The Screenwriter's Corner

Ever since I went to see Underworld only to see the vampire/werewolf hybrid idea I'd been kicking around in my head on the silver screen I've been one to check on recent script sales. Nothing like finding out an idea similar to the one you're working on just sold BEFORE you take the time to write yours.

Here's some recent sales. More to come tomorrow.

Silver Cord
Drama, Indie
Man comes back to life after being declared clinically dead on multiple occasions.
(07/02/2008) [Script]
Buyer(s):
Production Company: Hand Picked Films, Tayrona Entertainment, Brillstein Entertainment Partners
Producers: Michel Shane, Anthony Romano, James Ordonez, Shani Rigsbee, Ken Gord, Jai Khanna, Rob Folk
Seller(s):
Writer: James Ordonez , Ken Gord
Stars: Shane West, Cam Gigandet, Val Kilmer, Arielle Kebbel, Eric Balfour
Comments: James Ordonez will direct.

The Goon
Animation, Supernatural
Muscle-bound brawler claims to be the primary enforcer for a feared mobster.
(07/02/2008)
[Comic Book]
Buyer(s):
Production Company: Dark Horse Entertainment, Blur Studio
Producers: David Fincher
Seller(s):
Writer: Eric Powell
Comments: Eric Powell created the comic book, and will script.

Hiding in Time
Action, Sci-Fi
In a not-too-distant future, the Witness Protection Program uses time travel to relocate high-value witnesses into the past for safe keeping. When the program is compromised, a government scientist must travel back through the greatest moments in history to help a master thief rescue his old crew from the assassins sent back by their former employer.
(07/01/2008)
[Comic Book]
Buyer(s):
Studio: Warner Bros.
Executives: Sarah Schechter
Production Company: Lin Pictures, Archetype
Producers: Dan Lin, Jon Silk, Ray Miller, David Server
Seller(s):
Writer: Christopher Long , Beau Thorne
Comments: Based on the comic book created by Christopher Long. Beau Thorne will do the adaptation.

Recoil
Thriller
A young inmate is sprung from prison, only to be set up for murder by the same corrupt political insiders who sponsored his parole.
(07/01/2008)
[Novel]
Buyer(s):
Production Company: Leverage
Producers: Charlie Loventhal, Judy Henry
Seller(s):
Writer: Jim Thompson , Ralph Pezzullo
Comments: Ralph Pezzullo will adapt the novel by Jim Thompson.

Gellhorn
Biography, War
Biopic of Martha Gellhorn, a trailblazing female war correspondent who covered conflicts from the Spanish Civil War to Vietnam and weathered strife in personal relationships that included a failed marriage to Ernest Hemingway.
(07/01/2008)
[Biography]
Buyer(s):
Production Company: Fiddlehead Productions, Outlaw Productions
Producers: Gillian Anderson, Deborah Newmyer, Michael Glassman, Sarah Radclyffe
Seller(s):
Writer: Caroline Moorehead , Sharman Macdonald
Stars: Gillian Anderson
Comments: Sharman Macdonald will adapt the book by Caroline Moorehead.

Move
Musical
(07/01/2008)
[Script]
Buyer(s):
Studio: United Artists
Production Company: Pearl Pictures
Producers: Gary Pearl, Phillip Pierce
Seller(s):
Writer: Matthew Diamond
Comments: Matthew Diamond will write and direct.

Positive
Romance, Thriller
Twenty-something visits his fiancee’s family, only to be seduced by her sister.
(07/01/2008)
[Script]
Buyer(s):
Production Company: Occupant Films
Producers: Joe Neurauter, Felipe Marino, Keith Calder
Seller(s):
Writer: Jonathan Levine
Agency: UTA
Representatives: Ragna Nervik
Comments: Jonathan Levine will write and direct.

