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2016 Mid-Year Spec Script Deal Report

Scott Myers

• 10 min read
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We are now officially halfway through 2016 and as I do each year at this time, I take the opportunity to take a gander at what spec scripts have been set up during the first six months of the year. Here they are:

  1. Title: Bury the Lead Logline: A talented journalist who, in his life-long quest for a Pulitzer Prize, fabricates the truth to create a compelling murder story. When his concocted conspiracy becomes real, right and wrong become entangled as he fights for his safety, career and family before time runs out. Writer: Justin Kremer Genre: Drama Thriller Agency: CAA Management: Madhouse Entertainment Buyer: Elston Films Date: 1/20/16 Notes: 2013 Black List script.
  2. Title: Leverage Logline: Set in the summer of 1974, it wraps a murder mystery around the beginnings of modern Wall Street mergers-and-acquisitions hustlers evident in films like The Wolf Of Wall Street. Writer: Oliver Kramer Genre: Drama Management: Oasis Media Group Buyer: FilmNation Date: 2/4/16 Notes: Bought amid competitive situation.
  3. Title: Smoke on the Water Logline: Set in the world of offshore boat racing, open water drug smuggling and the U.S. Coast Guard–exploring the “nautical narcotic highway” from Cuba to Key West. Writers: Trey Callaway, Rick Parks Genre: Action Agency: CAA Management: Rain Management Group, Silvera Management Prod Co: Thunder Road Date: 2/5/16.
  4. Title: Horizon Line Logline: Follows a couple on a small airplane which loses its way over the Pacific Ocean. Writers: Josh Campbell, Matt Stuecken Genre: Thriller Agency: UTA Management: Madhouse Entertainment Buyer: Svensk Filmindustri Date: 2/10/16
  5. Title: Malpractice Logline: In the vein of “Taken” meets “The Fugitive.” Writer: Tyler Marceca Genre: Thriller Agency: WME Management: Anonymous Content Buyer: Endurance Productions Date: 2/10/16 Notes: Option deal. Writer made the 2012 Black List.
  6. Title: Burnt Offering Logline: Described as “Prisoners” meets “Silence of the Lambs” Writer: Tyler Marceca Genre: Drama Thriller Agency: WME Management: Anonymous Content Buyer: Armory Films Date: 2/10/16 Notes: Option deal. Write made the 2012 Black List. This is his 2nd spec script deal of 2016.
  7. Title: Miami, PI Logline: A young PI with a checkered past teams up with an ex-model/hot mess to solve the murder of a young girl in Miami. As they navigate the sleazy underbelly of Miami and follow leads pertaining to the murder, they find themselves in way over their heads as they begin to uncover clues linking a high-powered figure to a far-reaching conspiracy. Writer: Michael Diliberti Genre: Detective Drama Agency: WME Buyer: Endurance Media Date: 2/11/16 Notes: Writer made the 2011 Black List. Slated to direct the movie.
  8. Title: Battle of New Orleans Logline: One of the greatest untold stories in American history featuring General and future President, Andrew Jackson, who reluctantly partners with world-renowned pirate Jean Lafitte to lead a ragtag team of soldiers against the indomitable British Army in the climactic battle of the War of 1812. Writer: Daniel Kunka Genre: Historical War Drama Agency: ICM Partners Management: Madhouse Entertainment Buyer: Endurance Media Date: 2/11/16 Notes: Writer made the 2014 Black List.
  9. Title: Set It Up Logline: Two overworked assistants with nasty bosses try to get their supervisors out of their hair, by setting them up romantically. Writer: Katie Silberman Genre: Romantic Comedy Agency: CAA Buyer: MGM Date: 2/19/16.
  10. Title: Samaritan Logline: 20 years after an epic battle left a city’s supervillain dead and its superhero missing, a young boy befriends the old man across the alleyway and as their relationship develops, the boy comes to believe the man is the hero in hiding. The truth, however, proves to be more shocking than the boy could have ever imagined. Writer: Bragi F. Schut Genre: Drama Agency: Verve Management: Realm Buyer: Bold Films Date: 2/18/16.
