July 2002 Script Sales

July 2002 SCRIPT SALES

(Pages are updated throughout the month, with the most recent at the top of the list)

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Amiel Begler Untitled Project
Genre: Drama/Adventure
Writer: Jack Amiel, Mike Begler
Buyer: Universal
Purchase Price: Mid-six figures
Producer: Paul Weitz, Chris Weitz, Andrew Miano
Logline: Fish-out-of-water story about a group of dissatisfied twentysomethings who seek to reinvent themselves by participating in an eco-challenge-- a lengthy endurance race over adventurous terrain.
Side Note: Chris and Paul Weitz' Depth of Field will produce for Universal.

The Assassination Of Richard Nixon
Genre: Drama
Writer: Niels Mueller, Kevin Kennedy
Buyer: Monsoon Entertainment
Producer: Jason Kliot, Joana Vicente
Logline: In 1974, while pursuing the American dream, a salesman finds himself at the end of his rope and takes very desperate measures to make his mark.
Side Note: Based on a true story of would be assassin Samuel Byck. Originally set up on 7/19/99. Sean Penn to star. Niels Mueller co-author of "Tadpole" will make his directing debut. Production is slated to begin in April. Jason Kliot and Joana Vicente, who brought the pic to Monsoon, will produce via their Open City Films. Alexander Payne and Monsoon's Alfonso Cuaron, Jorge Vergara and Arnaud Duteil will executive produce.

Coraline
Genre: Horror/Fantasy
Writer: Henry Selick
Author: Neal Gaiman
Buyer: Pandemonium Films
Producer: Bill Mechanic
Logline: A bored young girl explores her family's new apartment and discovers a door leading to a sinister alternate world.
Side Note: To be adapted from Neil Gaiman's new best-selling story. Story will be published this month by HarperCollins Children's Books. Selick will also direct. Michelle Pfeiffer to possibly star in.

Employee Of The Month
Genre: Dark Comedy
Writer: Jay Leggett, Mitch Rouse
Buyer: Lions Gate Films
Logline: Centers on the 36 hours after a guy loses his job.
Side Note: Lions Gate will finance. Co-writer Mitch Rouse will make his directing debut.

Raising Helen
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Writer: Beth Rigazio, Beth Clifton
Buyer: Walt Disney Pics.
Purchase Price: Low-six figures/mid-six
Producer: David Hoberman, Ashok Amritraj
Logline: A young woman, who works as an assistant to the head of a modeling agency and is about to be promoted, has her world turned upside down when her sister and brother-in-law die in a car crash and she is left to care for their three young children.
Side Note: First set up as a pitch on 3/14/2000. Garry Marshall to direct. Kate Hudson to star in.

Seconds
Genre: Psychological thriller
Writer: John Brancato, Michael Ferris
Buyer: Paramount
Producer: Mace Neufeld, Peter Douglas, Robert Rehme
Logline: A frustrated, middle-aged businessman trades in his identity for a new one but soon discovers he's at odds with old and new life conflicts.
Side Note: A series of writers have worked on the project thus far starting with Rick Jaffe and Amanda Silver and including Roger Avary. John Brancato and Michael Ferris have turned in the most recent draft. Peter Douglas and Robert Rehme will executive produce.

Charlie
Genre: Romantic comedy
Writer: Rob Perez
Buyer: New Line
Purchase Price: Mid-six figures/high-six
Producer: Michael London
Logline: A mute man from Texas moves to Manhattan to pursue his dream of being an orchestra conductor.
Side Note: Spec script. Michael London to produce.

Nappily Ever After
Genre: Drama
Writer: Tina Chism
Author: Trisha Thomas
Buyer: Universal
Producer: Marc Platt, Vincent Cirrincione, Angela DeJoseph, Halle Berry, Angela DeJoseph
Logline: A woman named Venus Johnston sets out on her road to self discovery when she decides to stop straightening her hair, cuts it short and kicks out her commitment phobic live-in boyfriend.
Side Note: To star Halle Berry. Berry will produce as well, along with Vincent Cirrincione and Angela DeJoseph.

Blind Spot
Genre: Thriller
Writer: Evan Katz
Buyer: MGM
Purchase Price: Mid-six figures
Producer: Terence Chang, John Woo
Logline: A man is wrongly accused of a crime in Washington D.C.
Side Note: MGM-based Lion Rock will produce. John Woo might direct.

Untitled Cannon Pitch
Genre: Action/Thriller
Writer: Danny Cannon
Buyer: Jerry Bruckheimer Films
Producer: Jerry Bruckheimer
Logline: A man is hired to protect a woman, during which time something goes wrong and the duo find themselves on the run.
Side Note: Danny Cannon will write and direct. Jerry Bruckheimer will produce. Mike Stenson and Chad Oman will exec produce.

Suck
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Ari Margoles, James Morley
Buyer: Landscape Ent.
Producer: Michael Birnbaum, Bob Cooper
Logline: A young vampire in Seattle must deal with his new affliction while fighting off ghouls, rescuing a damsel in distress and paying the rent.
Side Note: Landscape Pictures is owned by Artisan Ent. Bob Cooper will produce along with Michael Birnbaum.

