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August 2003 Script Sales
Journey To The End of the Night
Writer: Eric Eason
Buyer: FilmColony
Producer: Richard Gladstein
Logline: Terminally ill brothel owner hopes to retire on a drug score, but an affair between his young wife and vicious son unhinges his plans.
Side Note: Filmmaker Eric Eason wrote the script and will direct. Donald Sutherland is set to star.
Wannabe
Writer: Eric Eason
Author: Mike McAlary
Buyer: Intermedia/Outlaw Prods.
Producer: Robert Newmyer, Jeffrey Silver, Scott Strauss
Logline: Modern-day mob story based on the offspring of mobsters who defy the traditions and protocols of their elders and embark on their own bloody paths.
Side Note: Eric Eason will direct and rewrite the Anthony Zuiker screenplay. Jake Gyllenhaal might star.
The Boys of Summer
Writer: Sheldon Turner
Author: Vanessa Grigoriadis, Deborah Schoeneman
Buyer: Sheldon Turner/Benderspink
Producer: Sheldon Turner, Chris Bender, J.C. Spink
Logline: About two impresarios competing over the celebrity-strewn Hamptons nightclub scene.
Side Note: Turner will adapt the material and produce with Chris Bender and J.C. Spink. Marc Finkel and Mason Novick brought the article into the company and will co-produce the film.
Shockproof Sydney Skate
Writer: Steve Kloves
Author: Marijane Meaker
Buyer: Twentieth Century Fox 2000
Producer: Teri Schwartz
Logline: A young man who just before college falls in love with the same gorgeous model as his lesbian mother.
Side Note: Sydney Pollack is negotiating to direct. Leslie Morgan will exec produce. Steve Kloves has written several drafts of the script.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Buyer: Warner Bros.
Producer: Doug Davison, Roy Lee
Logline: A female protagonist uncovers a conspiracy in a small town where the inhabitants' personalities seem to be changing.
Side Note: The latest remake to be adapted for the screen.
Monster House
Buyer: DreamWorks
Producer: Robert Zemeckis, Jack Rapke, Steve Starkey
Logline: Three kids discover that a neighbor's house is a living, breathing monster. They try to stop the house's evil plans despite the fact that adults don't believe their claims.
Side Note: Pitch was given by Gil Kenan who will direct. No screenwriter is attached.
Creature Tech
Writer: Jim Jennewein, Tom S. Parker
Author: Doug TenNapel
Buyer: Twentieth Century Fox/Regency Ent.
Producer: Wendy Finerman, Peter McHugh, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein
Logline: Set in the rural American heartland, the specter of an evil wizard uses the shroud of Turin to conjure a giant space eel in an attempt to destroy the world. The only thing standing in his way is an atheist with an alien strapped to his chest.
Side Note: Tom Parker and Jim Jennewein have come aboard to rewrite.
The Reincarnation Of Peter Proud
Writer: Hillary Seitz
Buyer: Paramount
Producer: Scott Rudin, Tom Lassally
Logline: A college professor has nightmares which lead him to believe the spirit of a murdered man is now possessing him.
Side Note: Remake of the 1975 film released by American Independent Pictures which was based on the novel by Max Ehrlich. Scott Rudin optioned the remake rights for $700,000 against $2.2 million. Hillary Seitz has just come aboard to script the remake.
The Other Guy
Writer: Brent Goldberg, David Wagner
Buyer: Walt Disney Pics.
Purchase Price: Mid-six figures/high-six figures
Producer: Jennifer Gibgot, Andrew Panay, Peter Abrams, Robert Levy, Adam Shankman
Logline: A couple who find their relationship falling apart after 25 years of marriage, move to the big city in search of adventure and a new life. During the wife's search for fun and excitement she meets the hottest man alive -- young, handsome, rich, nice and half her age. When he hits on her and the two start dating, her husband is forced to compete with the younger man to win her back.
Side Note: Adam Shankman's Offspring Entertainment will produce with Tapestry Films as a potential vehicle for Shankman to direct.
Simply Halston
Writer: Dan Minahan, James Lecesne
Buyer: Killer Films
Logline: Story is about centers the life and death of fashion superstar Roy Halston and his long-term friendship with Liza Minnelli.