  11. Title: Bravado Logline: The protagonist is a former soldier who believes the world is a good place and worth fighting for, but his optimism is tested in the most dramatic way possible after he returns home from the war and takes a job as a police officer. Writer: BenDavid Grabinski Genre: Action Agency: UTA Management: Kaplan/Perrone Buyer: Paramount Date: 3/3/16. Notes: Ticking clock offer and preemptive deal.
  12. Title: Intrusion Logline: A woman moves with her husband to a small town in Maine after a cancer scare and becomes the victim of a strange home invasion. She begins to uncover a darkness underneath her seemingly idyllic new life. Writer: Chris Sparling Genre: Thriller Agency: UTA Management: Kaplan/Perrone Buyer: Good Universe Date: 3/15/16.
  13. Title: The Caretaker Logline: Set in the future amid a violent robot uprising that pits man against machine, The Caretaker follows a life-like female android who chooses to protect a young girl. The bond forged along the journey to reunite the girl with her missing father may be the only thing that can stem the tide of war. Writer: Duncan Samarasinghe Genre: Science Fiction Thriller Agency: UTA Management: Old Soul Entertainment Buyer: Screen Gems Date: 3/16/16. Notes: Script was a 2014 Nicholl semifinalist.
  14. Title: Bubbles Logline: The story of Michael Jackson’s life and history from the perspective of the pet Chimp which got a close-up view after being adopted by Jackson from an Austin, Texas research facility and given residence at the Neverland Ranch in 1983. Writer: Isaac Adamson Genre: Biopic Comedy Agency: CAA Management: Lee Stobby Buyer: End Cue Date: 3/18/16. Notes: To be produced by Dan Harmon as a stop-motion animated feature.
  15. Title: Bright Logline: Contemporary cop thriller, but with fantastical elements. Writer: Max Landis Genre: Thriller Agency: WME Management: Writ Large Buyer: Netflix Date: 3/19/16. Notes: Sale price for screenplay: $3M. Part of a $90M package deal including Will Smith and Joel Edgerton to star, David Ayer to direct.
  16. Title: Mid ’90s Logline: Follows a young boy coming up in Los Angeles in the mid-1990s learning life lessons with his skateboarding crew of friends. Writer: Jonah Hill Genre: Drama Agency: WME Management: LBI Entertainment Buyer: A24 Date: 3/30/16.
  17. Title: Done It All Logline: A biopic of musician Merle Haggard’s life. Writer: Cliff Hollingsworth Genre: Biopic Drama Agency: N/A Management: N/A Prod Co: GMH Productions Date: 4/12/16. Notes: An option deal.
  18. Title: Deeper Logline: Involves a former astronaut hired to take a submersible to the lowest point in the ocean. As the submersible gets closer to its destination, supernatural events transpire. Writer: Max Landis Genre: Action Supernatural Agency: WME Management: Writ Large Buyer: MGM Date: 4/12/16. Notes: Bradley Cooper attached to star.
  19. Title: Stuber Logline: Takes place over one harrowing night in the life of an Uber driver named Stu Writer: Tripper Clancy Genre: Action Comedy Agency: UTA Management: Benderspink Buyer: Twentieth Century Fox Date: 4/15/16. Notes: Reported mid-six figure deal.
  20. Title: Women In Business Logline: The film, centers on two competitive women who are sent on a business trip to Canada. There, they hire a third woman off Craigslist to act as their intern, which derails their trip. Writer: Laura Steinel Genre: Comedy Agency: UTA Management: Principato-Young Entertainment Buyer: Twentieth Century Fox Date: 4/21/16. Notes: Bidding war. Emma Stone, Kate McKinnon and Jillian Bell attached to star.
  21. Title: Man Alive Logline: Described as elevated science fiction Writer: Joe Greenberg Genre: Science Fiction Agency: Verve Management: Benderspink Buyer: Twentieth Century Fox Date: 4/22/16. Notes: Writer is a first-timer. Deal reported to be for six figures.
  22. Title: Couple Up Logline: A married couple, verging on divorce, wishes they had never met. In an It’s A Wonderful Life-type scenario, they see what life would have been like had they never gotten together. Writer: Joshua Friedlander Genre: Fantasy Drama Agency: Paradigm Management: Industry Entertainment Buyer: Lionsgate Date: 4/22/16. Notes: Bidding is described as having been a “competitive situation”.
