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2015 Mid-Year Spec Script Deal Report

Scott Myers

• 11 min read
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We are now officially halfway through 2015 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:

2015 Spec Script Deals

  1. Title: Sam & Liz: A Killer Love Story Logline: Sam is an average guy working a 9 to 5 job that he hates, wishing for a more exciting life. When he meets gorgeous thrill-seeker Liz, he gets more than he bargained for. Together they go on a wild ride discovering that nothing they know about themselves is true and their connection to each other has surprising and deadly consequences. Writer: Matt Altman Genre: Action Science Fiction Agency: APA Management: Parallax Talent Management Buyer: Relativity Media Date: 1/7/15.
  2. Title: The Search Logline: Centers on an expert tracker who battles his demons while on a journey to rescue his estranged older brother, who has vanished in the wilderness of the Northwest. Writer: Spenser Mondshein Genre: Action Drama Agency: APA Management: Management 360 Buyer: Voltage Pictures Date: 1/12/15. Notes: Mondshein is a first-timer.
  3. Title: Senior Year Logline: After a cheerleader falls off a pyramid and knocks herself into a coma, she awakens 20 years later (present day) in the body of a 37-year-old woman. But having only aged physically and knowing nothing else, she returns to reclaim her seat at the cool table and win the prom queen crown that has eluded her. Writer: Andrew Knauer and Arthur Pielli Genre: Comedy Agency: Gersh Management: Benderspink Buyer: CBS Films Date: 1/29/15. Notes: Deal is for a reported mid-six figures.
  4. Title: Desert Eagle Logline: A pair of border patrol agents investigate a drug cartel being operated out of a Native American reservation casino. Writers: Mike Le, Tyrese Gibson Genre: Action Agency: APA Management: Jonathan Hung Buyer: Universal Pictures Date: 2/2/15. Notes: This is an option deal. Being rewritten by Matthew Stuecken and Josh Campbell.
  5. Title: Bismarck Logline: During the darkest hours of WWII, a British naval officer, raw from the loss of his ship, is thrust into the thick of the hunt for the most formidable Nazi battleship to ever set sail: the Bismarck. Writer: Jared Cowie Genre: Historical Drama Management: Benderspink Buyer: Universal Pictures Date: 2/4/15. Notes: This is an option deal. First-time sale.
  6. Title: Darkest Hour Logline: Days into his new job as Prime Minister as Britain was getting pounded and on the verge of losing to Germany, Churchill was under pressure to make a deal with Hitler that would have established Britain as a puppet state of the Third Reich. His army stranded in Dunkirk, Churchill instead summoned the courage to fight on. The film is about his decisions, and the actions and immortal speeches in those critical days that defined his place in history and changed the destiny of the world. Writer: Anthony McCarten Genre: Historical Drama Agency: ICM Partners Buyer: Working Title Date: 2/5/15.
  7. Title: Queen of the Air Logline: The story of Lillian Leitzel, a trapeze artist who in the early 20th century was one of the biggest stars in the world as she performed for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, and her tragic love affair with Alfredo Codona, who may have been one of the best trapeze artists to ever flip under the big top. The two were tempestuous artists, divas and madly in love. Writer: Cat Lasko Genre: Drama Bio Agency: WME Management: Grandview Buyer: Warner Bros. Date: 2/11/15. Notes: Written on spec based on 2013 book. Lasko made 2014 Black List with her script “Situation Comedy”.
  8. Title: White Boy Rick Logline: At the age of 14, [Richard] Wershe became an undercover informant for local and federal law enforcement agencies in the mid-80s, and grew in that role enough to establish himself as a major drug dealer. He went from being an asset to an eyesore for law enforcement in the drug trafficking wars, and he was brought down in 1988–found with 17 pounds of coke at age 17–and sentenced to life without parole. Writers: Logan Miller, Noah Miller Genre: Drama Bio Management: Thruline Entertainment Buyer: Studio 8 Date: 2/16/15. Notes: Competing project at Universal. Deal includes a blind script commitment.
  9. Title: Bounty Logline: The story centers on a convicted murderer who busts out of prison to clear his name, however the widow of one of his victims goes on national television and offers a $10 million reward to anyone who delivers the felon. Dead or alive. Writer: Sascha Penn Genre: Action Thriller Agency: CAA Management: Madhouse Entertainment Buyer: Paramount Date: 2/17/15. Notes: Bidding war.
  10. Title: The Burning Woman Logline: In a small, blue-collar town in Pennsylvania, a 32-year-old woman’s teen daughter goes missing and she is left to raise her infant grandson alone. The story is told over the course of 11 years, from the time her daughter vanishes, through the the trials-and-tribulations of subsequent years looking for closure, leading up the long-awaited discovery of the truth. Writer: Brad Ingelsby Genre: Drama Agency: CAA Management: Energy Entertainment Buyer: Scott Free Productions Date: 2/18/15. Notes: Anne Hathaway attached to star.
