EXCLUSIVE<\/strong>: Netflix<\/a> has made a preemptive acquisition of Love Hard<\/a><\/em>, a romantic comedy spec written by Danny Mackey<\/a> and literary agent-turned screenwriter Rebecca Ewing<\/a>. The film will be produced by Wonderland’s McG<\/a> and Mary Viola<\/a>. The spec is described as When Harry Met Sally<\/em> meets Roxanne<\/em>, but specific are being kept…<\/p>\n\n EXCLUSIVE<\/strong>: Universal<\/a> Pictures has preemptively acquired the action spec scriptVersus<\/a><\/em>. The script by Alex Litvak<\/a> & Michael Finch<\/a> is described as a high-concept international thriller that has a badass Running Man<\/em> meets Bloodsport<\/em> vibe. The scribes previously sold Medieval<\/em> to Sony and they wrote Predators<\/em> and the…<\/p>\n\n UPDATE<\/strong>: I’m told that the number of bidders has grown from 15 to 18 for Don’t Worry Darling<\/em>, the genre script that Olivia Wilde<\/a> will direct and star in. Deadline revealed the film this morning. I didn’t recall a movie script auction with that many outlets who could write a check to cover an 8-figure budget around…<\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n\n For more head over to Deadline.com<\/a>...<\/p>\n\n <\/p>","shortKey":"895cbe1c"},{"title":"Screenwriting News","cover":"628d6ae98735b8febcb343b8f0fb5c67.jpg","byLine":"Staff","homeText":" ‘The Farewell’s Lulu Wang Sets Next Movie, Sci-Fi Pic ‘Children Of The New World’; WGA West Reports Record Film And TV Earnings; Residuals Also Hit New High; Red Crown Acquires Screenplay ‘Queen’ Based On Article From Trans Activist Corey Rae; and more...<\/p>","articlePostDate":"July 15th, 2019","bodyText":" The Farewell<\/a><\/em> writer-director Lulu Wang<\/a> has set up her next project, a science-fiction movie titled Children of the New World<\/a><\/em>. It will mark a reteam with her Farewell <\/em>producer Big Beach<\/a> after that film’s success premiering in competition at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, where it landed a splashy distribution deal…<\/a><\/p>\n\n Total earnings for WGA<\/a> West members hit an all-time high of $1.56 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31 – up 4.2% from the previous year, according to the guild's latest annual report. Earnings have topped the $1 billion mark for seven years in a row. Guild members scored record earnings in film and television…<\/p>\n\n Trans activist and model Corey Rae<\/a> is getting a second crown — so to speak. Red Crown Productions<\/a> has acquired the rights to Harry Tarre<\/a>’s screenplay Queen<\/a><\/em> which is based on Rae’s article “How I Became the World's First Transgender Prom Queen — A Personal Essay.” As the title of the article suggests, the…<\/p>\n\n Mikki Daughtry<\/a> and Tobias Iaconis<\/a>, the screenwriting duo behind the recently released Five Feet Apart<\/em> and Warner Bros’ The Curse of La Llorona,<\/em> have signed on to pen the screenplay for Netflix<\/a>’s film adaptation of the children's fantasy-horror book, Nightbooks<\/a><\/em>, by author J. A. White. The pic is being…<\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n\n For more head over to Deadline.com<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n <\/p>","shortKey":"dca79626"},{"title":"E.T. Screenwriter Melissa Mathison Passed Away Last Week","cover":"e291d0bbc5f8f1f5dd3b5c95f212c3fa.jpg","byLine":"Staff","homeText":" Sadly last week Melissa Mathison, the screenwriter who helped to give us E.T.<\/em> and such classic lines as "ET phone home," passed away at the age of 65 due to complications from cancer. Mathison's writing credits include The Black Stallion<\/em> (1979), The Escape Artist<\/em> (1982), Indian in the Cupboard<\/em> (1995), and Kundun<\/em> (1997). <\/p>","articlePostDate":"November 10th, 2015","bodyText":" Sadly last week Melissa Mathison, the screenwriter who helped to give us E.T.<\/em> and such classic lines as "ET phone home," passed away at the age of 65 due to complications from cancer. Mathison's writing credits include The Black Stallion<\/em> (1979), The Escape Artist<\/em> (1982), Indian in the Cupboard<\/em> (1995), and Kundun<\/em> (1997). She recently collaborated with Spielberg on The BFG<\/em>, now in postproduction due out in 2016. According to interviews, The Black Stallion<\/em> was one of Spielberg’s favorites, and that prompted him to ask her to help him write a film that he’d been wanting to write for a while. That movie ended up being E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n Mathison told The New Yorker<\/em> in a 2012 on the 30th anniversary of the film. "E.T.