NEW ATTACHMENTS
Arrivals
Logline: A hypochondriac baggage handler at Cape Town airport winds up on the bucket list of a British teenager which results in him facing up to his deepest fears.
Production Company(s): BCDF Pictures, Kalahari Films & Media
Producer(s): Brice Dal Farra, Claude Dal Farra
Writer(s): Fergal Rock
Director(s): Peter Hutchings
Cast: Nina Dobrev, Asa Butterfield, Maisie Williams
SSN Insight: Dobrev has been cast as American flight attendant Izzy, who is the love interest of Butterfield’s character. The screenplay was a 2013 Academy Nicholl semifinalist.
CHiPs
Logline: California motorcycle cops take down a criminal organization.
Studio/Distributor(s): Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Company(s): Panay Films, Primate Pictures
Producer(s): Andrew Panay, Dax Shepard
Writer(s): Dax Shepard, Paul A Kaplan, Mark Torgove
Director(s): Dax Shepard
Cast: Dax Shepard, Michael Pena, Vincent D’Onofrio, Kristen Bell, Rosa Salazar, Jessica McNamee
Details: Feature film version of television series “CHiPs” (1977-1983), which featured Larry Wilcox and Erik Estrada.
SSN Insight: Wilmer Valderrama previously attached to star as Ponch. Previously in development with Tapestry Films.
Darling
Logline: A lonely girl is hired as caretaker for a mysterious Manhattan mansion with a twisted past. Living in the old house, she finds herself deeply affected by the troubled lore that surrounds the place.
Studio/Distributor(s): Screen Media Ventures
Production Company(s): Glass Eye Pix
Producer(s): Mickey Keating, Jenn Wexler, Sean Fowler
Writer(s): Mickey Keating
Director(s): Mickey Keating
Cast: Lauren Ashley Carter, Sean Young, Larry Fessenden, Brian Morvant
SSN Insight: Screen Media acquired worldwide rights after the film’s premiere at 2015 Fantastic Fest.
Death Note (Remake)
Logline: A high school student, after discovering a supernatural notebook that allows him to kill anyone by writing the victim’s name, attempts to cleanse the world of evil by using the book.
Studio/Distributor(s): Warner Bros. Pictures,
Production Company(s): Vertigo Entertainment, Witten Pictures, Lin Pictures, VIZ Productions, Mobius Productions
Producer(s): Dan Lin, Roy Lee, Jason Hoffs, Masi Oka
Writer(s): Jeremy Slater, Anthony Bagarozzi, Charles Mondry, Shane Black, Charles Parlapanides
Director(s): Adam Wingard
Cast: Nat Wolff (in final talks)
Details: Based on the manga series “Death Note” created by writer Tsugumi Ohba and illustrator Takeshi Obata and published by Shueisha in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump from December 2003 to May 2006.
SSN Insight: Shane Black was previously attached to direct.
Fist Fight
Logline: Two teachers who work in a broken-down school system wind up in an epic fist fight.
Studio/Distributor(s): New Line Cinema
Production Company(s): 21 Laps Entertainment
Producer(s): Max Greenfield, Billy Rosenberg, Dan Cohen, Shawn Levy
Writer(s): Evan Susser, Van Robichaux, Max Greenfield
Director(s): Richie Keen
Cast: Ice Cube, Charlie Day, Tracy Morgan, Dennis Haysbert, JoAnna Garcia Swisher, Kim Whitley
SSN Insight: Whitley has been cast as a 911 operator who gets a call so funny she calls her co-workers over to listen in.
Francofonia
Logline: By focusing on the relationship between art and power, we come to understand what art can teach us about our own selves even during one of the bloodiest conflicts the world has ever seen.
Studio/Distributor(s): Music Box Films
Production Company(s): ARTE, Ideale Audience, Le Musee du Louvre, Zero Film GmbH, N279 Entertainment
Producer(s): Els Vandevorst, Thomas Kufus, Pierre-Olivier Bardet
Writer(s): Alexander Sokurov
Director(s): Alexander Sokurov
Cast: Louis-Do De Lencquesaing, Vincent Nemeth, Benjamin Utzerath, Johanna Korthals Altes
SSN Insight: The film won the Best European Film in Competition, awarded by a group of European and Mediterranean critics, and had its North American premiere at TIFF.
Ghostbusters (Reboot)
Logline: With paranormal activity on the rise, a Columbia University academic, her ghost-chasing friend, the friend’s business partner, and an MTA employee join forces to bust ghosts and save New York.
