Script Sales - 2010
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August, 2010
Riding his train of popularity, Steve Carrell hops on board another comedy, a remake of an Argentine film, A Boyfriend for My Wife. Kind of self-explanatory. . . . The immensely popular comic series (well, sort of--at least for the seventies) Iron Fist is getting a film version, and Angelina Jolie dips her feet in the romance/war drama genre again in an as-of-yet untitled Serbian/Bosnian love story. And if that doesn't get you crying, don't weep too hard fans of the 1980s (all 12 of you): the Jaden Smith version of Karate Kid will see a sequel.
Other notable sales include:
--Morgan Creek will take on the Tupac story. Antoine Fuqua is set to direct.
--A 3-D film chronicling the Battle of Midway during WWII.
--Piranha 3-D = sequel. No word yet on what dimension it'll be in. . . .
-- The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are returning to their live-action renditions. Hopefully less retro muppet-like than the last version.
--Take that super-cool Jesse Eisenberg Facebook movie: Google has its own story hitting the screen with Googled: The End of the World As We Know It.
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2009
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July, 2010
A flood of comic book and graphic novel adaptations continue to move into development, including The Untamed, A Contract with God, Astro City, The Strange Case of Hyde, and the likely much-anticipated Xerxes, the prequel to Frank Miller's bloody and epic masterpiece, 300. A vampire twist on the biblical story of Cain, a handful of novel adaptations, such as a live-action story of the orignal Little Mermaid tale, and yet another version of South Pacific (not that there's anything wrong with that. . . .) fill out the rest of the month.
Other
selected sales include:
--Guillermo del Toro will helm the Disney-inspired pic The Haunted Mansion.
--Also from Disney, Tink, focusing on. . . well, who do you think? Tinkerbell. Elizabeth Banks will star in the live-action film.
--The Grimm tale Hansel and Gretel will have a 3D re-telling.
--Nia Vardalos to pen Happy Mother's Day, a road comedy involving four moms.
--Echoing shades of Groundhog Day, the teen comedy Before I Fall, which centers on a student reliving the same day over and over again. |
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June, 2010 Crime/drams,
thrillers, and some fairly unusual adaptations in June. . . . Fresh
off his role as Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe will star in a remake of
the classic All Quiet on the Western Front. A sequel to Men
in Black, The Bourne Identity, Clash of the Titans, and
Ghost Rider are in the works as well. On the prequel side of
things, Carrie Bradshaw's character will give teenage fans a thrill in The
Carrie Diaries. And (finally) a live-action version of the
extraordinary children's book The Wind in the Willows.
Other
selected sales include:
--A live action/animation film
adaptation of Legos, appropriately titled Lego.
--The spec
script Step Dawg, a comedy about a man whose mother is set to
marry his former best friend. To be produced by Morgan Creek.
--The
Marvel character Dr. Strange will see a film version.
--Remake
of the 1980s "classic" (well, sort of anyway) The Monster Squad.
--Nicole
Kidman and Nicholas Cage team up for Trespass, an
action/adventure about a
couple taken hostage.
--Tom Cruise's character from Tropic
Thunder will have his own vehicle in an as-of-yet unnamed Les
Grossman project.
--The
musical Schoolboys in Disgrace, written by Bobcat Goldthwait. |
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May, 2010
A number
of novel adaptations, a handful of specs, and some low-to-mid budget
projects dot the May script sales landscape. Disney will remake a
live-action version of Cinderella, in addition to 20,000
Leagues Under the Sea. Cameron Crowe dips back into directing and
will helm the family-drama project We Bought a Zoo. And since
it's been so long since we've seen the beginnings of the Spider-Man
series, the franchise will get a re-boot (it has been almost
eight years since the "original" awesome version came out. . .).
Other
selected sales include:
--New Line's MacGyver will see a
reload for the big screen. Jason Richman will pen the adaptation.
--JJ
Abram's Bad Robot and writer Phil Alden Robinson (Field of Dreams)
will team up on a heist action/thriller revolving around the true story
of thieves that robbed a jewelry facility in Belgium.
--A film
adaptation of the TV series Gidget.
--The Age of
Adelaine, focusing on a women who becomes immortal after an
accident. Katherine Heigl will star.
--Lionel Grandison's story
of helping cover up Marilyn Monroe's apparent suicide in Marilyn.
--The
comedy Clown Girl, optioned by and starring Kristen Wiig. Plot
is sort of self-explanatory. . .