Joe's Last Chance
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Andrew Bergman
Buyer: Intermedia Films
Producer: Dan Angel, Billy Brown
Log Line: A hitman with a bad back travels to a tropical paradise on an assignment. When his target inadvertently saves his life, the hitman stays the execution and sparks an unexpected friendship.
Side Note: Rewrite of an original script by Dwayne Alexander Smith. Bergman will also direct. Bobby Newmyer, Jeffery Silver, and Scott Strauss of Outlaw Productions will produce. Intermedia's Moritz Borman will executive produce.

Box Office Gross
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Tommy Blancha, Alex Borstein, Eric Kentoff, Jay Johnston, Brian
Tucker, Will Sasso
Buyer: Radar Pictures
Producer: Dan Angel, Billy Brown
Logline: Parody of the moviegoing experience that will be set at a multiplex.
Side Note: Will Sasso and Alex Borstein will star. Dan Angel and Billy Brown to produce. Radar chairman Ted Field and president Scott Kroopf will executive produce.

A College Sex Comedy
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Patrick Casey, Worm Miller
Buyer: Hill & Brand Ent.
Producer: David Hillenbrand, Scott Hillenbrand,
Logline: At a college dorm, just before Christmas break, a student hires a prostitute for his unwitting and virginal brother, while another student awaits the arrival of a foreign exchange student.
Side Note: David and Scott Hillenbrand will produce and direct. Production will begin mid-August.

Hannibal
Genre: Action/Adventure
Writer: David Franzoni
Author: Ross Leckie
Buyer: Revolution Studios
Producer: Vin Diesel, George Zakk
Logline: Story of the third century B.C. Carthaginian general who rode an elephant across the Alps to attack Rome.
Side Note: Vin Diesel will star as Hannibal. His company, One Race Prods. will produce for Revolution. David Franzoni ("Gladiator") has come aboard to adapt. Diesel will also produce through his One Race Productions. George Zakk will produce as well.

Heaven's Pond
Genre: Thriller
Writer: Joel Viertal, Mora Stephens, Alek Freidman
Buyer: Davis Ent. Filmworks
Producer: John Davis, J. Todd Harris, Craig Davis Roth
Logline: Honeymooners celebrating on a secluded island have their nice time turn into a battle for survival.
Side Note: Announcement that this project will go before the cameras in the late fall with co-writer Joel Viertal directing. Tara Reid and Kip Pardue will star. Bill Block will co-executive produce. Bob Yari and Carol Gilson will executive produce.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Genre: Fantasy
Writer: Ann Peacock
Author: C.S. Lewis
Buyer: Walden Media
Logline: Four London children step through their wardrobe into a wild and enchanted world.
Side Note: Original set up as a book sale in December 2001. Adaptation of the C.S. Lewis book by Emmy-winning writer Ann Peacock. This book is the second installment in a series of seven books that Walden Media optioned in December.

The Muse Asylum
Genre: Psychological thriller
Author: David Czuchlewski
Buyer: Peter Newman, Greg Johnson, Will Schwarz
Producer: Peter Newman, Greg Johnson, Will Schwarz
Logline: A love triangle forms between a group of Princeton grads and a reclusive author.
Side Note: No writer is attached as yet.

Prey
Genre: Political thriller
Author: Michael Crighton
Buyer: Twentieth Century Fox
Purchase Price: $5 mil.
Logline: Set in the world of nanotechnology. Plot relates to the opening of a Pandora's box with regard to biotechnology and genetic engineering.
Side Note: This was a preemptive purchase made by the studio which will move quickly on it. No producers are attached yet.

Wrecked
Genre: Thriller
Writer: Steven Gilder
Buyer: Paramont
Producer: Don Granger, Gary Levinsohn
Logline: Husband and wife undersea treasure hunters in Bermuda, accidentally discover a sunken treasure that leads to betrayal, deception and jeopardy.
Side Note: Spec. This is a first script sale for scribe, who is a former development executive. Mutual Film Co.'s Gary Levinsohn and Don Granger to produce. Kevin Messick will executive produce.

Fortune's Fools
Genre: Dark Comedy
Writer: Erik Bergquist
Buyer: Universal/Working Title Films
Producer: Michael London, Paul Schiff, Michael Mann, Sandy Climan
Logline: Five Los Angeles policemen steal a winning lotto ticket worth $36 million from a drug dealer.
Side Note: Michael Mann is negotiating to direct this feature which was originally set up at Fox 2000 six years ago. The studio put it into turnaround and its original producer, Michael London, set it up at Working Title.

Gone, Baby, Gone
Genre: Mystery
Writer: Ben Affleck
Author: Dennis Lehane
Buyer: Paramount
Producer: Alan Ladd Jr.
Logline: A mystery involving a pair of Boston private eyes Patrick Kenzie and Angela Genarro as they search for a young girl named Amanda McCready who has seemingly disappeared into thin air.
Side Note: Ben Affleck is writing the screenplay based on this Dennis Lehane ("Mystic River") novel. This is the first in a five part series of books which the studio hopes to turn into a franchise. Affleck may make his directorial debut with this film.

Big If
Genre: Drama/Comedy
Writer: Scott Burns
Author: Mark Costello
Buyer: Columbia Pics.
Producer: Ed Saxon, Peter Saraf
Logline: A secret agent assigned to protect the vice president, and the agent's dysfunctional New Hampshire family, which includes a brother who writes code for a sinister computer conglom called Big If.
Side Note: Magnet Entertainment producers Ed Saxon and Peter Saraf will produce for Columbia.

