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A Meyers Christmas
11/2/2015
Logline: An estranged family spends their first Christmas together after their patriarch dies.
Studio/Distributor(s): Universal Pictures
Production Company(s): Will Packer Productions
Director(s): David E. Talbert
Executive Producer(s): Lyn Talbert, James Lopez, David E. Talbert, Gabrielle Union, Jeff Morrone
Producer(s): Will Packer
Cast: Gabrielle Union, Danny Glover, Mo’Nique, Kimberly Elise, J.B. Smoove
Writer(s): David E. Talbert
SSN Insight: Spec script acquired for mid-six figures upfront and upped to seven figures for script and directing as the movie is being made.
Beat Up Little Seagull
11/2/2015
Logline: A fragile woman is already stressed from a fast-paced world when her mother dies and she must find a means for survival, while hiding her struggles from her new boyfriend
Production Company(s): Killer Films
Director(s): Andrew Dosunmu
Producer(s): Christine Vachon
Cast: Michelle Pfeiffer, Kiefer Sutherland
Writer(s): Darci Picoult, Andrew Dosunmu
SSN Insight: Michelle Pfeiffer was most recently in American Horror Story and can be seen in the HBO film Wizard of Lies.
Fender Bender
11/2/2015
Logline: A serial killer purposely gets into car accidents to meet his future victims.
Production Company(s): Brainstorm Media, Shout! Factory, EchoWolf Productions
Director(s): Mark Pavia
Executive Producer(s): Nadia Redler, Meyer Shwarzstein
Producer(s): Carl W. Lucas, Joshua Bunting
Cast: Makenzie Vega, Steven Michael Quezada, Dre Davis, Cassidy Freeman, Bill Sage
Writer(s): Mark Pavia
SSN Insight: This is Shout! Factory’s first original film. Shout! Factory will develop, finance and executive produce the film and will shoot it in New Mexico.
Girl on the Train
11/4/2015
Logline: A young woman gets mixed up in a murder investigation because of what she sees on her daily commute.
Studio/Distributor(s): DreamWorks Studios, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Production Company(s): Marc Platt Productions
Director(s): Tate Taylor
Executive Producer(s): Jared LeBoff, Celia D Costas
Producer(s): Marc Platt
Cast: Haley Bennett, Emily Blunt, Rebecca Ferguson, Edgar Ramirez, Luke Evans
Writer(s): Erin Cressida Wilson
Details: Based on the novel “Girl on the Train” written by Paula Hawkins and published by Riverhead Books in 2015.
SSN Insight: Kate Mara was mentioned to co-star. Chris Evans was previously in negotiations for the role filled by Justin Theroux.
Sand Castle
11/2/2015
Logline: True story of Americans soldiers who are sent on a mission to repair an aqueduct in a dangerous rural village in Iraq.
Production Company(s): Mark Gordon Company, 42, Treehouse Pictures
Director(s): Fernando Coimbra
Executive Producer(s): Brian Kavanaugh-Jones
Producer(s): Mark R. Gordon, Justin Nappi, Benjamin Pugh
Cast: Nicholas Hoult, Henry Cavill, Beau Knapp, Glen Powell, Logan Marshall-Green
Writer(s): Chris Roessner
SSN Insight: Seb Edwards was previously attached to direct. Project was included on the 2012 Black List. Luke Evans was previously attached to play the role filled by Logan Marshall-Green.
Shot
11/2/2015
Logline: A man and his fiance find their lives turned upside down when a teenager unintentionally shoots him.
Production Company(s): Wyle/Katz Company
Director(s): Jeremy Kagan
Producer(s): Noah Wyle, Jeremy Kagan
Cast: Noah Wyle, Elaine Hendrix
Writer(s): William Lamborn, Anneke Campbell
SSN Insight: The film is being repped at AFM by veteran distribution executive Omar Kaczmarczyk, who is also the global IP manager for the Global Genesis Group.
The Bye Bye Man
11/2/2015
Logline: Inspired by a series of events that occurred in Wisconsin in the 1990s, three college students play with a Ouija board and summon a spirit with a dangerous story.
