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Script Sales 2012 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 December 2012
A relatively unremarkable month for script sales after a big 2012, but some great projects in development nonetheless. A few teen/sci-fi scripts in the mix, including Monument 14, based on the recent novel, and Reboot, which will be published in 2013. Benderspink and Summit Entertainment co-producing the comedy Bitches 11, and Script Pipeline partner Thruline Entertainment managing the writer of recently sold Revoc, a sci-fi/thriller. Summit producing as well, with Mandeville Films. Steve Carrell may also star in the based-on-a-true-story comedy about everyone in a small village winning the lottery--except one man.
Other script sales include:
- 20th Century Fox adapting the sci-fi/thriller Theory of Everything, from the uber-cool comic series.
- Disney + sea creatures = inevitably heartwarming in Dolphin Boy, about dolphins nurturing the recovery of a young Arab boy.
- Can't wait to see the plot: Alice in Wonderland 2 has the green light. Joe Roth producing. - Jumanji officially getting a new rendition. Who else wants Robin Williams to reprise his role? November 2012 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. October 2012 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 feature-length Peanuts movie. - Sequels for The Hunger Games are (obviously) in the pipeline as well. September 2012 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 owning a paperclip to owning a house. - Waterman Entertainment (Alvin and the Chipmunks) taking on an adaptation of the series Mr. Ed.
- Roman Polanski writing and directing Venus in Fur. Shooting in France with a title like that, the dramedy is sure to be right up Polanski's alley. . . . August 2012 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. - Scorsese co-producing the biopic Sinatra. No actor attached yet, but one can only imagine it'd be an Oscar opp. - Alf. The movie. And that pretty much says it all, love it or hate it (no one hates it, though, right?). July 2012 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 be a re-release of Alien. . . ? June 2012 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 took several decades, but. . . Sesame Street: the movie. - Universal is producing a Moby Dick project. Casting for the whale should be a nightmare. - And this just sounds awesome. Skyscraper: a group of Chicago steelworkers must save the city from a collapsing mile-high structure. May 2012 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 pic on the life of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs written by Aaron Sorkin. - A sequel to Planet of the Apes for 20th Century Fox. - Dear Satan, a comedy about a girl who misspells Santa's name, to be produced by the Farrelly brothers. April 2012 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, Day of the Dead, revolving around the holiday Dia De Los Muertos. March 2012 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. - The erotic drama 50 Shades of Grey, which should inevitably spark an erotic drama revolution in Hollywood. - Huck and Tom, a modern-day tale of the adventurous duo. Paramount producing. - Biopic of the eccentric artist Salvador Dali. Moustache casting separately. February 2012 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. Hal Lieberman producing. - It didn't even take two decades: a sequel to the 80s hit Top Gun. January 2012 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 like one of the cooler found footage concepts, at least. . . . - Chris Hemsworth returns as the Norse god in Thor 2. |