Captain Alatrice
Genre: Drama
Writer: Will Baum, Jason Kassin
Buyer: Palomar Pictures
Producer: Mark Gordon, Steven Hirsch
Logline: Story of an ex-soldier embroiled in a plot involving international politics, religious radicals and the invention of modern warfare.
Side Note: To be based on Arturo Perez-Reverte's series of novels. Palomar's Joni Sighvatsson and SeeMore Film's Steven Hirsch will produce along with Estudios Picasso. Antonio Cardenal will executive produce via his Origen Productions.

Fake Liar, Cheat
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Writer: William Blake Herron
Author: Tod Goldberg
Buyer: Fox Searchlight
Producer: George Gatins
Logline: A temp's life is transformed when he falls for a dangerous woman, beginning a roller coaster tale of blackmail, romance and the high life in Los Angeles.
Side Note: Fox Searchlight is negotiating with Luke Greenfield ("The Animal") to direct this William Blake Herron script based on the novel by Tod Goldberg. Project is in turnaround from Miramax.

Godforsaken
Genre: Action/Drama
Writer: Rand Ravich
Buyer: Intermedia
Purchase Price: $350k/$750k
Producer: Andrew Lazar
Logline: A hit man discovers he has leukemia, so decides to put a hit out on himself.
Side Note: Wesley Snipes is negotiating to star; Rupert Wainwright to direct. Andrew Lazar's Mad Chance Productions to produce.

Man On Fire
Genre: Drama
Writer: Brian Helgeland
Author: A.J. Quinell
Buyer: Regency Enterprises, Fox 2000
Producer: Lucas Foster, Arnon Milchan, Tony Scott
Logline: Former Marine moves to Italy and becomes a bodyguard for an Italian family. After the 10-year old daughter of the family is kidnapped and killed, the bodyguard avenges her death.
Side Note: Tony Scott has committed to directing this project as his next film. This has been his passion project for nearly two decades. Screenplay by Brian Helgeland is based on the novel by A.J. Quinell. Prodcution will begin early next year in Italy.

Seville Communion
Genre: Thriller
Writer: Will Baum, Jason Kassin
Buyer: Palomar Pictures
Producer: Joni Sighvatsson, Steven Hirsch, Estudios Picasso
Logline: Vatican secret agent investigating a murder in Seville who unearths a wide-ranging conspiracy involving bankers, underworld thugs and forces inside the Church.
Side Note: To be based on Arturo Perez-Reverte's novel. Palomar's Joni Sighvatsson and SeeMore Film's Steven Hirsch will produce along with Estudios Picasso. The script is currently out to directors. Film will be shot in Seville and Rome. Penelope Cruz might star.

World's Greatest Dad
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Lisa Addario, Joe Syracuse
Buyer: Universal Pictures
Purchase Price: Low-six figures/mid-six
Logline: A stressed out widow with three restless sons is transformed into a dream dad after consuming a magic formula. She retains her looks, but when she begins acting like a man, the boys grow desperate to find the antidote that will bring their real mom back.
Side Note: Pitch. Universal's Tim O'Hair to oversee for studio.

Good and Dead
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Adam Davis
Buyer: Universal
Producer: Casey Silver
Logline: Guy fakes his own death to escape his girlfriend.
Side Note: Rewrite of spec script by John Killoran. Casey Silver Productions will produce. Originally set up in October 2000.

Zits
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Adam Davis
Buyer: Universal
Producer: Rick Karu, Marc Platt, Tom Shadyac
Logline: Jeremy Duncan, a 15-year-old aspiring rock musician who is bored out of his wits, holds much bitterness towards his perfect brother Chad. With his best friend Hector, Jeremy makes his way through his awkward high school love affair with Sara, who considers him more of a science project than a boyfriend.
Side Note: To be adapted from the King Features comic strip by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman. Shawn Levy is attached to direct. Tom Shadyac and Marc Platt will produce. Originally set up in September 1999.

The Descent
Genre: Sci-fi/Thriller
Writer: David Goyer
Author: Jeffrey Long
Buyer: DreamWorks
Producer: David Goyer, Ben Stiller, Stuart Cornfeld
Logline: A group of scientists led by a former cave explorer map and research a network of tunnels six miles beneath the earth's surface. In their travels below, they encounter and must deal with terrifying new species that dwell in the caves that may have been the basis for stories about hell.
Side Note: David Goyer will direct, adapt and produce through his Phantom Four production company. Red Hour Films' Ben Stiller and Stuart Cornfeld will also produce. Pascale Faubert from Phantom Four is co-producing.

Nights In Rodanthe
Genre: Romance
Author: Nicholas Sparks
Buyer: Warner Bros.
Producer: Denise Di Novi
Logline: Title refers to a beach town in North Carolina where the story takes place. A doctor on the way to reconcile with his estranged son, bunks at an inn along the way. While there, the dad has a life-altering romance.
Side Note: To be adapted from the Sparks novel. Denise Di Novi to produce. Book will be published Fall 2002 by Warner Books.

