February 2006
Steven Koren has sold his comedy pitch “1,000 Words” to DreamWorks. Nicolas Cage and Norm Golightly will produce, along with Alain Chabat and Stephanie Danan (WAM Films). The supernatural story about an annoyingly slick man who finds out that he only has 1,000 words left to speak before he dies. Adam Goodman and Marc Haimes will oversee for the studio. 2/13
Dave H. Johnson has sold his comedy pitch "Man Wedding” for mid-six figures. Kara Francis and Heidi Sherman (New Regency) are developing the project, along with Peter Principato, Paul Young, Allen Fischer and Melissa Hook. It’s in the vein of "Wedding Crashers." 2/13
“Unaccompanied Minors” is a screenplay being re-written by Paul Feig from an original spec by Jacob Meszaros and Mya Stark (Kate Kondell also did a re-write). It will be produced by Lauren Shuler Donner and Michael Aguilar. Ira Glass, Julie Snyder and Carrie Marrow are executive producing. It was sold to Warner Bros., with executives Dan Lin and Lauren Craniotes overseeing its development. The drama comedy is an adaptation of a radio broadcast segment from Ira Glass' "This American Life." It’s about a group of junior high students from broken homes who create a makeshift holiday when they are stranded at a fictional international airport. Wilsmer Valderrama, Brett Kelly and Tyler James Williams are starring. 2/13
“Mostly Martha,” a remake of a 2001 German romantic comedy, is being adapted by Carol Fuchs. It’s about a beautiful, but shy chef who is wooed by an eccentric sous chef. Catherine Zeta Jones, Aaron Eckhart and Patricia Clarkson are attached to star. The original was written and directed by Sandra Nettlebeck. Scott Hicks is attached to direct the U.S. remake. It's being developed by Castle Rock Entertainment, Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow are funding. Sergio Aguero and Kerry Heyson are producing. Bruce Berman and Susan Cartsonis are executive producing. 2/13
“Things We Lost in the Fire” is a drama screenplay by Allen Loeb that's being produced by Sam Mendes (Scamp Films) for DreamWorks. The studio’s Jeremy Kramer and Mark Sourian are overseeing the project. The film is about a woman whose husband dies suddenly. She invites her husband's troubled best friend to live with her and her family. The friend’s life improves, so he helps the family with their grief. Susanne Bier is going to direct. 2/13
Sheldon Turner has sold his Romantic comedy pitch “The Nice Guy” to Universal for six-figures. Turner will pen the script about a newly single doctor whose frustrations stem from women thinking of him as merely “marriage material.” Ed Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz, and Rick Solomon (Bedford Falls) will produce. 2/14
Christian Gossett’s award-winning comic book “The Red Star” been picked up by Universal Pictures. It’s an epic saga set in an alternate universe where the still-existing Soviet Union is using sorcery and technology to wage war. Timur Bekmambetov, who might direct, is developing and producing with his partners Jim Lemley and Jason Netter. Marc Platt is also producing. Christian Gossett and Ken Levin are executive producing. The project is currently out to writers. 2/14
The political thriller novel “The Attack” has been added to Random House Films and Focus Features’ development slate . The book was written by Mohammed Moulessehoul (pen name Yasmina Khadra). It’s set in Tel Aviv and is about an Arab doctor who learns a horrible secret about his wife after a suicide bombing. John Wells is producing. 2/14 Also being developed by Random House Films and Focus Feature, the dramatic political non-fiction book by Bob Drogin called “Curveball.” It explores the L.A. Times article about the Iraqi informant whose flawed information about biological weapons was used by the U.S. government to justify the Iraq war. 2/14
Mark Wheaton has been hired by New Line to write 11th installment of “Friday the 13th.” It will center on the origins of Jason Vorhees. Toby Emmerich, Cale Boyter and Jeff Katz will oversee for the studio. Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form (Platinum Studios) will produce. 2/14.
The Sci-Fi Comedy “Starship Dave” has been picked up from Paramount in turn-around by 20th Century Fox. Eddie Murphy will star in the movie about a crew of tiny human-looking aliens whose mission it is to save their doomed world. Peter Segal is attached to direct. David Friendly and Marc Turtletaub (Deep River Prods.), and John Berg and Tom Komarnicki (Guy Walks Into a Bar) are producing. Segal's producing partner Michael Ewing is also producing. 2/14
The Weinstein Co. has acquired the pitch “Escape From Planet Earth” by Tony Leech and Cory Edwards. It’s an animated Sci-Fi Comedy Family film (like "Hoodwinked") about a prison break from Area 51, a mysterious government facility where the inmates are a ragtag group of imprisoned aliens from around the universe. Leech is set to direct the project. Producing are Preston Stutzman (Blue Yonder Films) and Jonthan Shestack. Brian Inerfeld and Gregory R. Little (Mainframe Entertainment) are also producing. Jeremy Stein (Jon Shestack Prods.) will co-produce. 2/14
Jonathan Jakubowicz has been hired by Universal Pictures to adapt Robert Ludlum’s thriller “The Sigma Protocol” for the big screen. Jakubowicz is also attached to direct. The thriller is about an American economist and a female U.S. intelligence agent who are targeted by assassins when they discover an international conspiracy that controls global economy and world events. Alert the WTO! Henry Morrison and Jeffrey Weiner will executive produce. 2/15
Focus Features and Hart Sharp Entertainment are tapping Hungarian filmmaker Lajos Koltai to direct the movie adaptation of the best-selling novel “Evening” by Susan Minot. Its screenplay was adapted by Minot and Pulitzer-prize winner Michael Cunningham. The drama is about a dying woman’s recollections of her first true love as a youth. Meanwhile, her two daughters are coming to terms with her impending death. 2/15
Anonymous Content has hired Joe Conway to write the thriller “The Other Side.” The indie is about a 19-year old American who is mistakenly blamed for the death of Mexican girl while on a trip south of the border. The film will be produced by Steve Golin and directed by first-timer Pat Sherman. Beware los federales! 2/15
David Cronenberg will direct “Eastern Promises,” a thriller written by Steven Knight. Like Knight’s “Dirty Pretty Things,” the film is about the dirty underbelly of London and focuses on a young woman who is hounded by criminals when she investigates the death of an enigmatic Russian girl who dies while giving birth on Christmas Eve. Focus Features and BBC Films are overseeing development and distribution. Paul Webster (Kudos Films) is producing. 2/15
Lucky bastard Danioff (he’s engaged to Amanda Peet) has been hired by Columbia to adapt the 2004 Danish film “Brothers” for $2 million. It’s about a man who fights in Afghanistan, while the soldier’s brother takes care of his wife and child. Michael De Luca, Zach Schiff Abrams and Joni Sighvatsson will produce. 2/15