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April, 2010
Every
genre you can think of makes up April script sales, from horrors and
legal thrillers, to teen comedy franchises (see: American Pie 4)
and an animated religious drama.
I Dream of Jeannie is
in
yet another stage of rewrites, as is Stretch Armstrong--yes, the
Hasbro toy. Sascha Baron Cohen will star in and produce a new
project (comedy, of course), and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,
based on the short story, has found new life at 20th Century Fox. And
for those of you who can't get enough of a solid "stoner Western,"
Johnny Knoxville will take the lead in Mustache Riders. Hilarity will
undoubtedly ensure. . . . On the other end of the spectrum, Khalil
Gibran's The Prophet will be adapted as an animated feature.
Other
selected sales include:
--Think The Ring part 1 and 2
were scary? No? Well, brace yourself: Ring 3D is on its way.
Vertigo and Benderspink will exec produce.
--The legal thriller The
Lincoln Lawyer, based on the best-selling novel, will star William
H. Macy, Marisa Tomei, and Ryan Phillippe.
--Final Destination
5, proving you can always find more clever ways to kill off a
character.
--Rachel Weisz will play Jackie Kennedy in a biopic of
the former first lady.
--He-Man and the Masters of the
Universe, now with Columbia since 2009, will take another shot at
development. Former Script Pipeline contest winner Evan
Daugherty worked on a previous draft for Warner Bros. |
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March, 2010
Pretty
huge month for script sales. . . .
Anyone
want to see another Godzilla movie?
Warner Bros. will tackle (or rather re-tackle) one of the world’s most
well-known franchises, perhaps to atone for the sins of the previous
nineties big-budget
spin. Buck Rodgers will get a modern-day
telling (in 3D of course), as will Popeye, at least an animated
rendition. Laverne
and Shirley—perhaps not in 3D—written by Jamie Foxx, may star Jessica
Biel and
Jennifer Garner as two street-tough friends.
And, in this writer’s opinion, finally a film version of the classic
children’s book A Wrinkle in Time.
Other
notable sales:
--30-somethings
who
want to relive 1999 rejoice: American Pie 4 is on the slate.
--Speaking
of part 4s, Scream plans on expanding beyond the trilogy with another
installment.
--22
years later, DeNiro will reprise his role in Midnight Run with a sequel.
--Anna
Faris will star in a remake of the 1980 film Private Benjamin.
--Oscar-winner
Diablo Cody’s new script, Young Adult, focusing on a 30-something young
adult
fiction writer who returns to her hometown to pursue her ex-boyfriend.
--Based
on the series, Baywatch will see a film adaptation. Genre listed:
comedy.
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February, 2010
Novel
adaptations, a few remakes, and some frankly off-beat concepts fill the
first
part of March. In addition, a former
Script Pimp Writers Workshop “Recommend” found success with one of his
scripts,
“Smashed,” a suspense/thriller. Best of
all, though: “Gilligan’s Island.” The movie.
Believe it. And a little
astounding (and humbling for those of you want to retire at 40),
94-year-old
Sherwood Schwartz will co-produce with his son.
Other
selected script sales include:
--New
Line will helm a remake of the classic 1980s comedy “Police Academy.”
--A
feature film version of the hit HBO series “Rome,” with (possibly) the
original
leads.
--Deepak
Chopra’s comic “Beyond” will be adapted for the big screen.
--Biopic
of the erratic and controversial figure Herbert Hoover.
--Tim
Burton will co-produce an Abraham Lincoln vampire hunter script. . . .
Somehow that sounds pretty awesome.
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January, 2010
Star
vehicles push January’s script sales—both old stars and rising actors—as well
franchise sequels. “G.I. Joe” was
apparently worthy of a second installment, as was “Paranormal Activity” (of
course) and “Four Brothers,” with the sequel “Five.” A handful of scripts, three dramas and a
thriller, are also headed into development with Philip Seymour Hoffman’s
production company.
Other
selected script sales include:
--Tom
Hanks and Julia Robert set to star in “Larry Crowne,” revolving around a change
of careers for a middle-aged man (surely it’ll be more interesting than
that). Hanks will also direct.
--Comedian
Demetri Martin’s script “Will” is set to star Zach Galifianakis and Paul
Rudd. Will Ferrell and Adam McKay to
produce.
--A
biopic of the life of Martin Luther King Jr. Steven Spielberg will co-produce.
--An
as-of-yet untitled George Lucas CGI project.
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