Spec script sale: “Prisoners”

In an unusual sale, Alcon Entertainment drops a reported $600K / $1M for thriller “Prisoners” from first-timer Aaron Guzikowski:

The budget is expected to be in the $30-$40 million range for Guzikowski’s tale, which looks at a small-town man whose daughter is kidnapped and responds in a vigilante fashion by imprisoning a neighbor he suspects committed the crime.

What’s so unusual about the sale? First, the script initially made the rounds last March:

The script, which Guzikowski developed for several years with management firm Madhouse Entertainment, created a stir this winter when it went out to studios. A number of them were interested in buying the project, to which Wahlberg was then attached, on the spot. But Madhouse and Guzikoswki’s team at Endeavor were interested in putting a director on the script before selling it.

In fact, I posted it about it here on March 6. Second, the script sold without two pieces of talent that had previously been attached:

But in a twist, Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale, who had previously been attached to the dark thriller, will no longer be part of the package. Producers will now look to cast new stars as well as continue the search for a director, with all of those elements expected to be on board by early fall.

Third, Alcon won out against other bidders in part by committing to fast track the movie into production:

At a time when studios are delaying projects or not buying them at all, the sale — which will see a project go from the peddling of a spec to a finished film on the screen in fewer than 18 months — is highly anomalous.

Guzikowski was, until the sale of this script, “an assistant at a New York advertising firm.” As I said in my previous post:

And how did Mr. Guzikowski get to this penultimate moment in his life?

Guzikowski was noticed two years ago by management company Madhouse Entertainment, which then worked to develop this script through dozens of iterations (the company also will produce).

A: He came up with a great story concept.
B: He found someone inside the industry to take an interest in him.
C: He worked his ass off revising the script.

Note: He managed to get to B by doing A. 

In other words, the best way to secure representation is to write a great script.

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