The Seminar
Thriller
The parents of an 18-year-old boy engage a mysterious consulting firm to mess with his reality.
(07/01/2008)
[Spec]
Buyer(s):
Studio: CBS Films
Executives: Mark Ross
Seller(s):
Writer: Richard D’Ovidio
Agency: ICM, Media Talent Group
Price: Low- to mid-six-figures

300 Follow-Up
Historical, Period, War
(06/30/2008)
[Sequel]
Buyer(s):
Studio: Warner Bros.
Production Company: Legendary Pictures
Producers: Thomas Tull
Seller(s):
Writer: Frank Miller
Comments: Zack Snyder intends to direct this project. It hasn’t yet been determined if this will be a sequel or a spinoff.

Billy Smoke
Action
An elite hit-man, nearly killed during a botched job, realizes that his only way to find redemption is to rid the world of all assassins.
(06/29/2008)
[Comic Book]
Buyer(s):
Studio: Warner Bros.
Executives: Matt Reilly
Production Company: Thunder Road , Closed on Mondays Entertainment
Producers: Basil Iwanyk, Eric Gitter, Peter Schwerin
Seller(s):
Writer: B. Clay Moore
Stars: Matthew Fox
Comments: Based on the comic book by B. Clay Moore.

Untitled by Jason Filardi and Iain McConnell
Comedy
American guy falls in love with a Korean woman while teaching English as a second language. He proposes marriage and she says yes, with a condition: Her Korean family must approve and they must have a traditional wedding in Korea. So the groom makes the trip with his family in an effort to marry his true love. In the vein of ‘Meet the Parents.’
(06/27/2008) [
Pitch]
Buyer(s):
Studio: Lionsgate
Production Company: Vertigo Entertainment, CJ Entertainment
Producers: Roy Lee, Doug Davison , Miky Lee, Ted Kim, Jason Filardi
Seller(s):
Writer: Jason Filardi , Iain McConnell
Agency: ICM
Representatives: Brian Lutz

Unconditional
Drama
Lonely New Yorkers.
(06/27/2008)
[Play]
Buyer(s):
Studio: Overture Films
Executives: Chris McGurk, Danny Rosett
Production Company: Cooper’s Town Productions
Producers: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Emily Ziff
Seller(s):
Writer: Brett C. Leonard
Comments: Brett C. Leonard will adapt his own play.

All Creatures Great and Small
Comedy
Animals control the planet and humans are the minority.
(06/27/2008)
[Script]
Buyer(s):
Studio: Columbia
Executives: Andrea Giannetti
Production Company: Original Film
Producers: Neal Moritz
Seller(s):
Writer: Michael Brandt , Derek Haas

Mongoose
Action, Comedy
(06/27/2008)
[Pitch]
Buyer(s):
Studio: Disney
Executives: Kristin Burr
Production Company: Tapestry Films
Producers: Peter Abrams, Robert Levy, Andrew Panay , Brian Sher

You’re Not You
Drama
The relationship between a woman with a fatal illness and an aimless young woman who enters her life as a personal caregiver.
(06/27/2008)
[Novel]
Buyer(s):
Production Company: 2S Films, Alcon Entertainment, Di Novi Pictures
Producers: Hilary Swank, Molly Smith
Seller(s):
Writer: Michelle Wildgen
Comments: Based on the novel by Michelle Wildgen.

Falling Out of Fashion
Drama
A young woman leaves a Georgia hippie commune for New York with dreams of becoming a magazine editor.
(06/27/2008)
[Novel]
Buyer(s):
Production Company: 2S Films, Alcon Entertainment
Producers: Hilary Swank, Molly Smith
Seller(s):
Writer: Karen Yampolsky
Comments: Based on the novel by Michelle Wildgen.

Peck
Comedy, Indie
A high schooler lives under a microscope of parental scrutiny and develops an unlikely friendship with the school’s golden girl.
(06/26/2008)
[Script]
Buyer(s):
Producers: Jerry Lieder
Seller(s):
Writer: Marc Arneson
Stars: Marcia Cross, Adam Arkin, Camryn Manheim, Keir Gilchrist, Brie Larson
Comments: Michael Nickles will direct.