Director John McNaughton is once again working with Mandalay Pictures and writer Stephen Peters to direct “Backstabbers” (formerly "Trophy Wife"). Like the group’s previous outing “Wild Things,” this film is about sex, crime and double-crossing. Mandalay’s David Zelon is overseeing the project. Steven White (Warden, White & Associates) is producing, along with Jerry Li. Reagan Silber is executive producing. While Neve Campbell and Denise Richards are in talks to star, there is no word yet on if Kevin Bacon’s penis will make an appearance. 2/15
First-timer John Schwartzman has been hired by Walden Media to direct “Carlisle School.” The uplifting sports movie is about the football legend Jim Thorpe and how he led a group of Native American kids to defeat the best football teams in the country during the turn of the century. Mark Ciardi and Gordon Gray are producing (natch), along with John Fusco and Jim Crabbe. Walden Media’s Alex Schwartz and Evan Turner are managing the project. 2/15
Stone Village has acquired the movie rights to the novel “This Book Will Save Your Life" by A.M. Homes for six-figures against seven-figures. The book, touted by Stephen King, will be published by Viking in the Spring. It’s about a wealthy L.A. day trader who discovers that he has no loved ones to care for him after he suffers an anxiety attack that lands him in the hospital. Scott Steindorff will produce and finance development himself. The project is out to writers. 2/15
Walden has hired Bobby Moresco to adapt the upcoming baseball novel “Heat” by Mike Lupica. It’s the story of a 12-year old Cuban baseball phenom whose dream of playing in the Little League World Series is compromised when he is accused of being older than he claims. “Heat” will published in the spring by Philomel, an imprint of Penguin. Josephy Del Hierro (Oh Really Prods.) is producing. David Kaufmann, Jared Mass and Alex Schwartz will manage the project for Walden. 2/16
Paramount Pictures has bought the screenplay “Identity Crisis” written by newbies Brent Askari and Chum Langhorne. It’s about a man who loses his memory the morning after his bachelor party. He has 24 hours to straighten things out before he ruins his wedding day. Terra Firma Films' Adam Herz, Greg Lessans and Josh Shader are producing, while Ed Goemans will oversee the project for Paramount along with presidents Brad Weston and Alli Shearmur. 2/16
Jean Labadie (Bac Films) is joining Kees Kasander in producing Peter Greenaway's upcoming film "Nightwatch." The movie tells the true story of Rembrant’s accusation of murder against the Amsterdam Musketeer Militia, which led to the Dutch artist’s ruin. The project is scheduled to begin principal photography in the spring. Bac will also handle co-distribution, along with Content Films. 2/16
Comic book writer Daniel Clowes and auteur Michel Gondry are teaming up to adapt Rudy Rucker's novel "Master of Space and Time" for DreamWorks. It's (what else?) a wacky tale about a scientist who finds a way to mess with reality. Bring your Dramamine. Jack Black is attached to star. 2/17
Gold Circle has bought the Romantic Comedy script "The Push" by newbie Sonny Postiglione. Kirsten Smith and Seth Jaret will produce the film about guys who attract normally inaccessible women by assuming strangely elaborate yet believable charades. 2/17
Ving Rhames (Freedom Reign Prods.) is set to produce and star in the indie film of the Off Broadway play "3/5 of a Man" by Michael Henry Brown. The playwright wrote the adaptation. The drama, set in Virginia, is about how Nat Turner led a successful slave rebellion in 1831, but was ultimately lynched along with his cohorts. 2/17
Javier Bardem has been hired to star in New LineÂs film version of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "Love in the Time of Cholera," which has been adapted by Ron Harwood. Scott Steindorf (Stone Village) is producing. Mike Newell is directing. The epic drama is about a man who pursues the love of his life for over fifty years. 2/17
Multi-hyphenate Hans-Christian Schmid is set to direct the political thriller "Storm." The film, which Schmid is co-writing with Bernd Lange, focuses on an attorney working for the Hague who discovers that a popular Croatian politician perpetrated a multitude of war-crimes. Scmid will also produce with his company 235 Filmproduktion. 2/17
Ross Venokur has sold his family comedy pitch “All Boxed Up” to New Line for low against mid-six figures. JC Spink and Chris Bender are producing the project about quirky adult siblings who squabble then grow closer when they help their retired parents pack up their belongings. Sam Brown and Kathy Busby are supervising the project for the studio. 2/24
Writer-director Tom McCarthy has been hired by producer Kevin Misher to write the romantic comedy “Glory Days” for Paramount Pictures. It’s about a woman who experiences love and heartbreak at her 10-year college reunion. Patrick Baker will manage the project for Misher Films, while Pam Abdy will oversee it for the studio. 2/21
James Mangold has announced that his next project will be an update of the western “3:10 to Yuma” which was based on a short story written by Elmore Leonard. The new script was written by Stuart Beattie, working off drafts by Michael Brandt and Derek Haas. It’s about a sheriff determined on bringing captured bandits to justice. It will be produced by Cathy Konrad for Columbia Pictures. 2/21
Writer-director-actor Nick Cassavates has been tapped to develop the biographical drama “Bombing Harvey” about John Birges, a Hungarian scientist-turned-landscape contractor who tried to recover his gambling losses by trying to extort $3 million from a Harvey’s Lake Tahoe casino with a bomb threat. Julie and Rick Yorn (Firm Films) are set to produce, along with Joey Rappa and Joe Fries (Pelagius Films). 2/21
New Line has bought the film rights to Karyn Bosnak’s book "20 Times a Lady," which Harper-Collins is releasing in the summer. Beau Flynn and Tripp Vinson (Contrafilm) are producing. Bosnak will pen the adaptation. It’s a comic tale about a woman who, after sleeping with her 20th lover, decides to re-examine the last 19 men with whom she’s had sex to see if she let “the one” slip through her fingers. Gitty Deneshavri will develop the project for Contrafilms, along with New Line’s Toby Emmerich, Mark Kaufman, Kathy Busby and Daryl Friemark. 2/21
Lionsgate has picked up theatrical distribution rights for Larry the Cable Guy’s feature film debut "Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector," which was produced by J.P. Williams and Alan Blomquist (Parallel Entertainment Pictures). Paramount will retain the home video rights. The film was directed by Trent Cooper, and written by Jonathan Bernstein and James Greer. It’s about Larry the Cable Guy as a health inspector making waves in upscale restaurants with his uncouth manners. 2/21
"Rabbi Paul," the biography of St. Paul by theologian Bruce Chilton, has been snatched up for feature film development by producers Alan and Peter Riche, producers Mark Koch and Daniel de Liege (Prelude Pictures), and producers David Salzberg, Christian Tureaud and Peter Gruber (Mandalay Integrated Media Entertainment). It’s based on the apostle’s spiritual change from hating Christianity to becoming the religion’s greatest promoter. 2/21