  11. Title: Hunt, Capture, Kill Logline: A full out action film about the first female president, who is shot down in Air Force One in the jungles of South America. One military man in charge of her rescue is her only hope for survival. Writer: Gregory Allen Howard Genre: Action Agency: WME Management: Gotham Group Buyer: Millennium Films Date: 2/19/15.
  12. Title: Smoke Logline: It’s set in the Miami Vice1980s era in South Beach. Spec tells the true story of Joey Ippolito, who was one of the world’s top speedboat racers. No one in the South Beach socialite crowd knew, however, that he was also running one of the biggest cocaine smuggling operations out of the U.S. Writers: Max Vaney, Luke Goltz Genre: Action Crime Agency: Paradigm Management: Circle of Confusion Buyer: Relativity Media Date: 2/24/15. Notes: Writers are first-timers.
  13. Title: The House Logline: A guy, who, with his wife, blows their daughter’s college fund. Desperate for cash, they team with some neighbors to open an illegal casino in the suburbs Writers: Brendan O’Brien and Andrew J. Cohen Genre: Comedy Agency: CAA Management: Deb Klein Buyer: New Line Date: 2/24/15. Notes: Auction. Will Ferrell attached to star.
  14. Title: A Shot in the Eye Logline: The spec is a science fiction action movie in a dystopian setting, but they’re keeping the exact logline under wraps. Writer: Dan Futterman Genre: Science Fiction Action Agency: UTA Management: Principal Entertainment Buyer: 20th Century Fox Date: 3/3/15 Notes: Matt Reeves attached as producer, perhaps to direct.
  15. Title: Descendant Logline: A couple are overjoyed by the birth of their son. But as he grows older he begins to show signs of genius-level intelligence, which change him in chilling ways, leaving his parents and doctors wondering if his talents are natural or if there is some other force influencing him. Writer: Jeff Buhler Genre: Supernatural Thriller Agency: WME Management: Gotham Group Buyer: Lotus Entertainment Date: 3/6/15.
  16. Title: Undone Logline: A popular podcast brings a strange, decades-old murder case into the spotlight and leads to a re-investigating of the thirty-five year old murder case, One of the nations top litigators fights to free the man the entire country believes was wrongly convicted, until she begins to suspect her own past might be the key to the murder itself. Writer: Melissa London Hilfers Genre: Legal Thriller Agency: Paradigm Management: Alan Gasmer Buyer: Parkes+MacDonald and Black Bear Pictures Date: 3/9/15. Notes: Writer is a first-timer. Competitive auction. Reported mid-six figure deal.
  17. Title: American Hostage Logline: A home-invasion crew terrorizes houses in a neighborhood, until they choose the wrong residence. Suddenly, the hunters become the hunted. Writer: Eric Bress Genre: Thriller Agency: UTA Management: Management 360 Buyer: Merced Media Partners Date: 3/9/15.
  18. Title: Verona Logline: The script is said to reimagine the classic love story through a lens of an epic, 300-style world. Writers: Neil Widener, Gavin James Genre: Drama Epic Agency: CAA Management: Grandview Buyer: Sony Pictures Entertainment Date: 3/19/15. Note: Competitive bidding situation.
  19. Title: Proxima Logline: The sci-fi drama is about a married couple on a centuries-long mission across the universe. Writer: Chris Hager Genre: Science Fiction Agency: Verve Management: Parallax Talent Management Buyer: Rumble Films Date: 3/20/15. Notes: Writer is a first-timer.
  20. Title: Realm Logline: A young woman possesses the power to enter the soul of the possessed to wage physical battle against their inner demons. Writer: Rebecca Sonnenshein Genre: Action Horror Agency: ICM Partners Management: Circle of Confusion Buyer: Relativity Media Date: 3/23/15. Notes: Mid-six figure deal. Sale facilitated by short film written by John Swetnam, who will produce project, and directed by Scott Speers, who is attached to direct the movie.
  21. Title: The Leviathan Logline: Set in the 22nd century, mankind has colonized many worlds and traveling faster than the speed of light has been made possible by the harvesting of exotic matter from the eggs of the largest species mankind has ever seen. Writer: Jim Uhls Genre: Science Fiction Agency: Paradigm Management: Anonymous Content Buyer: Twentieth Century Fox Date: 3/26/15. Notes: Sale accompanied by 3 minute short film. Deal for a reported mid-six against seven figures.
  22. Title: Temple Logline: A team of highly trained operatives get trapped inside an isolated military compound after its artificial intelligence is shut down. The team begins to experience strange and horrific phenomena as they try to determine who or what killed the team previously stationed there. Writer: Michael Savelloni Genre: Action Horror Agency: Gersh Management: Kersey Management Buyer: Erebus Pictures Date: 3/27/15.
