New Attachments
At All Costs
Logline: Follows two of America’s top high school basketball prospects, Parker Jackson Cartwright and Gabe York, as they play their final summers in the AAU basketball league and prepare for the college level, as well as Etop Udo-Ema as he attempts to coach his Compton Magic to another championship.
Studio/Distributor(s): XLrator Media
Production Company(s): New Man Media
Producer(s): Ian Ward, Mike Nicoll, Nick Henry
Writer(s): Mike Nicoll
Director(s): Mike Nicoll
SSN Insight: XLrator Media has acquired North American distribution rights to the film and release it this fall under its PACE multicultural label.
Battle of the Sexes
Logline: Surrounds the 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs.
Studio/Distributor(s): Fox Searchlight Pictures,
Production Company(s): Cloud Eight Films, Decibel
Producer(s): Danny Boyle, Christian Colson
Writer(s): Simon Beaufoy
Director(s): Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris
Cast: Emma Stone, Steve Carell, Austin Stowell, Andrea Riseborough, Elisabeth Shue, Sarah Silverman
SSN Insight: Brie Larson was previously in talks to co-star.
Bright
Logline: Storyline is under wraps.
Studio/Distributor(s): Netflix
Production Company(s): Crave Films, Arcade Films, Clubhouse Pictures
Producer(s): Eric Newman, Bryan Unkeless, Max Landis, David Ayer
Writer(s): David Ayer
Director(s): David Ayer
Cast: Will Smith, Joel Edgerton
SSN Insight: Netflix paid a reported $3 million for Max Landis’ script and will reportedly invest $90 million in the entire package.
Bubbles
Logline: A baby chimp is adopted by the pop star Michael Jackson. Narrating his own story, Bubbles the Chimp details his life within The King of Pop’s inner circle through the scandals that later rocked Jackson’s life and eventually led to Bubbles’ release.
Production Company(s): Starburns Industries, End Cue
Producer(s): Andrew Kortschak, Dan Harmon
Writer(s): Isaac Adamson
SSN Insight: Project was included in the 2015 Black List. Project will be a stop motion animation. Harmon exec produced Anomalisa, which was nominated for the Best Animated Film Oscar this year.
How to Plan an Orgy in a Small Town
Logline: When shunned sex columnist Cassie returns for mom’s funeral, things get spicy. She had labeled the town prudish in her big-city writing gig, but upon her return, a group of eclectic town folk are inspired to try to plan an orgy and beg Cassie to serve as their mentor.
Studio/Distributor(s): Gravitas Ventures
Writer(s): Jeremy Lalonde
Director(s): Jeremy Lalonde
Cast: Jewel Staite, Lauren Holly, Ennis Esmer, Jonas Chernick, Kristian Bruun
SSN Insight: Gravitas Ventures has acquired the film that premiered at Slamdance in January and have set a day-and-date theatrical/VOD release on May 13.
Howard Lovecraft and the Frozen Kingdom
Logline: Against his father’s advice, young Howard Lovecraft uses the legendary Necronomicon to open a portal to a frozen world filled with terrible creatures and danger.
Production Company(s): Arcana Comics
Producer(s): Sean Patrick O’Reilly, Michelle O’Reilly
Writer(s): Sean Patrick O’Reilly
Director(s): Sean Patrick O’Reilly
Voice Cast: Ron Perlman, Christopher Plummer
Details: Based on the graphic novel and series “Howard Lovecraft and the Frozen Kingdom” by Bruce Brown and published by Arcana Studio on March 1, 2010.
SSN Insight: With the intent of introducing a new generation to the work of H.P. Lovecraft, the project combines the biography of the young Lovecraft in a family-friendly genre.
Jacob’s Ladder (Remake)
Logline: Storyline is under wraps.
Production Company(s): Gaeta Rosenzweig Films, LD Entertainment, Will Packer Productions
Producer(s): Mickey Liddell, Pete Shilaimon, Michael Gaeta, Alison R Rosenzweig, Jennifer Hilton Monroe
Writer(s): Sarah Thorp, Jeff Buhler, Jake Wade Wall
Director(s): David M Rosenthal
Cast: Michael Ealy
Details: Remake of “Jacob’s Ladder” (1990) directed by Adrian Lyne and starring Tim Robbins.
SSN Insight: An homage to the original film through a contemporary story. James Foley was previously in talks to direct.
Kingsman 2
Logline: Storyline is under wraps.