Side Note: Jane Krakowski will play Liza Minnelli, in this Dan Minahan film, opposite Alec Baldwin. Project will start production by year's end and is out to financiers.
Constantine
Writer: Mark Bomback, Frank Cappello
Buyer: Warner Bros.
Producer: Akiva Goldsman, Lorenzo Di Bonaventura, Lauren Shuler Donner
Logline: A man who dabbles in the occult and teams with a female police officer to fight evil forces.
Side Note: Rachel Weisz is in negotiations to star opposite Keanu Reeves. Kevin Brodbin wrote the original script, with a rewrite by Mark Bomback and Frank Cappello. The project, based on an adaptation of the DC-Vertigo comic book "Hellblazer," will be directed by Francis Lawrence. Benjamin Melniker, Michael Uslan and Dan Kolsrud will executive produce.
Snake Hips
Writer: Sylvia Sichel
Author: Anna Thomas Soffee
Buyer: UA
Producer: John Hart, Jeff Sharp, Robert Kessel
Logline: Book chronicles the life of the author, as she returns to live with her parents in Richmond, Va., after being dumped by her tattoo artist boyfriend. Stumbling upon belly-dancing classes, the author -- a nerdy, rock 'n' roll-loving schoolteacher -- finds distraction from self-pity, a way to reconnect with her Lebanese roots, a rediscovered sense of passion and, ultimately, love.
Side Note: Nina Wolarsky will co-produce and Michael Hogan will exec produce.
The Night Listener
Writer: Armistead Maupin, Terry Anderson
Buyer: Hart Sharp Ent.
Producer: John Hart, Jeff Sharp, Robert Kessel
Logline: Story of a San Francisco writer attempting to bounce back from a broken relationship, who strikes up a long-distance telephone friendship with a dying boy only to be confronted by troubling doubts about the boy's identity.
Side Note: Hart/Sharp will bring this Armistead Maupin's novel to the big screen which is based on a true story that happened to the author. Patrick Stettner is attached to direct.
Rewind
Writer: Tim Kirk, David Carpenter
Buyer: Paramount
Producer: David Permut, Walter Latham
Logline: A man so nervous about his impending marriage that every time he hears a song reminding him of a past love, he is transported back in time to relive that experience.
Side Note: Walter Latham will join David Permut to produce. They are looking for a writer to re-conceive the project to target urban sensibilities with an African American lead and musical references to R&B and rap.
A Good Woman
Writer: Howard Himelstein
Buyer: Equity Funding
Producer: Jonathan English, Steve Siebert, Michael Barker
Logline: A seductress steals the husband of a younger woman.
Side Note: Helen Hunt and Scarlett Johansson will topline. Michael Barker, will direct the pic in Sorrento, Italy, in October. Script was inspired by the Oscar Wilde play "Lady Windermere's Fan."
The Honeymooners
Writer: Barry Blaustein, David Sheffield
Buyer: Paramount
Producer: David Friendly, Marc Turtletaub, Julie Durk, Eric Rhone
Logline: Modern retelling of the classic TV show, concentrating on the actual honeymoon.
Side Note: Deep River Prods. to produce for Paramount. Barry Blaustein and David Sheffield have come aboard to write. Danny Jacobson wrote the original script, and Saladin Patterson did a rewrite. Hal Ross will executive produce. John Schultz will direct. Cedric the Entertainer and Mike Epps will star as Ralph Kramden and Ed Norton respectively.
Sparkle
Writer: Michael Elliot
Buyer: Warner Bros.
Producer: Debra Martin Chase, Whitney Houston
Logline: Rise and fall of a female singing group during the 1960's.
Side Note: Remake of 1976 film starring Irene Cara. Originally singer-actress Aaliyah was supposed to play the lead but that role has gone to 17-year-old actress known as Raven. The original draft of the remake was written by E. Lynn Harris. Michael Elliot has been brought in to rewrite.
Industrial Animal Farming Project
Writer: Craig Borten, Melissa Wallack
Buyer: Intermedia
Purchase Price: $200k/$400k
Producer: Nigel Sinclair
Logline: Told from multiple points of view, movie will examine the deleterious effects of industrial farming on livestock, consumers and the environment.