Studio/Distributor(s): Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Releasing
Production Company(s): The Montecito Picture Company, Apatow Productions, Ocean Pictures, Quantity Entertainment, Feigco Entertainment, Pascal Pictures
Producer(s): Ivan Reitman, Dan Aykroyd, Gene Stupnitsky, Ali Bell, Lee Eisenberg
Writer(s): Katie Dippold, Paul Feig, Etan Cohen, Dan Aykroyd, Ivan Reitman
Director(s): Paul Feig
Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, Kate McKinnon, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver
Details: Reboot of “Ghostbusters” (1984) and “Ghostbusters II” (1989) both directed by Ivan Reitman and starring Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson and Sigourney Weaver.
SSN Insight: Project will reportedly bring back the original team of Ghostbusters and introduce new, younger Ghostbusters front-and-center as well. Harold Ramis was previously attached to star.
I Am Pilgrim
Logline: A former head of a secret espionage unit for US intelligence who returns for an investigation gets involved in a race to save the US from extinction.
Studio/Distributor(s): Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM)
Production Company(s): MARV Films, Whalerock Industries
Producer(s): Lloyd Braun, Matthew Vaughn
Writer(s): Terry Hayes
Director(s): Matthew Vaughn
Details: Based on the novel “I am Pilgrim” written by Terry Hayes and published by Atria/Emily Bestler Books on May 27, 2014.
SSN Insight: Vaughn will also co-finance the film through his banner, Marv Films.
Kong: Skull Island
Logline: Based on the mythic origins of King Kong on his home Skull Island, which is ruled by mutant giant creatures, the story follows a man who visits the island with a rescue party after his brother disappears during a search for a serum thought to cure all ill
Studio/Distributor(s): Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Company(s): Legendary Entertainment, Disruption Entertainment
Producer(s): Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni, Mary Parent
Writer(s): Derek Connolly, Tony Gilroy, John Gatins, Max Borenstein
Director(s): Jordan Vogt-Roberts
Cast: Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, John C Reilly, Brie Larson, Corey Hawkins, John Goodman
SSN Insight: Joe Cornish was previously mentioned to direct. Michael Keaton and JK Simmons were previously attached as members of the cast. Actors reportedly being considered to replace Michael Keaton and JK Simmons included Samuel L. Jackson for the Simmons role, and Russell Crowe and John C. Reilly for the Keaton role. Jackson and Reilly ultimately joined the project.
Maestra
Logline: An employee at an auction house is fired after identifying a forged painting.
Studio/Distributor(s): Columbia Pictures, TriStar Productions
Production Company(s): Pascal Pictures
Producer(s): Amy Pascal
Writer(s): Erin Cressida Wilson
Details: Based on the novel “Maestra” written by L.S. Hilton which has been purchased by a British publisher, Bonniere, and will be published in the U.S. by Zaffre January 1, 2016.
SSN Insight: Erin Cressida Wilson previouly adapted Girl on The Train.
Maggie’s Plan
Logline: Three years into motherhood and married to a man with whom she is becoming increasingly disenchanted, a young woman schemes to reunite her husband with his ex-wife.
Studio/Distributor(s): Sony Pictures Classics
Production Company(s): Locomotive, Rachael Horovitz Productions, Round Films, Hall Monitor
Producer(s): Rachael Horovitz, Damon Cardasis, Rebecca Miller
Writer(s): Rebecca Miller
Director(s): Rebecca Miller
Cast: Greta Gerwig, Ethan Hawke, Julianne Moore, Bill Hader, Maya Rudolph
SSN Insight: Clive Owen was previously attached to the role ultimately played by Ethan Hawke.
Marauders
Logline: When an FBI agent is investigating a bank robbery, he uncovers a trail of secrets that the bank owner has been protecting.
Studio/Distributor(s): Lionsgate Premiere
Production Company(s): Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films, 4th Wall Entertainment
Producer(s): Randall Emmett, George Furla, Joshua Harris, Rosie Charbonneau
Writer(s): Michael Cody, Chris Sivertson
Director(s): Steven C. Miller
Cast: Bruce Willis, Christopher Meloni, Dave Bautista, Lydia Hull, Tyler Olson, Adrian Grenier
SSN Insight: Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films will release through its U.S. deal with Lionsgate Premiere. Highland Film Group is handling international.
Marjorie Prime
Logline: As elderly Marjorie’s memories begin to fail her, she subscribes to a service that provides holographic recreations of her deceased loved ones as she would like to remember them.
Production Company(s): BB Films
Producer(s): Uri Singer, Isen Robbins
Writer(s): Michael Almereyda
Director(s): Michael Almereyda
Cast: Lois Smith, Jon Hamm, Geena Davis
Details: Based on the play “Marjorie Prime” written by Jordan Harrison which premiered at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles on September 10, 2014.
SSN Insight: Lois Smith also starred as Marjorie in the original stage production of “Marjorie Prime” at LA’s Mark Taper Forum.
