: Mid six-figures
Producer: Robert Simonds
Logline: Lovable loser takes a job as a stuntman to win back the girl of his deams.
Additional Information: Dave Sheridan will star.
Genre: Drama
Writer: Rob Pearlstein
Buyer: USA Films
Logline: Based on GQ article which follows high school wrestlers and describes the effect the sport has on their lives. The pitch given by Pearlstein focuses on an eventful season that will determine the futures of members of a high school wrestling team.
Additional Information: The GQ article "Grappling With Redemption," was written by Steven Rodrick. Screenwriter Pearlstein wrote "Ave. A" which was a finalist in this year's Project Greenlight competition.
Comments: ICM appears to be active in signing screenplay competition winners and finalists.
Genre: Sci-fi
Writer: Maples, Mike
Buyer: Warner Bros./ Moving Pictures DiNovi Pictures
Producer: Denise Di Novi
Logline: Neanderthal child who is transported 40,000 years into the future, teams with a nurse who protects him from a group of scientists.
Additional Information: This short story was written by Isaac Asimov.
Genre: Supernatural
Writer: Lawrence O'Neil
Buyer: Sobini Films
Producer: Mark Amin, Robin Schorr
Logline: Stay-at-home mom discovers a diary full of ancient remedies which gives her new powers of clairvoyance and also unleashes dark forces beyond her control.
Additional Information: Author is Graham Joyce. Lawrence O'Neil is attached to adapt and direct. Shooting will begin early 2002.
Genre: True Story
Buyer: Intermedia /Red Wagon Prods.
Producer: Lucy Fisher, Doug Wick
Logline: Story of Fred Cuny, the peace negotiator and disaster relief expert who disappeared in Chechnya in 1995. He went there with two Russian doctors and an interpreter while attempting to bring about a Russian-Chechnyan cease fire.
Genre: Horror
Writer: Dan Clark, Bo Zenga
Buyer: Phoenix Pics.
Logline: Kids in a "Scared Straight" program on must do their time by spending a night burying the dead at Potter's Field, (a cemetery for the poor) along with prisoners from Riker's Island. Although terrified of the prisoners, the kids find out that the island is haunted by a former prisoner who wants to give them grief.
Genre: Memoir
Buyer: Miramax
Purchase Price: Low-six figures / mid-six
Logline: Memoir of former U.K. TV network war correspondent, Saira Shah whose parents emigrated from Afghanistan in the 1960's.
Additional Information: Shah's documentary, "Beneath the Veil," aired on CNN after the terrorist attacks. No screenwriter is attached.
Genre: Satire
Writer: Tom Jankiewicz
Buyer: DreamWorks SKG
Logline: While watching TV, comic book artist gets magically transported into a martial arts film -- one in which he recognizes all of the storylines and characters from his favorite Saturday afternoon martial arts movies.
Additional Information: DreamWorks purchased project from Mandalay, which bought it September, 2000 for six figures. Music video helmer Nick Quested will direct. Jay Shrater co-wrote the story.
UPDATE: Writers Greg Schaffer and Steve Joe have been tapped to do a rewrite of the Tom Jankiewicz script which was originally set up on 08/07/2001. Music video helmer Nick Quested remains attached for his feature debut.
Genre: Action / Drama
Buyer: DreamWorks SKG
Purchase Price: Seven figures
Producer: Scott Steindorff
Logline: This is a fictionalized account of a mammoth wilderness fire in a small Northeastern town and the fire-fighters who battle it.
Additional Information: This is a work-in-progress written by Sebastian Junger ("The Perfect Storm"), who is repped by UTA and NY book agent Stuart Krichevsky. gent . It was conceived from articles about firefighting that Junger wrote for "Men's Journal" in the early 1990's. No screenwriter is attached.
UPDATE: Dreamworks has come aboard and purchased the material for seven figures. It was originally set up at Pandemonium on 04/25/2001.
Genre: Comedy / Adventure
Writer: Mike Bender
Buyer: Columbia Pics.
Purchase Price: Mid-six figures / high-six
Logline: During Halloween, a group of young kids get back at an older group of kids who every year steal their Halloween haul of candy treats.
Additional Information: Fistful" was developed by and will be produced by management and production company Bender Spink and Karz Entertainment.
Genre: Animation
Writer: Matt Cunningham, Erik Gardner
Buyer: Walt Disney Feature Animation
Purchase Price: Low-six figures
Producer: Robert Efford
Logline: Kids with super powers must rescue their parents from evil scientists.
Additional Information: This is on the fast track as a feature CGI animated project.
Genre: Drama
Writer: Hood, Kevin
Buyer: Ecosse Films
Producer: Douglas Rae
Logline: Story is set in late 1950s America, against the backdrop of the presidential race between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. It centers upon an affair between a British diplomat's wife and a Washington reporter.
Additional Information: Ecosse Films is U.K. based. Author of book is Sebastian Faulks. Gillian Armstrong might direct.
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