Side Note: Intermedia-based Spitfire production shingle will produce.
O Sister Where Art Thou
Writer: Leslie Dixon
Author: Skip Hollandsworth
Buyer: Dimension Films
Purchase Price: Seven-figures
Producer: Todd Phillips
Logline: Eight female Texas prison inmates formed a singing act called the Goree All Girl String Band, hoping it might gain them early release in the 1940s.
Side Note: Todd Phillips will produce through his Gentleman Pictures.
Leslie Dixon has come aboard to write the screenplay.
She Hate Me
Writer: Spike Lee
Logline: A Harvard-educated biotech exec gets fired when he blows the whistle on his bosses. He supports himself by impregnating high-powered lesbians. One of those is an ex-girlfriend.
Side Note: Spike Lee is looking for financing from UGC and distributors for his next directing project. He's lining up Anthony Mackie to star with Nia Long, Whoopi Goldberg and Jim Brown to star.
Witness for the Prosecution
Buyer: MGM
Producer: Marion Rosenberg, Dan Rissner
Logline: Courtroom thriller about a guy accused of killing a rich widow who had taken a fancy to him. Remake will be set in the present and take place in the U.S.
Side Note: Remake of the 1957 film which starred Marlene Dietrich and was directed by Billy Wilder. Dan Melnick will exec produce. Remake rights were held by the Agatha Christie estate.
Moxie
Buyer: DreamWorks
Logline: Urban love story in the vein of "Romeo and Juliet" set in modern day San Francisco.
Side Note: Pitch from Jon Chu along with Danica Jones and Jason Russell. Chu will direct. Producers Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen of the Jinks/Cohen Co. will produce this musical.
Wave
Writer: David Rothmiller
Buyer: Cosmic Ent.
Producer: Jewel, Lenedra Carroll, L.D. Thompson, Goldie Hawn, Jay Cohen, Emily Cummins
Logline: About a mother who reconnects with her son after spending time in prison.
Side Note: Goldie Hawn's Clearlight Prods., a division of Cosmic Entertainment has come aboard to bring this project to the screen. Financing is being sought. Jewel will star, develop and produce.
Daddy Day Camp
Writer: Joel Cohen, Alec Sokolow
Buyer: Revolution Studios
Producer: John Davis, Wyck Godfrey, Matt Berenson
Logline: Harried dad is put in charge of a kid's day camp.
Side Note: Sequel to "Daddy Day Care." Eddie Murphy will reprise his role, should his deal be locked in. Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow are writing the script. The original producers, John Davis, Wyck Godfrey and Matt Berenson will return.
El Romantico
Writer: Matt Piedmont, Chris Kattan
Buyer: Twentieth Century Fox Searchlight
Producer: Simon Millar, Jonathan Baruch, Michael Rotenberg
Logline: Centers on a young man neglected by his parents and raised by his Mexican nanny who is obsessed with soap operas and swashbucklers. He grows up to believe that he is the modern-day Don Juan searching for his one and only true love.
Side Note: Chris Kattan to star. Firm Films and 3 Arts Entertainment will produce. Story is by Matt Piedmont and Chris Kattan.
The Fairly OddParents
Writer: Butch Hartman, Steve Marmel
Buyer: Paramount/Nickelodeon
Producer: Steve Marmel
Logline: The adventures of 10-year-old Timmy Turner and his bumbling fairy godparents, Cosmo and Wanda, who try to make his life better by granting his wishes.
Side Note: Animated feature version of the Nickelodeon cable TV show. The show's creator Butch Hartman will write the script with show's story editor/producer Steve Marmel. Nickelodeon's Julia Pistor, Albie Hecht and Margie Cohn are executive producing.
Into The Sun
Writer: Steven Seagal, Joe Halpin
Buyer: Franchise Pictures
Purchase Price: Mid-six figures
Producer: Elie Samaha, Steven Seagal
Logline: A retired special agent is drawn into the treacherous world of the yakuza in order to protect his family.
Side Note: Written by Steven Seagal and Joe Halpin for Seagal to star. Phillip B. Goldfine and Tracee Stanley will co-produce and Binh Dang will be associate producer. Production is expected to begin by the end of the year.