The Cruelest Miles
Adventure, Drama
A team of men and sled dogs brave temperatures of 60 below to save an Alaskan town from a deadly epidemic in 1925.
(06/26/2008)
[Book]
Buyer(s):
Production Company: Walden Media, Gran Via Productions
Producers: Mark Johnson, Tom Williams
Seller(s):
Writer: Gay Salisbury , Laney Salisbury , Sean O’Keefe , Will Staples
Comments: Sean O’Keefe and Will Staples will adapt the book by Gay and Laney Salisbury.

War of the Gods
Action
The battles waged by Theseus, a warrior from Greek mythology.
(06/26/2008)
[Spec]
Buyer(s):
Production Company: Relativity Media
Producers: Ryan Kavanaugh, Mark Canton, Gianni Nunnari
Seller(s):
Writer: Charley Parlapanides , Vlas Parlapanides
Price: Mid-six figures against seven-figures
Comments: Tarsem Singh will direct.

Fencewalker
Drama
(06/25/2008)
[Script]
Buyer(s):
Producers: Chris Carter
Seller(s):
Writer: Chris Carter
Agency: ICM
Stars: Natalie Dormer; David Cassidy, Katie Cassidy, Derek Magyar, Meckah Brooks
Comments: Chris Carter will write and direct.

Apologize, Apologize
Comedy, Drama
A boy who grows up on Martha’s Vineyard surrounded by a set of colorful characters, including an activist mother and a mogul grandfather.
(06/25/2008)
[Novel]
Buyer(s):
Production Company: Film Colony
Producers: Richard Gladstein, Daryl Roth
Seller(s):
Writer: Elizabeth Kelly
Comments: Based on the novel by Elizabeth Kelly, who will adapt.

Close Far Away
Drama
(06/25/2008)
[Script]
Buyer(s):
Production Company: Film Rites, Mandate Pictures
Producers: Garrett Basch, Nathan Kahane, Nicole Brown, Steve Zaillian
Seller(s):
Writer: Jens Assur
Comments: Jens Assur will write and direct.

Parent Class
Comedy
Divorced couple are deemed unsatisfactory parents and must enroll in a class on how to improve their child-rearing skills.
(06/25/2008)
[Pitch]
Buyer(s):
Studio: Overture Films
Executives: Sean Furst
Producers: James Gibb
Seller(s):
Writer: Toni Kotite , Marty Scott
Agency: APA, Anonymous Content
Representatives: Jeff Okin
Attorneys: Dave Feldman

The 39 Clues
Adventure
The matriarch of the most powerful family in the world changes her will at the last moment, giving her descendants the choice between $1 million or a clue.
(06/25/2008)
[Novel]
Buyer(s):
Studio: DreamWorks
Executives: Stacey Snider, Steven Spielberg
Production Company: Scholastic Media
Producers: Deborah Forte
Seller(s):
Writer: Rick Riordan
Comments: Steven Spielberg may direct this project, an adaptaation of a multimedia adventure that will include a set of collectible cards and an online game that will serve as a portal as young readers try to solve a mystery for a grand prize of $10,000. The contest will run for two years. Rick Riordan wrote the first book in the series; a screenwriter will be hired to adapt.

Pink Eye
Horror, Indie
A masked lunatic escapes a small-town insane asylum where patients are subjected to bizarre drug experiments.
(06/25/2008)
[Script]
Buyer(s):
Production Company: Halo-8 Entertainment
Seller(s):
Writer: Joshua Nelson
Comments: James Tucker will direct.

Here Be Monsters
Animation
A young boy tries to save his town from a dastardly takeover plot.
(06/24/2008)
[Novel]
Buyer(s):
Production Company: Laika Entertainment
Producers: Fiona Kenshole
Seller(s):
Writer: Alan Snow , Irena Brignell
Price: Six figures
Comments: Henry Selick will oversee based on the best-selling British children’s novel by Alan Snow.
Update: 6/24/2008: Irena Brignell will script. Antony Stacchi will direct.