A Semester Abroad
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Nina Colman
Buyer: Deep River Prods.
Producer: David Friendly, Marc Turtletaub
Logline: About a girl from Queens on scholarship to a elite London university, where her tough girl demeanor puts her at odds with its stuffed-shirt students.
Side Note: To star Sarah Michelle Gellar. Kahli Small will exec produce.

Shrinking Violet
Genre: Romantic comedy
Writer: Julie Rotenberg, Elisa Zuritsky
Buyer: Revolution Studios
Purchase Price: Low-six figures/mid-six
Producer: Julia Roberts, Deb Shindler
Logline: Twentysomething girl lies to her family and tells them that she has a new boyfriend when in reality, he's her shrink. Things get difficult when she can't decide what would be worse news for her straitlaced family: to learn she's in therapy or that her relationship is a fraud.
Side Note: Julia Roberts will produce with Deb Shindler through their Shoelace Prods., Roberts does not intend to star. Screenwriters are exec story editors on "Sex And The City. "

Spy Hunter
Genre: Action
Buyer: Universal Pictures
Producer: Adrian Askarieh, Charles Gordon
Logline: Story is about an ex-fighter pilot who has become an intelligence agent. Using a fully armed G-6155 Interceptor vehicle, which has morphing capabilities, he hunts dangerous spies and assassins, who engage him in their own sophisticated vehicles.
Side Note: Universal won the rights for this Midway videogame franchise in an auction. To be developed as a franchise vehicle for Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Chuck Gordon and Adrian Askarieh will produce.

The Cricket In Times Square
Genre: Children
Writer: Will McRobb, Chris Viscardi
Author: George Seden
Buyer: Miramax Films
Purchase Price: ?/seven figures
Logline: Chester, a cricket from Connecticut, travels to New York City in a picnic basket and becomes an overnight musical star. He befriends Harry, a good-natured alley cat, and Tucker, a fast talking mouse, and together they set out to save a local newsstand from bankruptcy.
Additional Information: Series of books by George Sedenfirst published in 1960. This will not be a fully animated feature. Book was optioned by Miramax in December 2001.

Descent
Genre: Adventure
Writer: Craig Bolotin
Buyer: Paramount Pictures
Logline: Adventure film with a ghoslty twist.
Side Note: "Black Rain" writer Craig Bolotin is teaming with Paramount and Francis Copolla's American Zoetrope on this project that is being kept under wraps. Screenplay will be based on Copolla's original idea that he developed with Bolotin.

Untitled Guiley-Schneiderman Pitch 1
Genre: Animation
Writer: Derek Guiley, David Schneiderman
Buyer: Sony Pictures
Purchase Price: High-six figures (two pitch deal)
Logline: Kept under wraps.
Additional Information: Sale to Sony's new animation division. They pitched two different takes on one pitch and Sony nabbed both of them for two separate scripts.

Untitled Guiley-Schneiderman Pitch 2
Genre: Animation
Writer: Derek Guiley, David Schneiderman
Buyer: Sony Pictures
Purchase Price: High-six figures (two pitch deal)
Log Line: Storyline being kept under wraps.
Side Note: Guiley and Schneiderman pitched two different takes on one pitch Sony liked them both and picked them up for two different scripts.

The Big Bounce
Genre: Drama
Writer: Sebastian Gutierrez
Author: Elmore Leonard
Buyer: Shangri-La Ent.
Logline: A charming drifter hooks up with a criminally minded beauty while trying to figure out if he can trust the friendship of a powerful local figure, Mr. Majestyk.
Side Note: Owen Wilson might star in this movie based on the Elmore Leonard novel. Steve Bing's Shangri-La Ent. will finance, Warner Bros. will handle worldwide distribution. George Armitage will direct.

House Of If
Genre: Psychological thriller
Writer: David Von Ancken
Buyer: Camelot Pics.
Purchase Price: Mid-six figures
Producer: Dan Halsted, Gary Gilbert
Logline: Futuristic Thriller
Side Note: Assignment for David Von Ancken to write and direct this flick based on a short story by Barry Longyear.

Tonight, He Comes
Genre: Drama
Writer: Vincent Ngo
Buyer: Artisan Pictures
Producer: Akiva Goldsman
Log Line: Dark tale about the relationship between a troubled 12-year-old and a fallen superhero.
Side Note: Spec script. Akiva Goldsman to produce via his Weed Road Pictures banner.

Stander
Genre: Heist-Drama
Writer: Bima Stagg
Buyer: Kismet Entertainment Group
Producer: David E. Allen, Peter Hoffman
Log Line: A group of South African bank robbers, operating from three safe houses in Johannesburg, went on a spree from October 1983 to February 1984, sometimes hitting four banks in a day.
Side Note: Based on a true story. Kismet's David E. Allen will produce along with Seven Arts' Peter Hoffman. Bronwen Hughes will direct. Script originally set up in April 2002.

Asylum
Genre: Thriller
Writer: Patrick McGrath (author)
Buyer: Paramount Classics
Producer: Mace Neufeld, David E. Allen, Harmon Kaslow
Log Line: The beautiful wife of one of the chief psychiatrists at a maximum security mental hospital falls under the spell of a charismatic artist/patient.
Side Note: To be based on the best-selling novel by McGrath. Kismet Entertainment will produce this film. Natasha Richardson to star in. David Mackenzie to direct. Mace Neufeld to produce along with David E. Allen and Harmon Kaslow.