Academy Award winning-screenwriter Ben Affleck has cast his brother Casey and Michelle Monaghan to star in his directorial debut "Gone Baby Gone,” based on the novel by Dennis Lehane. Affleck penned the adaptation and is about two private detectives who must delve into Boston’s underworld in order to find a kidnapped four-year-old child. The film is being produced by Sean Bailey and Matt Damon (LivePlanet), along with Alan Ladd Jr. and Dan Rissner, for Miramax. 2/21
Romanian director Giuliano Draguleanu and his producing partner Ovidiu Halmagean are developing the 3-D animation film "A Hard Life” set in 1920s New York about a cockroach and hamster who are searching for the bug’s family. Producers Johann Wiener, Frits Harkema and Andy Birmingham are also involved. They're all looking for money for the project. Got any? 2/21
Chris Rock has been tapped to star in the Fox Searchlight Pictures remake "I Think I Love My Wife,” based on Eric Rohmer's French film "Chloe in the Afternoon." Charles Stone is in negotiations to direct. The comedy script was co-written by Rock and Louis C.K. The original was about a salary man whose marriage is tested when a friend’s lover tries to seduce him. Endeavor and Mosaic Media rep Rock. UTA reps Stone and C.K. Attorney Craig Emanuel also reps Stone. 3 Arts Entertainment and attorney John Sloss also rep C.K. 2/22
David Strathairn is joining Matthew McConaughey and Matthew Fox in Warner Bros. Pictures’ untitled football project. McG is helming the movie about the disastrous 1970 plane crash that killed the Marshall University football team, coaching staff, reporters and various fans. Legendary Pictures is co-financing the movie. McG (Wonderland Sound & Vision) is producing, along with Basil Iwanyk (Thunder Road). Brent O'Connor, Thomas Tull, Jeanne Allgood and Scott Mednick are executive producing. Legendary Pictures is financing the project. Mary Viola is managing the film for Thunder Road, while Allgood is for Wonderland, and Lynn Harris is for WB. 2/22
Walt Disney Pictures has hired Robert Nelson Jacobs to collaborate with Dean DeBlois in rewriting "The Banshee and Fin Magee." The supernatural mystery kid’s picture is about a lonely boy who fantasizes about being a ghost, then actually meets a real spirit. DeBlois is producing the project. Gersh and attorney Carlos Goodman rep Jacobs. 2/22
Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore have signed on to star in "Grey Gardens," a drama that draws from the 1976 documentary film by David and Albert Maysles about the quirky relatives of Jacqueline Kennedy. Commercial director Michael Sucsy penned the screenplay and will direct the feature. He will also produce with Lucy Barzun and Rachael Horovitz. CAA and Cinetic Media are packaging the project. 2/22
MTV Films and Paramount have acquired the feature film rights to Midway Games' yet-to-be-released "The Wheelman," with Vin Diesel starring. The action game and film is about an expert driver who comes out of retirement to protect a woman from his past. Rich Wilkes is writing the screenplay for the movie. Diesel will also produce with his Tigon Studios partner Samantha Vincent. David Gale, Loretha Jones and Jason Weiss are overseeing the project for MTV Films, while Dan Levine, Matt Jackson and Eben Davidson are managing it for Paramount. 2/22
Actor Romany Malco has sold his comedy pitch “The Recruiter” to Universal Studios. The film will be a slice-of-life tale about a Marine recruiter. Malco will also star. Judd Apatow will produce. Rob Siegel will pen the screenplay. Donna Langley and Holly Bario will oversee the project for the studio. 2/22
Universal has bought the film rights to “Deceit,” the soon-to-be-published novel by James Siegel. Lorenzo Di Bonaventura is producing, while Jon Gordon is shepherding for the studio. Warner Books is releasing in the summer. The author’s deal was brokered by Inkwell’s Richard Pine. The story is about deception in the world of journalism and publishing. 2/22
Paramount Classics has acquired Alex and David Pastor’s futuristic untitled thriller screenplay. Alex Pastor will direct. The film revolves around four friends who turn on each other while trying to survive a deadly pandemic. Anthony Bregman (This Is That) will produce. 2/22
Rogue Pictures has bought the film rights to the comic book “Hack/Slash,” with Todd Lincoln attached to direct. Adrian Askarieh and Daniel Alter are producing, along with Howard Sun co-producing. Lincoln will pen the script with collaborator Martin Schenk. The comic is about a young woman named Cassie Hack who travels around the country confronting homicidal maniacs and serial killers. It was created by Tim Seeley and Stefano Caselli and published by Devil's Due Publishing. 2/22
Actress Sarah Polley is directing her first feature titled “Away From Her” and has signed on Julie Christie and Olympia Dukakis to star. Polley also penned the screenplay, adapted from the short story "The Bear Came Over the Mountain" by fellow Canadian Alice Munro and is about a couple whose marriage faces turmoil when the wife loses her memory and begins to fall in love with a fellow nursing home patient. Jennifer Weiss, Simone Urdl and Daniel Iron are producing. Atom Egoyan are executive producing. Victoria Hirst is co-producing. Capri Releasing will handle Canadian distribution, William Morris Independent for the U.S., while HanWay will sell the film internationally. The film is being financed by Telefilm Canada, the Canadian Television Fund, Astral Media's the Harold Greenberg Fund, the Movie Network, the Ontario Media Development Corp. and Movie Central. 2/22
Tom Musca has been hired by producers Piedad Palacios and Eric Maleson to write the screenplay for the fictionalized bio of Maleson’s life in the movie "Better Than Gold” about the Brazilian bobsled team in the Torino Winter Olympics. Rodrigo Santoro is in talks to star. 2/22Billy Bob Thornton has signed on to direct and star in "Floyd Collins" for Paramount Pictures. Tom Epperson has penned the script from Robert Murray and Roger Brucker’s book "Trapped!: The Story of Floyd Collins" about the titular Collins’ 13-dayordeal of being trapped in a Kentucky cave, causing a media frenzy in 1925. Geyer Kosinski (Media Talent Group) is producing, along with Bruce Heller and David Bushell. 2/22
Producers Rob Fried and Dan Keston (Fried Films/the Pantry) have bought the horror spec "Damned" written by newbies Jim Agnew and Sean Keller. The film is about a family whose plane not only crashes into the woods, but is also subjected to an ordeal caused by demon-fearing religious zealots. Principal Entertainment and attorney Mark Temple represent Agnew and Keller. 2/23
Anne Hathaway is joining Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen, and Leslie Mann in Judd Apatow’s romantic comedy “Knocked Up.” Apatow is writing and directing the film for Universal, and is producing with Shauna Robertson. Rogen and Evan Goldberg are taking executive producer duties. The film is about a 20-something guy who discovers that he has impregnated one of his one night stands. Donna Langley, Holly Bario and Erik Baiers are managing the project for the studio. CAA and Management 360 represent Hathaway. 2/23
Paramount Pictures has hired Mark Walberg to star in and Antoine Fuqua to direct the political thriller "Shooter," which is an adaptation of Stephen Hunter's novel "Point of Impact." Lorenzo di Bonaventura is producing. The book, published in 1993, is about a sharpshooter who is double-crossed by his associates and framed for the president’s assassination. The screenplay was written by Jonathan Lemkin. Brad Weston is overseeing the film for the studio. Endeavor, manager Steve Levinson and attorney Jason Sloane represent Wahlberg. CAA and attorneys Barry Hirsch and Bob Wallerstein represent Fuqua. 2/23