One Chance
Biography
Wannabe tenor Paul Potts, a cell phone salesman, wins ITV’s ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ contest in 2007.
(06/24/2008)
[Life Story]
Buyer(s):
Studio: Paramount
Production Company: Relevant Entertainment
Producers: Michael Menchel, Steve Whitney., Simon Cowell
Seller(s):
Writer: Justin Zackham
Update: 6/24/2008: Justin Zackham will script this formerly untitled project.

Salvation Boulevard
Mystery, Satire
A private detective investigates the killing of a professor. The exercise proves to be a clash of faiths: The detective is a born-again Christian, the dead man an atheist, the accused killer an Islamic foreign student and the D.A. is Jewish.
(06/24/2008)
[Novel]
Buyer(s):
Production Company: Mandalay Independent Pictures
Producers: Cathy Schulman
Seller(s):
Writer: Larry Beinhart , George Ratliff
Comments: George Ratliff will adapt and direct based on the novel by Larry Beinhart..

Jack and Ben
Animation
Brother bluebirds get into a dangerous road-rally-style race to Florida along the north-south migration route.
(06/24/2008)
[Pitch]
Buyer(s):
Production Company: Laika Entertainment
Seller(s):
Writer: Jorgen Klubien , David Skelly
Comments: Barry Cook will direct.

Paranorman
Animation
A small town is under a secret curse, and a 13-year-old boy is the only one who can keep the town from being overrun by zombies.
(06/24/2008)
[Script]
Buyer(s):
Production Company: Laika Entertainment
Seller(s):
Writer: Chris Butler

Middle Men
Comedy
Straight-and-narrow businessman is brought into a world that will eventually turn into the multibillion-dollar Internet porn industry.
(06/24/2008)
[Script]
Buyer(s):
Production Company: Oxymoron Entertainment, Blue Star Pictures
Producers: Christopher Mallick, William Sherak, Jason Shuman
Seller(s):
Writer: George Gallo , Andy Weiss
Comments: George Gallo will co-write and direct.

The River Why
Drama
A young man’s quest for an elusive rainbow trout.
(06/24/2008)
[Novel]
Buyer(s):
Producers: Kristi Denton Cohen
Seller(s):
Writer: David James Duncan , Thomas A. Cohen , John Hay Osborn Jr.
Stars: William Hurt, Amber Heard
Comments: Thomas A. Cohen and John Hay Osborn Jr. did the adaptation of the novel by David James Duncan. Matt Leutwyler will direct.

Still You
Comedy
The unexpected appearance of a larger-than-life ex-boyfriend threatens to ruin a family vacation.
(06/24/2008)
[Pitch]
Buyer(s):
Studio: MGM
Producers: Aline Brosh McKenna, Walt Becker, Jennifer Eatz
Seller(s):
Writer: April Blair
Price: $300,000 against $625,000

Rip X
Action
In the vein of ‘The Fast and the Furious.’
(06/24/2008)
[Pitch]
Buyer(s):
Production Company: Vertigo Entertainment
Producers: Doug Davison, Roy Lee, Gabriel Mason
Seller(s):
Writer: Matt O’Neil
Price: Mid-six-figure

My Spy
Action
A teenage boy falls for an attractive girl only to later learn that the girl is actually a spy. (06/23/2008)
[Spec]
Buyer(s):
Studio: CBS Films
Production Company: di Bonaventura Productions
Producers: Lorenzo di Bonaventura
Seller(s):
Writer: Jeremy Slater
Agency: UTA, Kaplan/Perrone

Home Schooled
Comedy
A 30-year-old man who was home schooled heads off to college.
(06/23/2008)
[Pitch]
Buyer(s):
Studio: DreamWorks
Executives: Holly Bario
Production Company: American Work
Producers: Scot Armstrong, Ravi Nandan
Seller(s):
Writer: Mike Arnold , Chris Poole
Agency: CAA, Principato-Young
Comments: The writers are lawyers-turned-screenwriters who write long distance via video-conferencing software Skype every night between Boulder, Colo., (Arnold) and Chattanooga, Tenn. (Poole).