Bullet
Genre: Thriller
Writer: Peter Naess
Buyer: Universal
Producer: Dag Alveberg
Logline: Small Norwegian company menaced by a greedy multinational conglomerate.
Side Note: This will be the second sequel to "Elling." It is part of a four picture U.S. distribution deal Norwegian producer Dag Alveberg signed with Universal through his Maipo Films.

Cold Creek Manor
Genre: Thriller
Writer: Richard Jeffries
Buyer: Walt Disney Pics.
Purchase Price: Mid-six figures/high-six
Logline: Family moves from city to country to open a bed and breakfast and has to deal with an ex-con who gets out of prison and wants his house back.
Side Note: First set up on 03/08/01 as a spec. Screenwriter Jeffries was paid mid-six figures/high-six figures for his efforts. It was announced today that Sharon Stone is negotiating to star opposite Dennis Quaid. Mike Figgis will direct.

Johnny Yang
Genre: Romantic thriller
Buyer: Universal
Producer: Dag Alveberg
Logline: Centers on a love triangle.
Side Note: This will be the first sequel to "Elling." It is part of a four picture U.S. distribution deal Norwegian producer Dag Alveberg signed with Universal through his Maipo Films.

Over The Hedge
Genre: Animation
Writer: Len Blum
Author: Michael Fry, T. Lewis
Buyer: DreamWorks Pictures
Producer: Bonie Arnold
Logline: A turtle and a raccoon become friends as they figure out how to co-exist with their human neighbors who are moving closer and closer to their homes. The turtle's first instinct is to retreat into his shell, but the opportunistic R.J. the raccoon sees a treasure trove to be had from his unsuspecting new neighbors in the strange new world known as suburbia.
Side Note: Based on comic strip by Michael Fry and T. Lewis. Jim Carrey and Garry Shandling have agreed to lend their voices to characters in this animated feature. Carrey will be con artist raccoon R.J. while Shandling will play Verne, a sensitive turtle and another of the comic strip's main characters. Tim Johnson ("Antz") is directing.

Pearlstein Untitled Project
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Rob Pearlstein
Buyer: Universal
Logline: Set in Tuscany, story is about a guy who tries to plan the perfect proposal vacation with his girlfriend only to see disaster ensue.
Side Note: Pearlstein was one of the top ten finalists in the Project Greenlight competition.

Seeing Double
Genre: Drama
Writer: Kim Fuller
Buyer: Sony Pictures
Producer: Alan Barnette, Simon Fuller
Logline: The adventures of four boys and two girls in their early 20's.
Side Note: Video director Nigel Dick is in negotiations to direct. Negative pickup deal for Sony. Sally Robinson is rewriting the script by Kim Fuller. The film will feature the teen pop group S Club.

21 Grams
Genre: Drama
Writer: Guillermo Arriaga
Buyer: Focus Features
Producer: Alejandro Gonzalez, Ted Hope
Logline: 21 Grams is not a drug term but rather a reference to the amount of weight the human body loses upon death. The drama attributes that to the weight of a soul leaving the body.
Side Note: Director/Producer Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga, who made their feature debut together on the acclaimed Mexican pic "Amores Perros," will team up again. Announcement that Universal-based Focus Features has won a bidding war for the worldwide rights to this $20 mil flick to begin shooting this December. Benicio Del Toro, Sean Penn and Naomi Watts might star.

30 Days Of Night
Genre: Supernatural
Writer: Steve Niles
Buyer: Senator International
Producer: Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert
Logline: Set in the remote town of Barrow, Alaska, the town's sheriffs, a couple, must decide whether they should save themselves or save the town, when the sleepy town is overrun by vampires.
Side Note: To be adapted from the comic book series of the same name. Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert to produce. Mike Richardson will Executive Produce.

A Dandy In Aspic
Genre: Thriller
Writer: Yuri Zeltser and Cary Bickley
Buyer: Columbia Pics.
Purchase Price: Mid-six figures
Producer: Mace Neufeld
Logline: A double agent is given orders to kill himself.
Side Note: Remake of the 1968 spy flick.

Ghetto Buck
Genre: Comedy
Buyer: Columbia Pics.
Producer: Michael Green, Peaches Davis, Robert Lawrence
Logline: Story is about a sweet natured, bucktoothed pizza delivery guy, who through a series of circumstances becomes a media celebrity.
Side Note: Martin Lawrence will star, Dennis Dugan will direct. Story will have Martin Lawrence playing three characters, one of which is based on a character that Lawrence played in "Blue Streak." Martin Lawrence will exec produce with Sharon Dugan.

The Member Guest
Genre: Drama
Writer: Clint McCown, Tom Mangan
Author: Clint McCowan
Buyer: David Brown and Kit Golden
Producer: David Brown, Kit Golden
Logline: Story is set a country club during its annual member/guest golf tournament, with the main characters covering players to concession stand workers.
Side Note: Based on the novel by McCown. David Brown and Kit Golden will produce. Tom Mangan will make his directorial debut.