Jessica Biel has been cast alongside Nicolas Cage and Julianne Moore to star in the sci-fi thriller "Next." Lee Tamahori is directing the film for Revolution Studios. The screenplay, based on the short story "The Golden Man" by Philip K. Dick, was written by Gary Goldman. It’s about a clairvoyant man who is pursued by the FBI to stop a global terror attack. Cage, Todd Garner, Norm Golightly, Graham King and Arne Schmidt are producing. Derek Dauchy is shepherding the project for Revolution. CAA, Management 360 and attorney Karl Austen represent Biel. 2/23
Simon West is in talks with Screen Gems to direct the horror thriller “Vacancy.” The screenplay, which was written by Mark L. Smith, is about a young married couple who face mortal peril when they get stranded at a motel in the middle of nowhere. Hal Lieberman is the producer on the project. Eric Paquette is managing the project for the studio. CAA represents West. 2/24
Columbia Pictures has hired Chris Weitz to develop Neil Strauss' how-to seduction manual "The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists." The book, published by ReganBooks, tells the first person account of how Strauss changed from being a romantic zero to a seductive hero. Weitz is producing with his brother Paul, along with Michael De Luca. Andrew Miano is executive producing. 2/24
Amy Talkington has been hired by Fox 2000 to adapt the upcoming comedy novel tentatively titled "The Devil in the Junior League” by Linda Francis Lee. St. Martin’s Press is publishing the book. The story is about a Texas woman who is left pregnant and broke by her husband. She convinces a lawyer into helping her by agreeing to transform his crude wife into Junior League quality. Laura Hopper is producing. Carla Hacken and Erin Lindsey are managing the project for the studio. UTA, Rigberg Entertainment Group and attorney Warren Dern represent Talkington. 2/24
Multi-hyphenate Wayne Kramer has sold his spec "Evilseek" to The Weinstein Co. Kramer is also attached to direct the supernatural thriller and to produce with partner Michael Pierce. Thomas Jane is attached to star. The screenplay is about how Satan possesses the body of a cop who committed suicide in order to catch a serial killer. TWC is financing the project. Michael Cole, Michelle Krum and Carla Gardini are overseeing the film for the company. 2/24
Director David Dobkin and Vince Vaughn are in talks to re-team in "Fred Claus." The comedy is set up at WB and is about Santa's loser brother. The script is by Dan Fogelman. Dobkin and Jessie Nelson are producing. Vaughn is represented by UTA and Gold-Miller management. 2/27
Screenwriter Jeffrey Nachmanoff has been hired by The Walt Disney Co to work on several scripts. First, he’ll polish the adaptation of the video game “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” for producer Jerry Bruckheimer. The film and game is about a heroic prince who allies himself with an enemy princess to stop the destructive plans of an evil lord. Second, Nachmanoff will work on another Bruckheimer property called "Unnatural History" which is an action film about a family that gets locked in a museum and must survive its suddenly alive and deadly exhibits. Nachmanoff will also work on "Liberty," a tent-pole film being produced by LivePlanet that has a band of patriots that has to fight a conflict using Cold War-era weapons after modern America’s technology is crippled. 2/27
DreamWorks has hired Rita Hsiao to pen "A Guy Not Taken," the romantic comedy film adaptation of a short story written by best-selling author Jennifer Weiner. The tale is about a married woman who gets to experience the life she could’ve lived, had she chosen to be with another man. Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald are producing, along with Chris Bender. JC Spink and Jake Weiner are executive producing. 2/27
Steven Strait and Camilla Belle are set to star in Roland Emmerich’s next directorial project "10,000 B.C." which Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures are co-financing. The prehistoric epic is about a young hunter who traverses the great frontier to save not only his tribe, but also his paramour. Emmerich and Michael Wimer are producing (Centropolis Entertainment), along with Mark Gordon. Harald Kloser, Tom Karnowski and Thomas Tull are executive producing. Emmerich and Kloser wrote the first drafts. John Orloff and Matthew Sand wrote its revisions, and Robert Rodat closed the project. Dan Lin is overseeing for WB. CAA and Cristina Routh represent Belle. ICM represents Strait. 2/27
Lightstorm Entertainment and for 20th Century Fox have hired Laeta Kalogridis to write the bio "The Dive." James Cameron is planning on directing the film. The film is about life and death of Audrey Mestre, a freediver who would swim to incredible depths until she tragically died while trying to break her own world record. Producing the film are Jon Landau and Rae Sanchini. The story was first reported in Sports Illustrated by Gary Smith, then in books by Smith and Audrey Mestre’s husband Francisco "Pipin" Ferraras. 2/27
Warner Bros. Pictures has snatched up the film rights to Scott Lynch's fantasy epic "The Lies of Locke Lamora," part one of a seven-book series. Michael De Luca and Julie Yorn are set to produce. Set in a Venice-like city called Camorr, the books are about a likeable crook named Locke Lamora and his merry band called Gentleman Bastards. Kevin McCormick and Jess Rosenthal are shepherding the project for WB. 2/27
Director Aaron Woodley has cast Mariah Carrey in "Tennessee." The indie drama was written by Russell Schaumberg and is being produced by Lee Daniels. The film is about two brothers, one of whom has leukemia. The guys set out to look for their long-lost father with the help of a waitress. 2/27
Touchstone Pictures has cast Dominic Purcell and Orlando Jones in the thriller "Primeval." The film, which is being produced by Gavin Polone (Pariah), is about a t.v. crew that goes to South Africa to document the existence of a 25-foot man-eating crocodile, while also dealing with equally deadly local warlords. John Brancato and Michael Ferris wrote the screenplay, and Michael Katleman will direct the project. 2/28
Michael Lander and Ryan Roy have sold their prison drama “Kite” to Warner Bros. Pictures for Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Simpson (Appian Way) to produce. DiCaprio might also star. The script is a fictional account of real events that uncover the gang culture and guard corruption in the California maximum security prison system. Kevin McCormick will shepherd the project for the studio. Endeavor and Anonymous Content represent Lander and Roy. 2/28
Universal Pictures has nabbed the film rights to the soon-to-be published comic novel “Company” by Max Barry. The satire focuses on the frustrating experiences of a young business school grad who lands an entry-level job in a big company. Tom Shadyac and Michael Bostik (Shady Acres) will produce. Luke Janklow will executive produce. Steve Pink will pen the adaptation. Donna Langley and Holly Bario will shepherd the project for the studio, while Amanda Morgan will do the same for Shady Acres. 2/28