Studio/Distributor(s): STX Entertainment
Production Company(s): Intrepid Pictures, Los Angeles Media Fund
Director(s): Stacy Title
Executive Producer(s): Marc Evans, David Britten Prior
Producer(s): Trevor Macy, Simon Horsman, Jeffrey Soros
Cast: Douglas Smith, Cressida Bonas, Lucien Laviscount, Doug Jones
Writer(s): Jonathan Penner, David Britten Prior
Details: Based on the short story: “The Bridge to Body Island” from anthology “The President’s Vampire: Strange-but-True Tales of the United States of America”; published by Anomalist Books November 1, 2005.
SSN Insight: David Britten Prior was previously attached to write and direct. The deal with TWC-Dimension includes a proceed-to-production commitment.
The Godmother
11/4/2015
Logline: The true story of Griselda Blanco, who became the deadliest, wealthiest woman to head a Colombian drug cartel.
Production Company(s): First Born Films
Director(s): Gerard Johnson
Executive Producer(s): Nicholas Pileggi, Nicolas Meyer, Marc Schaberg, Kelly McCormick
Producer(s): Daniela Cristina Cretu
Cast: Catherine Zeta-Jones, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Olivier Martinez, Jordi Molle , Mehdi Dehbi
Writer(s): Frank Baldwin
Details: Life rights of Griselda Blanco optioned by Daniela Cretu.
SSN Insight: Eva Sorhaug was previously attached as director. Jon Bernthal and Oscar Jaenada were previously attached as cast members.
The Legacy Of A Whitetail Deer Hunter
10/30/2015
Logline: Storyline is under wraps.
Production Company(s): Scott Rudin Productions, Rough House Pictures
Director(s): Jody Hill
Executive Producer(s): Danny McBride, David Gordon Green, John Carcieri, Lila Yacoub
Producer(s): Scott Rudin, Jody Hill, Eli Bush
Cast: Josh Brolin, Danny McBride
Writer(s): Jody Hill, Danny McBride, John Carcieri
SSN Insight: Danny McBride’s upcoming films include Hot Sugar’s Cold World, Don Verdean, Masterminds and Zeroville.
WRAPS
American Pastoral
11/6/2015
Logline: A man who inherits his father’s business and marries a beauty queen has his idyllic life turned upside down when his daughter becomes a Vietnam War activist and carries out a terrorist act.
Production Company(s): Lakeshore Entertainment, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment
Director(s): Ewan McGregor
Executive Producer(s): Jim Tauber, Matt Berenson
Producer(s): Tom Rosenberg, Richard Wright, Gary Lucchesi, Sidney Kimmel
Cast: Jennifer Connelly, Ewan McGregor, Dakota Fanning, Corey Stoll, Valorie Curry
Writer(s): John Romano
Details: Based on the novel “American Pastoral” written by Philip Roth and published by Vintage in 1998.
SSN Insight: Lakeshore Entertainment has picked up the feature film rights to the novel “American Pastoral” by Philip Roth from turnaround. It is the third Philip Roth novel in development at Lakeshore. Project was previously in development at Lynda Obst Productions.
Ghost Team
11/6/2015
Logline: A team of ghost hunters who get more than they bargained for when they set out to do their own paranormal investigation.
Production Company(s): Preferred Content, Mott Street Pictures, Tandem Pictures
Director(s): Oliver Irving
Executive Producer(s): Kevin Iwashinia
Producer(s): Julie Christeas, Schuyler Weiss, Oliver Irving, Alex Sagalchik
Cast: Jon Heder, David Krumholtz, Melonie Diaz, Paul W Downs, Justin Long
Writer(s): Peter Warren
SSN Insight: The producers announced that that this will be the first feature to use the new Steadicam Tango, an innovation by cinematographer Garrett Brown.
Kill the Czar
10/30/2015
Logline: Storyline is under wraps.
Production Company(s): Rabbit Bandini Productions
Director(s): James Franco, Bruce Cheung
Producer(s): Jay Davis, Manaal Khan
Cast: James Franco
SSN Insight: James Franco’s upcoming films include The Night Before, Memoria, The Adderall Diaries, Yosemite and Zeroville.