My Soul To Keep
Writer: Rick Famuyiwa
Author: Tananarive Due
Buyer: Twentieth Century Fox Searchlight
Producer: Blair Underwood, Tim Reid, Nia Hill, Deangela Steed
Logline: A man from an ancient village in Ethiopia has lived for five centuries, watching everyone he loves age and die. He wants to make his wife, an investigative reporter, and child immortal, but there are 50 immortals just like him who are against it and usually kill those who find out about them.
Side Note: Fox Searchlight has picked up the book for Blair Underwood to star and Rick Famuyiwa to direct. Famuyiwa will also rewrite the draft by Frank Underwood, Blair's brother. Eclectic Entertainment's Blair Underwood & Tim Reid and Strange Fruit Productions' Nia Hill & Deangela Steed to produce.
The Kite Runner
Writer: Khaled Hosseini
Buyer: DreamWorks
Producer: William Horberg, Rebecca Yeldham
Logline: Story of the bond that develops in Afghanistan between a privileged youth and the son of his father's servant, around a love of kite flying. The relationship fractures when one boy is set upon by toughs during a kite-flying tournament and the other boy does nothing to help him. Years later, a reunion amidst the wreckage of the Taliban regime reconnects the youths.
Side Note: The novel was just published by Riverhead Press.
Around the Bend
Writer: Jordan Roberts
Buyer: Warner Bros./Stratus Film Co.
Logline: Three generations of men head out on the road in search of an old family secret.
Side Note: Jordan Roberts wrote the script and will direct. Christopher Walken, Michael Caine and Josh Lucas will star.
Hide and Seek
Writer: Ari Schlossberg
Buyer: Twentieth Century Fox 2000
Producer: Barry Josephson
Logline: About a girl who loses her mother at an early age. Soon, her widower father discovers that she has been dealing with the death of his wife and her mother in an odd, and what turns out to be terrifying, manner.
Side Note: Barry Josephson will produce, Robet DeNiro will star. Albert Hughes was set to direct, but has dropped out of the project.
Blind Sided
Writer: Grant Calof, Greg Lee
Buyer: Constantin Films
Producer: David Permut, Bernd Eichinger
Logline: A blind man regains his sight after many years and finds that the world has changed a lot.
Side Note: Permut Presentations and From Out Of Nowhere will produce for Constantin. Steve Longi will co-produce. Rob Schneider will star.
Mother To Mother
Author: Sindiwe Magona
Buyer: Universal
Logline: Fictional story based on the true story of Amy Biehl, a 26-year-old Stanford student and Fulbright scholar who was murdered in 1993 by rioting South African youths. Story is told through the eyes of the mother of one of Amy's killers, who reaches out to Biehl's mother in hopes of creating some understanding of what happened.
Side Note: Reese Witherspoon will star and her company Type A Films will produce for Universal. A director and writer have not yet been announced.
Taming Ben Taylor
Writer: Scott Sturgeon, Amy Lasser
Buyer: 2Loop Films
Logline: The comedy centers around a vineyard owner looking for love, who falls under the spell of a real estate agent bent on getting him to sell his property so that a golf course can be built.
Side Note: Kevin Costner might play the lead in this remake of an 1980 Italian comedy. The project has yet to find a home, but Costner's Tig Productions is looking for both a director and a studio. He hopes to have Michelle Pfeiffer as his co-star.
Fleet Week
Writer: Firdosi Wharton
Buyer: Cosmic Ent./Workshed Ent.
Producer: John Stalberg
Logline: Two losers disguise themselves as Navy men during Fleet Week in New York in order to meet girls. They find themselves in way over their heads in this comedic version of "Three Days of the Condor
Side Note: In development at Workshed, a division of Cosmic Ent. Based on an idea by Workshed co-owner John Stalberg who will produce. Oliver Hudson will exec produce.
American Pastoral
Author: Philip Roth
Buyer: Lakeshore Ent.
Producer: Gary Lucchesi, Tom Rosenberg
Logline: Set in postwar America, a man watches his seemingly perfect life fall apart as his daughter's new political affiliation threatens to destroy their family.
Side Note: Phillip Noyce has come aboard to direct this project that was developed at Paramount and picked up in turnaround.
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