Dave H. Johnson has sold his comedy pitch "Man Wedding” for mid-six figures. Kara Francis and Heidi Sherman (New Regency) are developing the project, along with Peter Principato, Paul Young, Allen Fischer and Melissa Hook. It’s in the vein of "Wedding Crashers." 2/13
“Unaccompanied Minors” is a screenplay being re-written by Paul Feig from an original spec by Jacob Meszaros and Mya Stark (Kate Kondell also did a re-write). It will be produced by Lauren Shuler Donner and Michael Aguilar. Ira Glass, Julie Snyder and Carrie Marrow are executive producing. It was sold to Warner Bros., with executives Dan Lin and Lauren Craniotes overseeing its development. The drama comedy is an adaptation of a radio broadcast segment from Ira Glass' "This American Life." It’s about a group of junior high students from broken homes who create a makeshift holiday when they are stranded at a fictional international airport. Wilsmer Valderrama, Brett Kelly and Tyler James Williams are starring. 2/13
“Mostly Martha,” a remake of a 2001 German romantic comedy, is being adapted by Carol Fuchs. It’s about a beautiful, but shy chef who is wooed by an eccentric sous chef. Catherine Zeta Jones, Aaron Eckhart and Patricia Clarkson are attached to star. The original was written and directed by Sandra Nettlebeck. Scott Hicks is attached to direct the U.S. remake. It's being developed by Castle Rock Entertainment, Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow are funding. Sergio Aguero and Kerry Heyson are producing. Bruce Berman and Susan Cartsonis are executive producing. 2/13
“Things We Lost in the Fire” is a drama screenplay by Allen Loeb that's being produced by Sam Mendes (Scamp Films) for DreamWorks. The studio’s Jeremy Kramer and Mark Sourian are overseeing the project. The film is about a woman whose husband dies suddenly. She invites her husband's troubled best friend to live with her and her family. The friend’s life improves, so he helps the family with their grief. Susanne Bier is going to direct. 2/13
Sheldon Turner has sold his Romantic comedy pitch “The Nice Guy” to Universal for six-figures. Turner will pen the script about a newly single doctor whose frustrations stem from women thinking of him as merely “marriage material.” Ed Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz, and Rick Solomon (Bedford Falls) will produce. 2/14
Christian Gossett’s award-winning comic book “The Red Star” been picked up by Universal Pictures. It’s an epic saga set in an alternate universe where the still-existing Soviet Union is using sorcery and technology to wage war. Timur Bekmambetov, who might direct, is developing and producing with his partners Jim Lemley and Jason Netter. Marc Platt is also producing. Christian Gossett and Ken Levin are executive producing. The project is currently out to writers. 2/14
The political thriller novel “The Attack” has been added to Random House Films and Focus Features’ development slate . The book was written by Mohammed Moulessehoul (pen name Yasmina Khadra). It’s set in Tel Aviv and is about an Arab doctor who learns a horrible secret about his wife after a suicide bombing. John Wells is producing. 2/14 Also being developed by Random House Films and Focus Feature, the dramatic political non-fiction book by Bob Drogin called “Curveball.” It explores the L.A. Times article about the Iraqi informant whose flawed information about biological weapons was used by the U.S. government to justify the Iraq war. 2/14
Mark Wheaton has been hired by New Line to write 11th installment of “Friday the 13th.” It will center on the origins of Jason Vorhees. Toby Emmerich, Cale Boyter and Jeff Katz will oversee for the studio. Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form (Platinum Studios) will produce. 2/14.
The Sci-Fi Comedy “Starship Dave” has been picked up from Paramount in turn-around by 20th Century Fox. Eddie Murphy will star in the movie about a crew of tiny human-looking aliens whose mission it is to save their doomed world. Peter Segal is attached to direct. David Friendly and Marc Turtletaub (Deep River Prods.), and John Berg and Tom Komarnicki (Guy Walks Into a Bar) are producing. Segal's producing partner Michael Ewing is also producing. 2/14
The Weinstein Co. has acquired the pitch “Escape From Planet Earth” by Tony Leech and Cory Edwards. It’s an animated Sci-Fi Comedy Family film (like "Hoodwinked") about a prison break from Area 51, a mysterious government facility where the inmates are a ragtag group of imprisoned aliens from around the universe. Leech is set to direct the project. Producing are Preston Stutzman (Blue Yonder Films) and Jonthan Shestack. Brian Inerfeld and Gregory R. Little (Mainframe Entertainment) are also producing. Jeremy Stein (Jon Shestack Prods.) will co-produce. 2/14
Jonathan Jakubowicz has been hired by Universal Pictures to adapt Robert Ludlum’s thriller “The Sigma Protocol” for the big screen. Jakubowicz is also attached to direct. The thriller is about an American economist and a female U.S. intelligence agent who are targeted by assassins when they discover an international conspiracy that controls global economy and world events. Alert the WTO! Henry Morrison and Jeffrey Weiner will executive produce. 2/15
Focus Features and Hart Sharp Entertainment are tapping Hungarian filmmaker Lajos Koltai to direct the movie adaptation of the best-selling novel “Evening” by Susan Minot. Its screenplay was adapted by Minot and Pulitzer-prize winner Michael Cunningham. The drama is about a dying woman’s recollections of her first true love as a youth. Meanwhile, her two daughters are coming to terms with her impending death. 2/15
Anonymous Content has hired Joe Conway to write the thriller “The Other Side.” The indie is about a 19-year old American who is mistakenly blamed for the death of Mexican girl while on a trip south of the border. The film will be produced by Steve Golin and directed by first-timer Pat Sherman. Beware los federales! 2/15
David Cronenberg will direct “Eastern Promises,” a thriller written by Steven Knight. Like Knight’s “Dirty Pretty Things,” the film is about the dirty underbelly of London and focuses on a young woman who is hounded by criminals when she investigates the death of an enigmatic Russian girl who dies while giving birth on Christmas Eve. Focus Features and BBC Films are overseeing development and distribution. Paul Webster (Kudos Films) is producing. 2/15
Lucky bastard Danioff (he’s engaged to Amanda Peet) has been hired by Columbia to adapt the 2004 Danish film “Brothers” for $2 million. It’s about a man who fights in Afghanistan, while the soldier’s brother takes care of his wife and child. Michael De Luca, Zach Schiff Abrams and Joni Sighvatsson will produce. 2/15
Director John McNaughton is once again working with Mandalay Pictures and writer Stephen Peters to direct “Backstabbers” (formerly "Trophy Wife"). Like the group’s previous outing “Wild Things,” this film is about sex, crime and double-crossing. Mandalay’s David Zelon is overseeing the project. Steven White (Warden, White & Associates) is producing, along with Jerry Li. Reagan Silber is executive producing. While Neve Campbell and Denise Richards are in talks to star, there is no word yet on if Kevin Bacon’s penis will make an appearance. 2/15