Mother’s Day
Logline: The stories of several mothers intertwine during the day leading up to the Mother’s Day holiday.
Studio/Distributor(s): Open Road Films
Production Company(s): PalmStar Entertainment, Gulfstream Pictures
Producer(s): Wayne Rice, Mike Karz, Daniel Diamond, Kevin Scott Frakes, Brandt Andersen
Writer(s): Anya Kochoff, Lily Hollander, Matt Walker, Tom Hines
Director(s): Garry Marshall
Cast: Julia Roberts, Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson, Jason Sudeikis, Ella Anderson, Sarah Chalke
SSN Insight: Chalke previously starred on ABC’s long-running comedy Scrubs and was recently featured on Adult Swim’s Rick And Morty.
Nocturnal Animals
Logline: Susan receives a manuscript from her ex-husband, and reading it causes her recall her first marriage and confront some dark truths about herself.
Studio/Distributor(s): Focus Features
Production Company(s): Fade to Black Productions
Producer(s): Tom Ford, Robert Salerno
Writer(s): Tom Ford
Director(s): Tom Ford
Cast: Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Michael Shannon, Kim Basinger, Robert Aramayo
Details: Based on the novel “Tony and Susan” written by Austin Wright and published by Baskerville Publishers in 1993.
SSN Insight: Project was previously in development at Smokehouse Pictures with George Clooney and Grant Heslov attached to produce. Focus Features and Universal Pictures International secured the rights at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival in a reportedly $20 Million deal, marking one of the biggest deal in Cannes history.
Operation Insanity
Logline: The film follows a teenager who teams up with his badass grandfather and his grandfather’s old war buddy to save the girl he loves from a terrible person.
Production Company(s): CCi Entertainment
Producer(s): Arnie Zipursky, Jeff Sackman
Writer(s): Jeff Schechter
Director(s): Erik Canuel
Cast: Paul Sorvino, James Caan, Jessica Walter, Louis Gossett, Jr.
SSN Insight: Gossett, Jr. will play “Mother,” another one of the grandfather’s old war buddies.
The Conjuring: The Enfield Poltergeist
Logline: The story of real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren continues.
Studio/Distributor(s): New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution
Production Company(s): The Safran Company, POV Productions, Atomic Monster
Producer(s): Rob Cowan, Peter Safran, James Wan
Writer(s): David Leslie Johnson, Eric Heisserer, Carey Hayes, Chad Hayes, James Wan
Director(s): James Wan
Cast: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Frances O’Connor, Simon McBurney, Lauren Esposito
Details: Sequel to the film “The Conjuring” (2013) directed by James Wan and starring Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson.
SSN Insight: In August, 2015, the California Film Commission picked “Conjuring 2,” aka “The Conjuring: The Enfield Poltergeist,” as one of 11 films to share $55.2 million in incentives and receive up to 25 percent in tax credits.
The Current War
Logline: Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse battle for dominance in the use of differing electrical currents.
Studio/Distributor(s): The Weinstein Company
Production Company(s): Bazelevs Productions, Film Rites
Producer(s): Timur Bekmambetov, Steven Zaillian, Garrett Basch
Writer(s): Michael Mitnick
Director(s): Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal (in talks), Benedict Cumberbatch (in talks)
SSN Insight: Ben Stiller was previously in talks to direct.
The Idol
Logline: Mohammad Assaf is the Gazan wedding singer who became a worldwide sensation after winning the live-singing competition Arab Idol in 2013.
Studio/Distributor(s): Adopt Films
Production Company(s): Idol Film Production LTD
Producer(s): Amira Diab, Ali Jaafar
Writer(s): Hany Abu-Assad, Sameh Zoabi
Director(s): Hany Abu-Assad
Cast: Kais Attalah, Hiba Attalah, Ahmad Qasem, Abdel Kareem Barakeh, Tawfeek Barhom
SSN Insight: Adopt Films acquired domestic rights after the film’s premiere at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.
The Scorpio Races
Logline: Every November, people compete in the Scorpio Races – a contest in which riders attempt to stay on their water horses until the finish line. Not everyone will survive.
Studio/Distributor(s): Focus Features
Production Company(s): KatzSmith Productions
Producer(s): David Katzenberg, Seth Grahame-Smith
Writer(s): Jack Thorne
Director(s): Matt Sobel
Details: Based on the young adult novel “The Scorpio Races” written by Maggie Stiefvater and published by Scholastic Press on October 18, 2011.
SSN Insight: Previously in development at Warner Bros.
Triple Frontier
Logline: Storyline under wraps.