  23. Title: American Drifter Logline: A man loses his father, a guy who has taught him to use his mind to do the impossible. Feeling guilty about his death and watching the love of his life go blind in an accident, the man travels the world through the fall of the Berlin Wall, Desert Storm, the LA riots and 9/11. Ultimately, he is reunited with his love. Writer: Eric Bress Genre: Drama Agency: UTA Management: Management 360 Buyer: Relativity Media Date: 3/30/15. Notes: 2nd spec script deal within a month for Bress, the other “American Hostage”.
  24. Title: Mulan Logline: A young woman disguises herself as a man so she can take her father’s place in the army and go to war. Writers: Elizabeth Martin, Lauren Hynek Genre: Action Drama Management: Benderspink Buyer: Walt Disney Pictures Date: 3/31/15.
  25. Title: Septillion to One Logline: An over-zealous former FBI agent who has been relegated to the fraud unit of the Texas State Lottery begins investigating a beautiful and shrewd woman who had inexplicably defied all odds and hit the lottery jackpot three times. He realizes the odds are over one in a billion for this to happen, creating a game of cat and mouse with the suspect whom he ultimately falls head over heels in love. Writers: Adam R. Perlman, Graham Sack Genre: Romantic Comedy Agency: Gersh Buyer: OddLot Entertainment Date: 3/31/15.
  26. Title: Eye in the Sky Logline: An LAPD helicopter squad tries to nab a Mexican drug lord who has come to Los Angeles to celebrate his niece’s quinceanera. A cat-and-mouse pursuit ensues from the sky as law enforcement tries to capture him. Writer: Robert D’Ovidio Genre: Action Agency: Paradigm Management: Media Talent Group Buyer: Millennium Films Date: 4/20/15.
  27. Title: A Meyers Thanksgiving Logline: The pic is a holiday themed comedy about an estranged family facing their first Thanksgiving together since the death of the family matriarch. Writer: David E. Talbert Genre: Comedy Agency: UTA Management: Brillstein Entertainment Partners Buyer: Universal Date: 4/27/15. Notes: Mid-six against seven figures. Fast-tracked.
  28. Title: The Infinite Horizon Logline: Takes its cues from Homer’s The Odyssey to tell a military story set in the near future about a soldier who leads a group of abandoned soldiers on a 10-year journey back home. Along the way, he faces shipwrecks, an opponent wearing Cyclops-like battle tech armor and the call of sirens. Writer: Ryan Condal Genre: Action Adventure Agency: WME Management: Management 360 Buyer: Warner Bros. Date: 5/6/15.
  29. Title: Pale Blue Dot Logline: A successful female astronaut, after coming back home from a mission in space, starts to unravel when confronted by her seemingly perfect American dream life. Writers: Brian C Brown, Elliott DiGuiseppi Genre: Drama Agency: CAA Management: Industry Entertainment Buyer: Fox Searchlight Date: 5/12/15. Notes: Reese Witherspoon attached to star.
  30. Title: Command & Control Logline: An NSA employee takes over the most secure room in the nation — U.S. Cyber Command — using its advanced spyware technology to unravel a deadly conspiracy. In an effort to redeem himself and save millions of innocent lives, he gains the trust of a young female hacker to stop a false-flag operation being run by members of the government. Writers: Byron Willinger, Phil De Blasi Genre: Thriller Agency: Verve Buyer: Film House Germany, Vandal Entertainment Date: 5/18/15.
  31. Title: Parents Weekend Logline: A couple take advantage of their freshman son’s parents weekend to have the college experience they never had while visiting him. Writer: Peter Scott Genre: Comedy Agency: Gersh Management: Industry Entertainment Buyer: Lotus Entertainment Date: 6/1/15.
  32. Title: Collateral Beauty Logline: A New York advertising executive experiences a deep personal tragedy. When his colleagues devise an unconventional plan to break him out of his depression, the plan works, but not in a way that anyone imagined. Writer: Allan Loeb Genre: Drama Agency: CAA Buyer: PalmStar Media Date: 6/10/15. Notes: Hugh Jackman and Rooney Mara attached.
  33. Title: The Water Man Logline: A precocious young boy Gunner who, in order to save his ill mother, runs away from home to find a mythic/legendary character called The Water Man, who has been rumored to be able to cheat death. While extremely close to his mother, he and his father Amos have an adversarial relationship and are forced to learn about each other as Amos goes on the search for his son. Writer: Emma Needell Genre: Drama Agency: WME Management: Anonymous Content Buyer: Walt Disney Pictures Date: 6/11/15.
  34. Title: Free Fall Logline: When a man joins his estranged daughter on a mountain climb in an attempt to repair their relationship, a tragic accident leaves them stranded hundreds of feet in the air. As a storm sets in, the two must fight against the elements and terrifying heights in order to survive. Writers: Gregg Maxwell Parker, Sean Finegan Genre: Action Agency: Paradigm Management: Madhouse Entertainment Buyer: Universal Date: 6/13/15.
  35. Title: Untitled aka Move That Body Logline: Female-driven comedy described as The Hangover meets Weekend At Bernie’s. Writers: Lucia Aniello, Paul W Downs Genre: Comedy Agency: UTA Management: 3 Arts Buyer: Sony Date: 6/19/15. Notes: Competitive situation between Sony, Fox, Universal, Paramount, and MRC.