First-timer John Schwartzman has been hired by Walden Media to direct “Carlisle School.” The uplifting sports movie is about the football legend Jim Thorpe and how he led a group of Native American kids to defeat the best football teams in the country during the turn of the century. Mark Ciardi and Gordon Gray are producing (natch), along with John Fusco and Jim Crabbe. Walden Media’s Alex Schwartz and Evan Turner are managing the project. 2/15
Stone Village has acquired the movie rights to the novel “This Book Will Save Your Life" by A.M. Homes for six-figures against seven-figures. The book, touted by Stephen King, will be published by Viking in the Spring. It’s about a wealthy L.A. day trader who discovers that he has no loved ones to care for him after he suffers an anxiety attack that lands him in the hospital. Scott Steindorff will produce and finance development himself. The project is out to writers. 2/15
Walden has hired Bobby Moresco to adapt the upcoming baseball novel “Heat” by Mike Lupica. It’s the story of a 12-year old Cuban baseball phenom whose dream of playing in the Little League World Series is compromised when he is accused of being older than he claims. “Heat” will published in the spring by Philomel, an imprint of Penguin. Josephy Del Hierro (Oh Really Prods.) is producing. David Kaufmann, Jared Mass and Alex Schwartz will manage the project for Walden. 2/16
Paramount Pictures has bought the screenplay “Identity Crisis” written by newbies Brent Askari and Chum Langhorne. It’s about a man who loses his memory the morning after his bachelor party. He has 24 hours to straighten things out before he ruins his wedding day. Terra Firma Films' Adam Herz, Greg Lessans and Josh Shader are producing, while Ed Goemans will oversee the project for Paramount along with presidents Brad Weston and Alli Shearmur. 2/16
Jean Labadie (Bac Films) is joining Kees Kasander in producing Peter Greenaway's upcoming film "Nightwatch." The movie tells the true story of Rembrant’s accusation of murder against the Amsterdam Musketeer Militia, which led to the Dutch artist’s ruin. The project is scheduled to begin principal photography in the spring. Bac will also handle co-distribution, along with Content Films. 2/16
Comic book writer Daniel Clowes and auteur Michel Gondry are teaming up to adapt Rudy Rucker's novel "Master of Space and Time" for DreamWorks. It's (what else?) a wacky tale about a scientist who finds a way to mess with reality. Bring your Dramamine. Jack Black is attached to star. 2/17
Gold Circle has bought the Romantic Comedy script "The Push" by newbie Sonny Postiglione. Kirsten Smith and Seth Jaret will produce the film about guys who attract normally inaccessible women by assuming strangely elaborate yet believable charades. 2/17
Ving Rhames (Freedom Reign Prods.) is set to produce and star in the indie film of the Off Broadway play "3/5 of a Man" by Michael Henry Brown. The playwright wrote the adaptation. The drama, set in Virginia, is about how Nat Turner led a successful slave rebellion in 1831, but was ultimately lynched along with his cohorts. 2/17
Javier Bardem has been hired to star in New LineÂs film version of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "Love in the Time of Cholera," which has been adapted by Ron Harwood. Scott Steindorf (Stone Village) is producing. Mike Newell is directing. The epic drama is about a man who pursues the love of his life for over fifty years. 2/17
Multi-hyphenate Hans-Christian Schmid is set to direct the political thriller "Storm." The film, which Schmid is co-writing with Bernd Lange, focuses on an attorney working for the Hague who discovers that a popular Croatian politician perpetrated a multitude of war-crimes. Scmid will also produce with his company 235 Filmproduktion. 2/17
Ross Venokur has sold his family comedy pitch “All Boxed Up” to New Line for low against mid-six figures. JC Spink and Chris Bender are producing the project about quirky adult siblings who squabble then grow closer when they help their retired parents pack up their belongings. Sam Brown and Kathy Busby are supervising the project for the studio. 2/24
Writer-director Tom McCarthy has been hired by producer Kevin Misher to write the romantic comedy “Glory Days” for Paramount Pictures. It’s about a woman who experiences love and heartbreak at her 10-year college reunion. Patrick Baker will manage the project for Misher Films, while Pam Abdy will oversee it for the studio. 2/21
James Mangold has announced that his next project will be an update of the western “3:10 to Yuma” which was based on a short story written by Elmore Leonard. The new script was written by Stuart Beattie, working off drafts by Michael Brandt and Derek Haas. It’s about a sheriff determined on bringing captured bandits to justice. It will be produced by Cathy Konrad for Columbia Pictures. 2/21
Writer-director-actor Nick Cassavates has been tapped to develop the biographical drama “Bombing Harvey” about John Birges, a Hungarian scientist-turned-landscape contractor who tried to recover his gambling losses by trying to extort $3 million from a Harvey’s Lake Tahoe casino with a bomb threat. Julie and Rick Yorn (Firm Films) are set to produce, along with Joey Rappa and Joe Fries (Pelagius Films). 2/21
New Line has bought the film rights to Karyn Bosnak’s book "20 Times a Lady," which Harper-Collins is releasing in the summer. Beau Flynn and Tripp Vinson (Contrafilm) are producing. Bosnak will pen the adaptation. It’s a comic tale about a woman who, after sleeping with her 20th lover, decides to re-examine the last 19 men with whom she’s had sex to see if she let “the one” slip through her fingers. Gitty Deneshavri will develop the project for Contrafilms, along with New Line’s Toby Emmerich, Mark Kaufman, Kathy Busby and Daryl Friemark. 2/21
Lionsgate has picked up theatrical distribution rights for Larry the Cable Guy’s feature film debut "Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector," which was produced by J.P. Williams and Alan Blomquist (Parallel Entertainment Pictures). Paramount will retain the home video rights. The film was directed by Trent Cooper, and written by Jonathan Bernstein and James Greer. It’s about Larry the Cable Guy as a health inspector making waves in upscale restaurants with his uncouth manners. 2/21
"Rabbi Paul," the biography of St. Paul by theologian Bruce Chilton, has been snatched up for feature film development by producers Alan and Peter Riche, producers Mark Koch and Daniel de Liege (Prelude Pictures), and producers David Salzberg, Christian Tureaud and Peter Gruber (Mandalay Integrated Media Entertainment). It’s based on the apostle’s spiritual change from hating Christianity to becoming the religion’s greatest promoter. 2/21
Academy Award winning-screenwriter Ben Affleck has cast his brother Casey and Michelle Monaghan to star in his directorial debut "Gone Baby Gone,” based on the novel by Dennis Lehane. Affleck penned the adaptation and is about two private detectives who must delve into Boston’s underworld in order to find a kidnapped four-year-old child. The film is being produced by Sean Bailey and Matt Damon (LivePlanet), along with Alan Ladd Jr. and Dan Rissner, for Miramax. 2/21