SHI
Genre: Action/Thriller
Writer: Kevin Bernhardt, William Tucci
Buyer: Mandolin Entertainment
Producer: Mimi Polk Gitlin
Logline: Strong, independent woman comes to New York to avenge the deaths of her father and brother. By day she works as a liaison for the Japanese Embassy. At night her warrior personality kicks in, which involves her in a series of investigations led by a New York detective who falls in love with her while helping her come to terms with the profound revelation of her alter ego.
Side Note: Option. To be based on Tucci's comic book series of the same name. Mimi Polk Gitlin to produce via her Mandolin banner.

The Sigma Protocol
Genre: Thriller
Writer: Chap Taylor
Producer: Paul L. Sandberg
Buyer: Universal
Log Line: A company executive finds himself at the center of a conspiracy involving a multinational cartel built on remnants of World War II by industrialists and financiers bent on exploiting wartime technology and protecting their wealth from the threat of communism.
Side Note: To be based on Robert Ludlum's novel of the same name. Paul L. Sandberg to produce. Antoine Fuqua to direct.

The Velvet Touch
Genre: Thriller
Writer: Raymond De Felitta
Buyer: RKO Pics.
Producer: Anne Harrison
Logline: Broadway diva who thinks she has murdered her tyrannical producer and must outmaneuver cops, press and suspicious colleagues to preserve her charmed career.
Side Note: Remake of the 1948 flick from RKO which starred Rosalind Russell and Sydney Greenstreet. Raymond De Fellita will direct from his own screenplay. Ted Hartley will executive produce.

Alien vs. Predator
Genre: Sci-fi/Action
Writer: Paul Anderson
Buyer: Twentieth Century Fox
Producer: John Davis, David Giler, Lawrence Gordon, Joel Silver
Logline: Story will focus on a scientist who foolishly hatches alien eggs to create an environment attractive to predators.
Side Note: Assignment for "Resident Evil" director Paul Anderson. Screenplay will be based on a 1999 Fox Interactive video game.

Bartimaeus Trilogy
Genre: Children
Author: Jonathan Stroud
Buyer: Miramax
Logline: First installment called "The Amulet of Samarkand" is about an ancient djinni named Bartimaeus who is summoned by a disobedient young wizard to steal a magical amulet from a powerful magician.
Side Note: Series of books. Deal was made based on a 120-page partial manuscript from book one, and an outline for the trilogy. The author is a former book editor.

Legend Has It
Genre: Family
Writer: Bryan Sipe, Lorene Scafaria
Buyer: Revolution Studios
Purchase Price: Low-six figures/mid-six
Logline: A group of kids who must band together to save imagination from sinister forces.
Side Note: First sale for writers.

Return To Castle Wolfenstein
Genre: Action/Adventure
Buyer: Columbia Pics.
Producer: John Baldecchi, Mark Gordon
Logline: Highly decorated Army Ranger who is recruited into the Office Of Secret Actions, must gain entry into and escape from Castle Wolfenstein, the lair of Gestapo capo Heinrich Himmler -- whose occult and genetic experiments are raising an unstoppable army to level the Allies.
Side Note: To be based on the video game developed by ID Software.

Scanners
Genre: Sci-fi/Thriller
Buyer: Artisan Ent.
Producer: Pierre David, Rene Malo, Clark Peterson
Logline: Scientists attempt to infiltrate an underground movement of people with extraordinary telepathic abilities, "scanners," who are using their powers to take over the world.
Side Note: Remake of the 1981 David Cronenberg. Artisan made the deal with rights' holders Pierre David and Rene Malo who will produce with Clark Peterson.

The Shaggy Dog
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Jack Amiel, Mike Begler
Buyer: Walt Disney Pics.
Producer: Robert Simonds
Logline: A spell is cast upon a family man who keeps changing into a sheepdog and back again at the most inopportune times.
Side Note: Remake of the 1959 Disney classic. Studio hired "Malcom in the Middle" writers Jack Amiel and Michael Begler to pen the script.

Beat The Eagle
Genre: Romantic comedy
Writer: Tom Schulman
Buyer: Intermedia
Logline: A beloved two term president retires to a small East Coast town to write his memoirs. He's asked to become the local mayor but he finds himself challenged for the position by a local hardware proprietor and the election escalates into a battle royal.
Side Note: Rod Lurie to direct.

Untitled
Genre: Action comedy
Writer: Mitchel Katlin, Nat Bernstein
Buyer: Columbia Pictures
Producers: Neal Moritz, Marty Adelstein, Tania Landau
Log Line: Described as a buddy film in the vein of "Witness."
Side Note: Pitch. The Rock is attached to star in. Original's Neal Moritz, Marty Adelstein and Tania Landau to produce along with World Wrestling Entertainment.

Noah
Genre: Sci-fi /Action
Writer: Jan Skrentny, Neal Tabachnick
Buyer: Electric Entertainment
Producer: Dean Devlin
Price: Mid-six figures
Log Line: Centers on a young scientist's battle for survival.
Side Note: Pitch. Preemptive bid. Electric's Marc Roskin brought the pitch in and will develop.

To Have and Have Not
Genre: Thriller
Writer: Tod "Kip" Williams
Buyer: Universal Focus
Producer: Benicio Del Toro, Laura Bickford
Log Line: A fisherman in the Florida Keys, who isn't making enough money to feed his family, becomes involved out of desperation with smugglers.
Side Note: To be adapted from novel by Ernest Hemingway. Benicio Del Toro to star in. Williams will direct as well as write.