  23. Title: Exposure Logline: Rosalind Franklin, an extraordinary scientist, is an expert at crystallography and takes the first photos that eventually lead James Watson to figure out the structure of the DNA in 1953. She never gets the credit she deserves and dies of cancer in 1958. Writers: Hayley Schore and Roshan Sethi Genre: Drama Biography Agency: ICM Partners Management: Stagecoach Entertainment Buyer: Entertainment One Films International Date: 4/29/16. Notes: Auction that had studios in the competitive mix.
  24. Title: Victim 321 Logline: A jaded Chicago homicide detective wakes up in the body of an ex-con three days before his murder. He has 72 hours to unravel the conspiracy behind the victim’s death, or he’ll meet his own demise. Writer: Michael McGrale Genre: Thriller Agency: CAA Management: Craig Cook Buyer: Millennium Films Date: 5/4/16.
  25. Title: Untitled Angela Davis Project Logline: Suspected 60s radical Angela Davis, accused of conspiracy in the murder of a federal judge, became the first woman on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list, became an iconic symbol of an era. After fleeing from authorities, she is eventually captured and must exonerate herself from an all white jury during the racially turbulent early 1970’s. Writer: LaToya Morgan Genre: Biopic Agency: CAA Management: Echo Lake Buyer: The Firm. Date: 5/5/16.
  26. Title: The Last Days of Night Logline: The miracle of electric light is in its infancy. Thomas Edison has won the race to the patent office and is suing his only remaining rival, George Westinghouse, for the unheard of sum of one billion dollars. To defend himself, Westinghouse makes a surprising choice in his attorney: He hires an untested twenty-six-year-old fresh out of Columbia Law School named Paul Cravath. The task facing Cravath is beyond daunting. Edison proves to be a formidable, wily, and dangerous opponent. Yet this young, unknown attorney shares with his famous opponent a compulsion to win at all costs. How will he do it? As he takes greater and greater risks, he’ll find that everyone in his path is playing their own game, and no one is quite who they seem. Writer: Graham Moore Genre: Historical Drama Agency: CAA Management: Think Tank Management Buyer: Black Bear Pictures Date: 5/10/16. Notes: Auction. Moore wrote the script on spec adapting his own book which is to be published in the fall.
  27. Title: The Gun Show Logline: An action comedy in the vein of Ride Along meets Demolition Man, the spec focuses on a famous top cop who wakes up 20 years after a shootout and gets reinstated to solve the case that killed his old partner. He’s a bull in a china shop, as 2016 is a very different time than the 1990s world he was used to. To teach him the ropes, he’s paired with his old partner’s son, who is a risk averse traffic cop. Writer: Lucas Carter Genre: Action Comedy Management: Echo Lake Entertainment Buyer: Paramount Pictures Date: 6/2/16.
  28. Title: 17 Bridges Logline: The thriller follows a disgraced detective in the NYPD who is given a shot at redemption. Thrust into a citywide manhunt for a cop killer, he begins to undercover a massive conspiracy that links his fellow cops to a criminal empire and must decide who he is hunting and who is actually hunting him. During the manhunt, Manhattan is completely locked down for the first time in its history — no exit or entry to the island including all 17 bridges. Writer: Adam Mervis Genre: Thriller Agency: Paradigm Management: Grandview Buyer: STX Entertainment Date: 6/2/16.
  29. Title: Burn Run Logline: When an intelligence leak dangerously exposes a covert mission in Afghanistan, a grieving CIA operative and his translator must find their way out of the desert, outgunned and hunted by elite special forces. Writer: Mitchell LaFortune Genre: Action Agency: Paradigm Buyer: Thunder Road Pictures Date: 6/6/16. Notes: Writer is a former Army sergeant and intelligence analyst with the 82nd Airborne Division.