Romanian director Giuliano Draguleanu and his producing partner Ovidiu Halmagean are developing the 3-D animation film "A Hard Life” set in 1920s New York about a cockroach and hamster who are searching for the bug’s family. Producers Johann Wiener, Frits Harkema and Andy Birmingham are also involved. They're all looking for money for the project. Got any? 2/21
Chris Rock has been tapped to star in the Fox Searchlight Pictures remake "I Think I Love My Wife,” based on Eric Rohmer's French film "Chloe in the Afternoon." Charles Stone is in negotiations to direct. The comedy script was co-written by Rock and Louis C.K. The original was about a salary man whose marriage is tested when a friend’s lover tries to seduce him. Endeavor and Mosaic Media rep Rock. UTA reps Stone and C.K. Attorney Craig Emanuel also reps Stone. 3 Arts Entertainment and attorney John Sloss also rep C.K. 2/22
David Strathairn is joining Matthew McConaughey and Matthew Fox in Warner Bros. Pictures’ untitled football project. McG is helming the movie about the disastrous 1970 plane crash that killed the Marshall University football team, coaching staff, reporters and various fans. Legendary Pictures is co-financing the movie. McG (Wonderland Sound & Vision) is producing, along with Basil Iwanyk (Thunder Road). Brent O'Connor, Thomas Tull, Jeanne Allgood and Scott Mednick are executive producing. Legendary Pictures is financing the project. Mary Viola is managing the film for Thunder Road, while Allgood is for Wonderland, and Lynn Harris is for WB. 2/22
Walt Disney Pictures has hired Robert Nelson Jacobs to collaborate with Dean DeBlois in rewriting "The Banshee and Fin Magee." The supernatural mystery kid’s picture is about a lonely boy who fantasizes about being a ghost, then actually meets a real spirit. DeBlois is producing the project. Gersh and attorney Carlos Goodman rep Jacobs. 2/22
Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore have signed on to star in "Grey Gardens," a drama that draws from the 1976 documentary film by David and Albert Maysles about the quirky relatives of Jacqueline Kennedy. Commercial director Michael Sucsy penned the screenplay and will direct the feature. He will also produce with Lucy Barzun and Rachael Horovitz. CAA and Cinetic Media are packaging the project. 2/22
MTV Films and Paramount have acquired the feature film rights to Midway Games' yet-to-be-released "The Wheelman," with Vin Diesel starring. The action game and film is about an expert driver who comes out of retirement to protect a woman from his past. Rich Wilkes is writing the screenplay for the movie. Diesel will also produce with his Tigon Studios partner Samantha Vincent. David Gale, Loretha Jones and Jason Weiss are overseeing the project for MTV Films, while Dan Levine, Matt Jackson and Eben Davidson are managing it for Paramount. 2/22
Actor Romany Malco has sold his comedy pitch “The Recruiter” to Universal Studios. The film will be a slice-of-life tale about a Marine recruiter. Malco will also star. Judd Apatow will produce. Rob Siegel will pen the screenplay. Donna Langley and Holly Bario will oversee the project for the studio. 2/22
Universal has bought the film rights to “Deceit,” the soon-to-be-published novel by James Siegel. Lorenzo Di Bonaventura is producing, while Jon Gordon is shepherding for the studio. Warner Books is releasing in the summer. The author’s deal was brokered by Inkwell’s Richard Pine. The story is about deception in the world of journalism and publishing. 2/22
Paramount Classics has acquired Alex and David Pastor’s futuristic untitled thriller screenplay. Alex Pastor will direct. The film revolves around four friends who turn on each other while trying to survive a deadly pandemic. Anthony Bregman (This Is That) will produce. 2/22
Rogue Pictures has bought the film rights to the comic book “Hack/Slash,” with Todd Lincoln attached to direct. Adrian Askarieh and Daniel Alter are producing, along with Howard Sun co-producing. Lincoln will pen the script with collaborator Martin Schenk. The comic is about a young woman named Cassie Hack who travels around the country confronting homicidal maniacs and serial killers. It was created by Tim Seeley and Stefano Caselli and published by Devil's Due Publishing. 2/22
Actress Sarah Polley is directing her first feature titled “Away From Her” and has signed on Julie Christie and Olympia Dukakis to star. Polley also penned the screenplay, adapted from the short story "The Bear Came Over the Mountain" by fellow Canadian Alice Munro and is about a couple whose marriage faces turmoil when the wife loses her memory and begins to fall in love with a fellow nursing home patient. Jennifer Weiss, Simone Urdl and Daniel Iron are producing. Atom Egoyan are executive producing. Victoria Hirst is co-producing. Capri Releasing will handle Canadian distribution, William Morris Independent for the U.S., while HanWay will sell the film internationally. The film is being financed by Telefilm Canada, the Canadian Television Fund, Astral Media's the Harold Greenberg Fund, the Movie Network, the Ontario Media Development Corp. and Movie Central. 2/22
Tom Musca has been hired by producers Piedad Palacios and Eric Maleson to write the screenplay for the fictionalized bio of Maleson’s life in the movie "Better Than Gold” about the Brazilian bobsled team in the Torino Winter Olympics. Rodrigo Santoro is in talks to star. 2/22Billy Bob Thornton has signed on to direct and star in "Floyd Collins" for Paramount Pictures. Tom Epperson has penned the script from Robert Murray and Roger Brucker’s book "Trapped!: The Story of Floyd Collins" about the titular Collins’ 13-dayordeal of being trapped in a Kentucky cave, causing a media frenzy in 1925. Geyer Kosinski (Media Talent Group) is producing, along with Bruce Heller and David Bushell. 2/22
Producers Rob Fried and Dan Keston (Fried Films/the Pantry) have bought the horror spec "Damned" written by newbies Jim Agnew and Sean Keller. The film is about a family whose plane not only crashes into the woods, but is also subjected to an ordeal caused by demon-fearing religious zealots. Principal Entertainment and attorney Mark Temple represent Agnew and Keller. 2/23
Anne Hathaway is joining Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen, and Leslie Mann in Judd Apatow’s romantic comedy “Knocked Up.” Apatow is writing and directing the film for Universal, and is producing with Shauna Robertson. Rogen and Evan Goldberg are taking executive producer duties. The film is about a 20-something guy who discovers that he has impregnated one of his one night stands. Donna Langley, Holly Bario and Erik Baiers are managing the project for the studio. CAA and Management 360 represent Hathaway. 2/23
Paramount Pictures has hired Mark Walberg to star in and Antoine Fuqua to direct the political thriller "Shooter," which is an adaptation of Stephen Hunter's novel "Point of Impact." Lorenzo di Bonaventura is producing. The book, published in 1993, is about a sharpshooter who is double-crossed by his associates and framed for the president’s assassination. The screenplay was written by Jonathan Lemkin. Brad Weston is overseeing the film for the studio. Endeavor, manager Steve Levinson and attorney Jason Sloane represent Wahlberg. CAA and attorneys Barry Hirsch and Bob Wallerstein represent Fuqua. 2/23