Maldonne
Genre: Suspense-Thriller
Writer: Pierre Boileau, Thomas Narcejac
Buyer: Nimbus Films
Producers: Lars Bredo Rahbeck, Jerome Lapara-Dares
Log Line: A down-on-his luck musician is hired to pose as a rich look alike to procure an inheritance, but ends up serving as the decoy for an assassination.
Side Note: Will be adapted from Boileau and Narcejac's 1962 French novel, and will be an English-language production. Dogma95's Lars Bredo Rahbek will Executive Produce along with Jerome Lapara-Dares.

Into the Frying Pan
Genre: Romantic-Comedy
Writer: Tracey Jackson
Buyer: Warner Brothers
Producers: Alan Rich, Tony Ludwig
Log Line: A spoiled young woman left at the altar and decides to rest and recuperate at a resort in Tuscany, but accidentally registers for a boot camp cooking school.
Side Note: It is currently out to cast.

One for All
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Tracey Jackson
Buyer: MGM
Producers: Deborah Chase, Arnold Rifkin
Log Line: Three beautiful, but out-of-work actresses, hatch a devious plot with a beleaguered and vengeful airline attendant.
Side Note: Remake of the Claude Lelouch film.

Untitled Jackson Romantic Comedy Pitch
Genre: Romantic-Comedy
Writer: Tracey Jackson
Buyer: GreeneStreet Films
Log Line: A love affair sparks between a India-based telemarketer who's been trained to have an American accent and the would-be customer whom she reaches in the United States.
Side Note: Pitch. Fisher Stevens will possibly direct.

Carter Beats the Devil
Genre: Drama
Writer: Michael Arndt
Buyer: Paramount
Log Line: Set in America in the 20's, story centers Charles Carter, aka Carter the Great, a brilliant stage magician known for outrageous stunts carried out on elaborate sets. He runs into major problems -- and the Secret Service -- when he puts on the most outrageous stunt of all, using President Harding.
Side Note: To be adapted from Glen David Gold's novel. C/W Productions and filmmaker Robert Towne are to be involved.

Mister Blandings Builds His Dream House
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Eric Wald
Buyer: RKO
Log Line: A couple, who live in a New York apartment, decide to move to the country and build a home, a task that proves much easier said than done.
Side Note: Remake of the 1948 comedy. Steve Carr is attached to direct the project. Project set up in March 2002.

Providence
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Jeff Nathanson
Buyer: Disney
Producers: David Permut, Larry Brezner
Log Line: Two young filmmakers are given $3 million by a mysterious benefactor to make a film in Providence, Rhode Island. When they go to shoot their movie they discover that they have been unwitting players in an FBI sting operation
Side Note: Loosely based on a true story. Nathanson to also direct.

Double Au Pair
Genre: Adventure/Comedy
Writer: Jessica Stevenson
Buyer: New Line Cinema
Logline: Black sheep of a spy family gets a job as a British Ambassador's au pair. She then uses her job as a gateway to an imaginary mission and takes the children on an unforgettable espionage adventure that leads them to stumble into real life intrigue.
Side Note: To star and be written by British actress Jessica Stevenson.

The Guardian
Genre: Action/Adventure
Writer: Ron Brinkerhoff
Buyer: Walt Disney Pics.
Purchase Price: Mid-six figures
Producer: Beau Flynn, Tripp Vinson
Logline: Set in Alaska, story is about a legendary rescue swimmer who, after losing his crew in a fatal crash, mentors a young recruit, teaching him the meaning of sacrifice.
Side Note: Firm Films will produce for Disney.

School For Scoundrels
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Todd Phillips
Buyer: Dimension Films/Miramax
Producer: Todd Phillips
Logline: Story will take place at a night class at the 92nd Street Y in N.Y. It will be about a group of loser guys who are taught the fine art of being cutthroat, in order to get ahead in life.
Side Note: This is the first of a three picture deal Todd Phillips ("Road Trip") has made with Dimension and Miramax. Studio purchased the remake rights of this 1960 British comedy but it will be completely revamped from the original. Phillips will write, produce and direct "Scoundrels."

Twice In A Lifetime
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Aaron Mendelsohn
Buyer: Twentieth Century Fox/Lightstorm Ent.
Producer: James Cameron, Rae Sanchini, Jon Landau
Logline: A man accidentally regresses to the age he was when he first met his wife. As he progresses back to his normal age over the course of ten days, he and his wife get to relive their relationship -- and make it better.
Side Note: Purchase was made with Lightstorm's discretionary fund.

Untitled Lego Project
Genre: Animation
Buyer: Miramax
Logline: Based on the Bionicle toy line involving six heroes, known as the Toa, who join forces to collect legendary artifacts the Masks of Power and defeat Makuta, an evil ruler who has taken over the island of Mata Nui.
Side Note: First animated cgi project to be produced by Miramax. They will develop the project with Lego Media. On the fast-track for a 2004 theatrical release.

Alms
Genre: Ghost story/Horror
Writer: Richard Price
Author: Richard Price
Buyer: Paramount/Scott Rudin Prods.
Purchase Price: $2 mil.
Producer: Scott Rudin
Logline: Urban ghost story about psychics who work with police.
Side Note: Deal includes book rights and a screenplay to be written by author/screenwriter Richard Price.