Studio/Distributor(s): Paramount Pictures
Production Company(s): Atlas Entertainment
Producer(s): Charles Roven, Alex Gartner, Grant Hill
Writer(s): Mark Boal
Director(s): J.C. Chandor
SSN Insight: Tom Hanks was previously attached to star. Kathryn Bigelow was previously attached to direct and executive produce. Mark Boal was previously attached to executive produce.
Where to Invade Next
Logline: Explores the current state of the nation.
Studio/Distributor(s): Unnamed Tom Quinn/Jason Janego Company
Production Company(s): Dog Eat Dog Films, Inc., IMG Worldwide
Producer(s): Michael Moore, Tia Lessin, Carl Deal
Writer(s): Michael Moore
Director(s): Michael Moore
SSN Insight: Tom Quinn, Jason Janego and Tim League’s new distribution label acquired domestic rights following the film’s premiere at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.
White Boy Rick
Logline: Richard Wershe Jr. was 14 when he became an undercover informant for law enforcement in the 1980s, and then became a major drug dealer until he was arrested at age 17.
Studio/Distributor(s): Studio 8
Production Company(s): Protozoa Pictures, LBI Entertainment
Producer(s): John Lesher, Darren Aronofsky, Scott Franklin, Rick Yorn, Julie Yorn
Writer(s): Logan Miller, Noah Miller, Andy Weiss
Director(s): Yann Demange
SSN Insight: Originally, Studio 8 was developing the spec script written by Logan and Noah Miller, but has now also acquired the Andy Weiss script that Protozoa had been separately developing. The projects are now combined.
NEW PROJECTS
The Kingkiller Chronicle
Logline: Follows the life and times of Kvothe, a magically gifted young man who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen.
Studio/Distributor(s): Lionsgate
Producer(s): Robert Lawrence, Erik Feig, Jeyun Choi Munford, Jessica Switch
Details: Based on the best-selling fantasy book series of the same name by Patrick Rothfuss.
SSN Insight: The book series has sold more than 10 million copies. The deal sets up the simultaneous development of movies, television series and video games with the goal to adapt the many stories across the mediums at the same time. EVP of TV Chris Selak will handle its development for television while the President of Interactive Ventures & Games Peter Levin will handle the gaming side.
Untitled Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton Heist Pitch Project
Logline: Storyline is under wraps.
Studio/Distributor(s): Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Releasing
Production Company(s): Mad Chance Productions, Bad Hat Harry Productions
Producer(s): Bryan Singer, Andrew Lazar, Jason Taylor
Writer(s): Ben Lustig, Jake Thornton
Director(s): Bryan Singer
SSN Insight: Columbia bought the spec in a mid-six-against-seven-figure deal.
And Then There Were None
Logline: 10 strangers are marooned on an island as one by one, they start to die.
Studio/Distributor(s): 20th Century Fox
Production Company(s): Acorn Productions, Agatha Christie, Ltd., 21 Laps Entertainment
Producer(s): Shawn Levy, Dan Levine, Dan Cohen, Hilary Strong
Writer(s): Eric Heisserer
Director(s): Morten Tyldum
Details: Based on the novel “And Then There Were None” written by Agatha Christie and published in the US by Dodd, Mead & Co. in 1939.
SSN Insight: The novel has sold over 100 million copies, establishing itself as the all-time biggest-selling mystery novel.
Below Her Mouth
Logline: Two women begin an affair that changes their lives forever.
Production Company(s): Serendipity Point Films, Distant Horizon Corporation
Producer(s): Melissa Coghlan
Writer(s): Stephanie Fabrizi
Director(s): April Mullen
Cast: Natalie Krill, Erika Linder
SSN Insight: Toronto-based Serendipity Point Films, based on Toronto, produced Atom Egoyan’s Remember which recently premiered in Venice, garnering strong marks for lead Christopher Plummer.
Black Ice (Remake)
Logline: A complex love triangle between a woman, her husband and his mistress is followed.
Studio/Distributor(s): Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM)
Production Company(s): Rivers Edge Films
Producer(s): Dylan Sellers
Details: Remake of “Black Ice” (Finland/2007) written and directed by Petri Kotwica.
SSN Insight: Sellers formed Rivers Edge Films in a strategic partnership with Kevin Frakes’ finance/production company PalmStar Media. Under the deal, Palmstar funds Sellers’ overhead, production and development. The partners plan to produce four to five films with budgets between $20 million-$40 million range.
Hammerspace
Logline: A terminally-ill teenager looking for answers about his missing father, finds a key that unlocks an opening to an alternate animated dimension, and a new friend helps him repair his broken family.
Studio/Distributor(s): Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Company(s): Lin Pictures
Producer(s): Dan Lin, Jonathan Eirich
Writer(s): Mike Van Waes
SSN Insight: Warner Bros. acquired the spec from writer Mike Van Waes for a mid-six figure deal. Studio is considering the property for a potential franchise.