Jessica Biel has been cast alongside Nicolas Cage and Julianne Moore to star in the sci-fi thriller "Next." Lee Tamahori is directing the film for Revolution Studios. The screenplay, based on the short story "The Golden Man" by Philip K. Dick, was written by Gary Goldman. It’s about a clairvoyant man who is pursued by the FBI to stop a global terror attack. Cage, Todd Garner, Norm Golightly, Graham King and Arne Schmidt are producing. Derek Dauchy is shepherding the project for Revolution. CAA, Management 360 and attorney Karl Austen represent Biel. 2/23
Simon West is in talks with Screen Gems to direct the horror thriller “Vacancy.” The screenplay, which was written by Mark L. Smith, is about a young married couple who face mortal peril when they get stranded at a motel in the middle of nowhere. Hal Lieberman is the producer on the project. Eric Paquette is managing the project for the studio. CAA represents West. 2/24
Columbia Pictures has hired Chris Weitz to develop Neil Strauss' how-to seduction manual "The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists." The book, published by ReganBooks, tells the first person account of how Strauss changed from being a romantic zero to a seductive hero. Weitz is producing with his brother Paul, along with Michael De Luca. Andrew Miano is executive producing. 2/24
Amy Talkington has been hired by Fox 2000 to adapt the upcoming comedy novel tentatively titled "The Devil in the Junior League” by Linda Francis Lee. St. Martin’s Press is publishing the book. The story is about a Texas woman who is left pregnant and broke by her husband. She convinces a lawyer into helping her by agreeing to transform his crude wife into Junior League quality. Laura Hopper is producing. Carla Hacken and Erin Lindsey are managing the project for the studio. UTA, Rigberg Entertainment Group and attorney Warren Dern represent Talkington. 2/24
Multi-hyphenate Wayne Kramer has sold his spec "Evilseek" to The Weinstein Co. Kramer is also attached to direct the supernatural thriller and to produce with partner Michael Pierce. Thomas Jane is attached to star. The screenplay is about how Satan possesses the body of a cop who committed suicide in order to catch a serial killer. TWC is financing the project. Michael Cole, Michelle Krum and Carla Gardini are overseeing the film for the company. 2/24
Director David Dobkin and Vince Vaughn are in talks to re-team in "Fred Claus." The comedy is set up at WB and is about Santa's loser brother. The script is by Dan Fogelman. Dobkin and Jessie Nelson are producing. Vaughn is represented by UTA and Gold-Miller management. 2/27
Screenwriter Jeffrey Nachmanoff has been hired by The Walt Disney Co to work on several scripts. First, he’ll polish the adaptation of the video game “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” for producer Jerry Bruckheimer. The film and game is about a heroic prince who allies himself with an enemy princess to stop the destructive plans of an evil lord. Second, Nachmanoff will work on another Bruckheimer property called "Unnatural History" which is an action film about a family that gets locked in a museum and must survive its suddenly alive and deadly exhibits. Nachmanoff will also work on "Liberty," a tent-pole film being produced by LivePlanet that has a band of patriots that has to fight a conflict using Cold War-era weapons after modern America’s technology is crippled. 2/27
DreamWorks has hired Rita Hsiao to pen "A Guy Not Taken," the romantic comedy film adaptation of a short story written by best-selling author Jennifer Weiner. The tale is about a married woman who gets to experience the life she could’ve lived, had she chosen to be with another man. Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald are producing, along with Chris Bender. JC Spink and Jake Weiner are executive producing. 2/27
Steven Strait and Camilla Belle are set to star in Roland Emmerich’s next directorial project "10,000 B.C." which Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures are co-financing. The prehistoric epic is about a young hunter who traverses the great frontier to save not only his tribe, but also his paramour. Emmerich and Michael Wimer are producing (Centropolis Entertainment), along with Mark Gordon. Harald Kloser, Tom Karnowski and Thomas Tull are executive producing. Emmerich and Kloser wrote the first drafts. John Orloff and Matthew Sand wrote its revisions, and Robert Rodat closed the project. Dan Lin is overseeing for WB. CAA and Cristina Routh represent Belle. ICM represents Strait. 2/27
Lightstorm Entertainment and for 20th Century Fox have hired Laeta Kalogridis to write the bio "The Dive." James Cameron is planning on directing the film. The film is about life and death of Audrey Mestre, a freediver who would swim to incredible depths until she tragically died while trying to break her own world record. Producing the film are Jon Landau and Rae Sanchini. The story was first reported in Sports Illustrated by Gary Smith, then in books by Smith and Audrey Mestre’s husband Francisco "Pipin" Ferraras. 2/27
Warner Bros. Pictures has snatched up the film rights to Scott Lynch's fantasy epic "The Lies of Locke Lamora," part one of a seven-book series. Michael De Luca and Julie Yorn are set to produce. Set in a Venice-like city called Camorr, the books are about a likeable crook named Locke Lamora and his merry band called Gentleman Bastards. Kevin McCormick and Jess Rosenthal are shepherding the project for WB. 2/27
Director Aaron Woodley has cast Mariah Carrey in "Tennessee." The indie drama was written by Russell Schaumberg and is being produced by Lee Daniels. The film is about two brothers, one of whom has leukemia. The guys set out to look for their long-lost father with the help of a waitress. 2/27
Touchstone Pictures has cast Dominic Purcell and Orlando Jones in the thriller "Primeval." The film, which is being produced by Gavin Polone (Pariah), is about a t.v. crew that goes to South Africa to document the existence of a 25-foot man-eating crocodile, while also dealing with equally deadly local warlords. John Brancato and Michael Ferris wrote the screenplay, and Michael Katleman will direct the project. 2/28
Michael Lander and Ryan Roy have sold their prison drama “Kite” to Warner Bros. Pictures for Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Simpson (Appian Way) to produce. DiCaprio might also star. The script is a fictional account of real events that uncover the gang culture and guard corruption in the California maximum security prison system. Kevin McCormick will shepherd the project for the studio. Endeavor and Anonymous Content represent Lander and Roy. 2/28
Universal Pictures has nabbed the film rights to the soon-to-be published comic novel “Company” by Max Barry. The satire focuses on the frustrating experiences of a young business school grad who lands an entry-level job in a big company. Tom Shadyac and Michael Bostik (Shady Acres) will produce. Luke Janklow will executive produce. Steve Pink will pen the adaptation. Donna Langley and Holly Bario will shepherd the project for the studio, while Amanda Morgan will do the same for Shady Acres. 2/28
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