Hannibal
Genre: Action/Adventure
Author: Ross Leckie
Buyer: Revolution Studios
Producer: Vin Diesel, George Zakk
Logline: Story of the third century B.C. Carthaginian general rides an elephant across the Alps to attack Rome.
Side Note: To be adapted from Ross Leckie's novel. Vin Diesel will star in. Diesel and his One Race Productions partner George Zakk will produce. Revolution hopes to get an A-list writer soon and put the film into production next year.

The Rose
Genre: Thriller
Writer: Karen Moncrieff
Author: Martin Cruz Smith
Buyer: Miramax
Logline: In 1872, an American mining engineer comes to an English mining town to investigate the disappearance of a young cleric. His search takes him below the town's serene surface, deep into the underworld of violent miners and their "pit girls." One of these girls, Rose, is the last known person to have seen the missing man. The American investigator antagonizes the miners, but when he falls for Rose, the antagonisms turn deadly.
Side Note: Karen Monkrieff will direct and do a rewrite of the Ted Talley script based on the Martin Cruz Smith novel.

The Time of Our Lives
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Rod Spence
Buyer: Marca-Relli Productions
Log line: Set in the arena of women's basketball, an independent team tours the Midwest in the early 1960s.
Side Note: Spec sale. An ensemble piece.

17 Stone Angels
Author: Stuart Cohen
Buyer: Paramount/CW Prods.
Producer: Tom Cruise, Paula Wagner
Logline: Detective near retirement in Buenos Aires assigned to investigate the murder of an American writer -- a crime that he was involved in. An American woman detective is also called in to investigate.
Side Note: To be adapted from Cohen's new novel. Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner's C/W Productions to produce.

Alive and Kicking
Genre: True Story
Author: Harvey Araton
Buyer: Hart Sharp Ent.
Producer: John Hart, Jeff Sharp, Robert Kessel
Logline: Story is about a group of suburban mothers in Montclair, NJ who started their own soccer league.
Side Note: Indie production company has optioned this book by Araton. To be produced by Hart Sharp's John Hart, Jeff Sharp and Robert Kessel.

Mystic River
Genre: Psychological thriller
Writer: Brian Helgeland
Author: Dennis Lehane
Buyer: Warner Bros.
Producer: Clint Eastwood
Logline: Story of three childhood friends whose relationship ends after a tragic incident, only to see them reunite 25 years later when they become linked to a murder investigation.
Side Note: The best selling novel was written by Dennis Lehane. Clint Eastwood will direct and produce. Laurence Fishburne has been signed to star. Project was first set up as book purchase on 3/13/01. Screenwriter Brian Helgeland came aboard on 4/17/01 to adapt the novel.

Papa Was
Genre: Drama
Writer: Felicia Henderson
Buyer: Twentieth Century Fox Searchlight
Producer: Felicia Henderson, Paul Hall
Logline: Story of how a lifelong friendship between two men in their 20s deteriorates when one of them, who works as a high-priced gigolo, falls in love for the first time.
Side Note: This is part of a three-picture deal writer/director/producer Felicia Henderson has signed with Fox Searchlight. Hallway Films will produce. Henderson is the exec producer of Showtime's "Soul Food." Boris Kodjoe from "Soul Food" is set to star.

Untitled Austin Chick Project
Genre: Dark Comedy
Writer: Austin Chick
Buyer: Casey Silver Prods.
Producer: Casey Silver
Logline: Recently fired online exec takes revenge on his boss.
Side Note: Screenwriter will also direct.

Catch That Girl
Genre: Adventure
Buyer: Twentieth Century Fox 2000
Purchase Price: Mid-six figures
Producer: Andrew Lazar
Logline: A twelve-year old girl and two boys are forced to pull a bank heist in order to save the girl's father.
Side Note: Remake of the Danish teen adventure film of the same name which debuted earlier this year. Andrew Lazar from Mad Chance will produce. Managers Damien Saccani and Mikkel Bondeson will exec produce.

Untitled Howard Gould Project
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Howard Gould
Buyer: Intermedia Films
Purchase Price: High-six figures
Producer: Charles Weinstock
Logline: Sexual harassment within the world of academia.
Side Note: Pitch. Chuck Weinstock and Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella's Mirage Enterprises to produce. A draft by Howard Gould is expected within the month.

The Lost
Genre: Psychological thriller
Writer: Jay Beattie, Dan Dworkin
Buyer: Artisan Ent.
Purchase Price: Low-six figures
Producer: David Goyer
Logline: A psychiatrist is asked to evaluate a woman who's been diagnosed with multiple personalities; he becomes obsessed with her case once his analysis suggests the multiple "personalities" are actually murder victims.
Side Note: David S. Goyer to produce. The screenwriters managers', Darby Parker, Chris Bender and J.C. Spink will exec produce.

Sweet Hush
Genre: Drama
Author: Deborah Smith
Buyer: Walt Disney Pics.
Purchase Price: Mid-six figures
Producer: Debra Martin Chase
Logline: Story is about a widowed female head of an Appalachian apple-growing empire who is pitted against the White House when her only son comes home from Harvard after having secretly married the president's daughter.
Side Note: Pre-emptive purchase on the film rights to this novel by Smith. Producer Deborah Martin Chase has a development deal with Disney.