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

2014: 31
2015: 35

While that may look nice, bear in mind that by mid-year in 2013, there were 60 spec script deals. For the record, 2013 marked the end point of a strong three year period for spec script deals. We have been in something of a retrenchment for the last 18 months. Perhaps the slight increase in activity is a harbinger of good things to come.

We shall see.

The two things that jump out at me about the deals which have taken place in the first half of 2015:

* Comedy: 6 deals. Just about 2 years ago, everybody was lamenting how comedies are a hard sell because they don’t translate well to an increasingly international market. But here we are with 17% of spec script deals being comedies.

* Drama: Even more dramatic — pun intended — is the number of drama specs which have been set up. That number: 12. Aren’t we supposed to be super saturated with Action, Science Fiction, and Fantasy, the whole ‘nerd’ culture dictating what movies Hollywood is making? And yet, 37% of spec script deals in the first 6 months of 2015 are dramas.

It makes me wonder if we might be seeing a recognition on the part of the buyers that Hollywood’s all-in embrace of pre-branded, nostalgia-based projects (e.g., Star Wars, Marvel, DC Comics, Transformers) may tap out at some point. Maybe there is room or even a growing desire to see movies about real-life characters in real-life situations.

Again… we shall see.

What are your impressions of the spec script which have gotten set up in the first half of 2015? 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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