<\/em> was entirely imaginative...Steven and I shared our imagination on this story; we both brought our own memories and strengths. In 1982 I was not yet a parent but was a stepmother, and had been a consummate babysitter and an older sister. The kids in E.T.<\/em> can be directly linked to kids I knew. I even stole some of my little friends’ best lines: i.e. ‘penis breath.’ What adult woman could have thought of that?” (Source: The Hollywood Reporter<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n Matheson ended up marrying Harrison Ford married in a Santa Monica Courthouse in 1983 and had two children with the actor: son Malcolm, a musician, born in 1987 and daughter Georgia, an actress, born in 1990. They along with Ford survive her.<\/p>","shortKey":"d269fc3c"},{"title":"Screenwriter of THE ROCK and DOUBLE JEOPARDY Douglas Cook has Died","cover":"e07701300d733410619987ed99dd6e59.jpg","byLine":"Staff","homeText":" Douglas Cook co-writer of Hollywood hits THE ROCK and DOUBLE JEOPARDY has died of undisclosed causes, however according to Deadline<\/a> he was “surrounded by his family” when he passed, he was 56 years young. <\/p>","articlePostDate":"July 20th, 2015","bodyText":" Douglas Cook co-writer of Hollywood hits THE ROCK and DOUBLE JEOPARDY has died of undisclosed causes, however according to Deadline<\/a> he was “surrounded by his family” when he passed, he was 56 years young.<\/p>\n\n A genre writer with a sense for high concept thrillers, Cook and his writing partner, David Weisberg (who co-wrote the same projects) first worked together on PAYOFF a 1991 TV movie. They also wrote the upcoming CRIMINAL which stars Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Oldman, and Ryan Reynolds as people involved in an ill-fated CIA plan to put the memories of a dead agent in the body of a dangerous killer.<\/p>\n\n But it was the blockbuster THE ROCK released in 1996 directed by Michael Bay and was easily their biggest success grossing more than $335 million worldwide . The film starred Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery as the heroes trying to stop rogue team of special forces from destroying San Francisco with nerve gas.<\/p>","shortKey":"11bbf460"},{"title":"Classic Screenplay: BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK","cover":"e76ef47ba2ead3c91645f72b8e52f5f6.JPG","byLine":"Staff","homeText":" Bad Day at Black Rock<\/em><\/strong> is a 1955 thriller film directed by John Sturges and starring Spencer Tracy and Robert Ryan that combines elements of Westerns and film noir. The screenplay is by Millard Kaufman<\/a> who was nominated for an Academy Award for his effort.<\/p>","articlePostDate":"June 9th, 2015","bodyText":" Bad Day at Black Rock<\/em><\/strong> is a 1955 thriller film directed by John Sturges and starring Spencer Tracy and Robert Ryan that combines elements of Westerns and film noir. The screenplay is by Millard Kaufman<\/a> who was nominated for an Academy Award for his effort. The supporting cast includes Anne Francis, Dean Jagger, Walter Brennan, Lee Marvin and Ernest Borgnine. The picture tells the story of a mysterious stranger who arrives at a tiny isolated town in a desert of the southwest United States in search of a man. The film was adapted by Don McGuire and Millard Kaufman from the short story "Bad Time at Honda" by Howard Breslin. The original story had appeared in The American Magazine in January 1947, with full-color illustrations by Robert Fawcett.<\/p>\n\n
\nUniversal Lands Action Spec ‘Versus’ By Alex Litvak & Michael Finch; ‘Hobbs & Shaw’ Helmer David Leitch & Kelly McCormick Producing<\/a><\/h3>\n\n
\nHot Auction Update: 18 Offers On ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ With ‘Booksmart’s Olivia Wilde To Star, Direct<\/a><\/h3>\n\n
‘The Farewell’s Lulu Wang Sets Next Movie, Sci-Fi Pic ‘Children Of The New World’<\/a><\/h3>\n\n
\nWGA West Reports Record Film And TV Earnings; Residuals Also Hit New High<\/a> <\/h3>\n\n
\nRed Crown Acquires Screenplay ‘Queen’ Based On Article From Trans Activist Corey Rae<\/a><\/h3>\n\n
\n‘Five Feet Apart’ Scribes Mikki Daughtry & Tobias Iaconis To Adapt ‘Nightbooks’ Feature For Netflix<\/a><\/h3>\n\n
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