  30. Title: Backward Falling Logline: A man and a woman who fall in love as they literally fall backward through time, sometimes landing in the same time period and sometimes losing one another for years. They struggle to stay together while trying to understand what is happening to them and why. Writers: Byron Willinger, Phillip De Blasi Genre: Science Fiction Romance Agency: Verve Buyer: Storyscape Entertainment Date: 6/8/16. Notes: Low-six figure deal.
  31. Title: Reason of State Logline: A taut political thriller unfolding over 24 hours inside one of the world’s most famous addresses: 10 Downing Street. Writer: Matthew Orton Genre: Political Thriller Agency: WME, The Agency Management: Grandview Buyer: Black Bear Pictures Date: 6/10/16. Notes: 2nd spec script sale by Orton.
  32. Title: Do No Harm Logline: An ambitious surgeon’s life takes a dangerous turn when she indulges in an a air with a doctor whose god complex challenges her own. Writer: Julia Cox Genre: Thriller Agency: APA Management: Allison Doyle Buyer: Paramount Pictures Date: 6/17/16. Notes: Script made the 2015 Black List.
  33. Title: Moonfall Logline: An unlikely band of misfits must unite to save humanity when the moon falls out of orbit and hurtles towards earth Writers: Roland Emmerich, Harald Kloser, Spenser Cohen Genre: Science Fiction Agencies: CAA, WME Buyer: Universal Pictures Date: 6/24/16. Notes: Seven figure deal.
  34. Title: Trigger Warning Logline: The script is described as a female First Blood with John Wick thrown in for good measure, where the reluctant heroine reveals herself in a small town Writers: John Brancato, Josh Olson Genre: Action Agencies: Paradigm, Claire Best & Associates Management: The Gotham Group Buyer: Thunder Road Pictures Date: 6/23/16.
  35. Title: Mary Logline: A struggling family buys an old ship at auction with high hopes of starting a charter business, only to discover her horrifying secrets on the isolated open waters Writer: Anthony Jaswinski Genre: Thriller Agency: Paradigm Management: Circle of Confusion Buyer: Tooley Productions Date: 6/24/16. Notes: Competitive bidding situation.
  36. Title: Porter Rockwell Logline: The story is set in the Utah territory during the mid-1800s gold rush. Rockwell, who became a U.S. Deputy Marshal, reluctantly leads a family of prospectors into the mountains, where they are ambushed and he is left for dead. Fueled by vengeance, Rockwell treks through rugged and snowy terrain to hunt down the gang that kidnapped a rebellious young girl. Writer: Antonio Macia Genre: Period Western Agency: Paradigm Management: Management 360 Buyer: Hyperion Media Group Date: 6/29/16.

The first thing to note is that deals are up compared to the last two years at the mid-point:

2014: 31
2015: 35
2016: 36

Pretty consistent with a slight upward trend. Compare to mid-year deals back to 2008:

2008: 58
2009: 39
2010: 29
2011: 52
2012: 65
2013: 60

We are definitely in a three-year cycle at the lower end of spec deals.

A couple of things jump out at me:

* Thrillers: A quick head count and I came up with 12 thriller or cross-genre thriller specs. That’s fully 33% of all spec deals year-to-date. Next genre: Drama.

* Black List: Several writers who have made the Black List set up scripts including some actual Black List scripts.

The spec market runs in cycles. The fact there have been some big money sales and several preemptive or competitive bidding deals could be a sign things are heating up. We’ll see.

Remember: The value of a spec script goes beyond whether it sells or not. A spec can land you representation. Your reps can use it to get you meetings with producers, financiers, studio execs, and talent. And if it doesn’t sell now, it’s still an asset which could translate into a deal in the future.

What are you impressions of the spec script which have gotten set up in the first half of 2016? Which of these projects grab your attention? What do you take away from these deals in terms of your own writing projects?

Congrats to all the writers who set up a spec this year!

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