LBJ
11/2/2015
Logline: Lyndon Johnson goes from powerful Senate Majority Leader, powerless Vice President to President of the United States following the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
Production Company(s): Castle Rock Entertainment, Star Thrower Entertainment, Acacia Entertainment, Savvy Media Holdings
Director(s): Rob Reiner
Executive Producer(s): Allan Mandelbaum, Lloyd Braun, Andrew Mittman, Martin Shafer, Elizabeth Bell
Producer(s): Matthew George, Rob Reiner, Liz Glotzer, Michael Williams, Tim White
Cast: Woody Harrelson, Richard Jenkins, Bill Pullman, Kim Allen, Michael Stahl-David
Writer(s): Joey Hartstone
SSN Insight: Project was included in the 2014 Black List.
Mean Dreams
10/30/2015
Logline: The daughter of a corrupt cop steals drug money from him and goes on the run.
Production Company(s): Woods Entertainment
Director(s): Nathan Morlando
Executive Producer(s): Allison Black, Patrice Theroux, Jonathan Bronfman, Rob McGillivray, Ben Stranahan
Producer(s): William Woods
Cast: Bill Paxton, Colm Feore, Kevin Durand, Sophie Nelisse, Josh Wiggins
Writer(s): Ryan Grassby, Kevin Coughlin
SSN Insight: Bill Paxton’s upcoming films include The Bottoms which he’s signed on to direct and he’s been cast in The Second Coming and Life Briefly, all in active development.
Operation Insanity
11/2/2015
Logline: A shy young man turns to his grandfather, and his grandfather’s rugged old war buddies, for help rescuing the woman of his dreams from kidnappers.
Production Company(s): CCi Entertainment
Director(s): Erik Canuel
Producer(s): Arnie Zipursky, Jeff Sackman
Cast: Paul Sorvino, James Caan, Jessica Walter, Louis Gossett Jr., Dylan Everett
Writer(s): Jeff Schechter
SSN Insight: Erik Canuel previously directed Lac Mystere, Barrymore, Cadavres, The Last Tunnel and Bon Cop, Bad Cop.
The Journey
10/30/2015
Logline: After three decades of not speaking, Ian Paisley, staunch evangelical Protestant and advocate for Northern Ireland, and Martin McGuinness, a former leader of the IRA are forced to ride in a car together. Will their proximity help in the quest for peace?
Production Company(s): Tempo Productions, Generator Entertainment, Greenroom Entertainment
Director(s): Nick Hamm
Executive Producer(s): Stuart Ford, Matt Jackson
Producer(s): Nick Hamm, Mark Huffam, Piers Tempest
Cast: Timothy Spall, Colm Meaney, John Hurt, Toby Stephens, Freddie Highmore
Writer(s): Colin Bateman
SSN Insight: CAA and Bloom are selling the project on a promo reel at Cannes. Liam Neeson and Kenneth Branagh were previously attached to star.
The Lost City of Z
10/31/2015
Logline: The true story of British explorer Col. Percy Harrison Fawcett, who disappeared in 1925 while searching for a mysterious city in the Amazon.
Production Company(s): Keep Your Head Productions, Plan B Entertainment, MadRiver Pictures
Director(s): James Gray
Executive Producer(s): Marc Butan, Julie May, Glenn P Murray
Producer(s): Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Anthony Katagas, Dale Armin Johnson
Cast: Charlie Hunnam, Robert Pattinson, Sienna Miller, Tom Holland, Angus MacFadyen
Writer(s): James Gray
Details: Based on the book “Lost City of Z” written by David Grann; published by Doubleday in February 2009.
SSN Insight: The book is an expansion of an article, written by Grann, that appeared in The New Yorker magazine in September 2005. Project previously set up at Paramount Pictures. Brad Pitt previously attached to star.
The Purge 3
11/3/2015
Logline: On one night during the year, murder is legal and bad things happen to people who don’t stay locked in their homes.
Studio/Distributor(s): Universal Pictures
Production Company(s): Why Not Productions, Platinum Dunes, Blumhouse Productions
Director(s): James DeMonaco
Producer(s): Jason Blum, Sebastien Lemercier, Michael Bay, Brad Fuller, Andrew Form
Cast: Frank Grillo, Betty Gabriel, Edwin Hodge, Kyle Secor, Joseph Julian Soria
Writer(s): James DeMonaco
Details: Based on the film The Purge and its sequel The Purge Anarchy.
SSN Insight: James DeMonaco previously wrote and directed The Purge and The Purge: Anarchy. He’s attached as a screenwriter to the upcoming films Gangster for MGM and The Listener for Disney, both in active development.