Studio/Distributor(s): 20th Century Fox, 20th Century Fox Distribution
Production Company(s): MARV Films
Producer(s): Matthew Vaughn
Writer(s): Jane Goldman, Matthew Vaughn
Director(s): Matthew Vaughn
Cast: Taron Egerton, Julianne Moore, Halle Berry, Edward Holcroft
Details: Based on the comic book series “The Secret Service,” written by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons and published by Marvel Comics on April 11, 2012. Sequel to “Kingsman: The Secret Service” (2015) directed by Matthew Vaughn and starring Colin Firth.
SSN Insight: Although his character died in the first film, Holcroft will return to the role.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
Logline: This sequel involves a swashbuckling search across the seas for a legendary and powerful artifact, the Trident of Poseidon.
Studio/Distributor(s): Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Production Company(s): Jerry Bruckheimer Films
Producer(s): Jerry Bruckheimer, Mike Stenson, Chad Oman
Writer(s): Jeff Nathanson, Terry Rossio, Ted Elliott
Director(s): Joachim Rønning, Espen Sandberg
Cast: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Javier Bardem, Ian McShane, Stephen Graham, Paul McCartney
Details: Sequel to Walt Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” (2003) starring Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, directed by Gore Verbinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.
SSN Insight: Rob Marshall had been mentioned to direct. Jared Leto and Christoph Waltz were reportedly eyed for the villain role. Filming has wrapped but filming has recommenced with the add-on of a big set-piece scene with Paul McCartney.
Sorta Like a Rockstar
Logline: After they become homeless, high school senior Amber and her mom secretly live in a school bus. Amber remains solidly optimistic, but a tragedy puts her attitude to the test.
Studio/Distributor(s): Fox Searchlight Pictures
Production Company(s): Gotham/Principal, Temple Hill Entertainment
Producer(s): Wyck Godfrey, Marty Bowen, Lee Stollman, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein
Writer(s): Ol Parker, Laura Sandler, Amanda Harlib
Director(s): Miguel Arteta
Details: Based on the novel “Sort Like a Rock Star” written by Matthew Quick and published by Little, Brown in 2010.
SSN Insight: Arteta recently directed Disney’s Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day for the big screen, which grossed more than $100 million globally.
Steven
Logline: This unauthorized biopic of former Smiths leader Morrissey focuses on his his troubled childhood in Manchester and how he overcame it to become a star.
Production Company(s): Honlodge Productions
Producer(s): Orian Williams, Baldwin Li
Writer(s): Mark Gill, William Thacker
Director(s): Mark Gill
Cast: Jack Lowden
SSN Insight: Jack Lowden recently appeared in the BBC epic War And Peace. Entertainment One has acquired UK rights.
The Bad Kids (Documentary)
Logline: At a remote Mojave Desert high school, educators combat the crippling effects of poverty on at-risk students by giving love, empathy and teaching life skills.
Studio/Distributor(s): FilmRise
Production Company(s): Low Key Pictures, The Filmmaker Fund
Producer(s): Keith Fulton, Louis Pepe
Director(s): Keith Fulton, Louis Pepe
SSN Insight: FilmRise has acquired the worldwide distribution rights to the film that was shown during the Sundance Film Festival.
The Little Prince
Logline: A pilot crashes in the Sahara Desert and is befriended by a mysterious little boy.
Studio/Distributor(s): Netflix
Production Company(s): Canal Plus, M6 Films, W9, Orange Studio, ON Entertainment, LPPTV
Producer(s): Aton Soumache, Dimitri Rassam, Alexis Vonarb
Writer(s): Irena Brignull, Bob Persichetti
Director(s): Mark Randolph Osborne
Details: Based on the novel “Le Petit Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, published in 1943.
SSN Insight: Netflix has acquired the film for domestic release after Paramount Pictures surprisingly dropped the film days before its planned theatrical release.
To The Bone
Logline: A young woman suffering from anorexia tries to find a doctor who can help her.
Production Company(s): Mockingbird Pictures, Sparkhouse Media
Producer(s): Bonnie Curtis, Julie Lynn, Karina Miller
Writer(s): Marti Noxon
Director(s): Marti Noxon
Cast: Lily Collins
SSN Insight: This is the feature directorial debut for TV writer Marti Noxon.
We the People: The Market Basket Effect (Documentary)
Logline: A documentary that focuses on the dramatic relationship of the Demoulas family over control of their $4 billion supermarket chain, Market Basket.
Studio/Distributor(s): FilmBuff
Production Company(s): Dundee Entertainment, NBTV Studios, Bungalow Media + Entertainment
Producer(s): Nick Buzzell, Ted Leonsis, Robert Friedman, Paul Nero, Tommy Reid
Director(s): Tommy Reid
SSN Insight: FilmBuff has picked up U.S. rights to the film and will release it in theaters starting April 14, followed by a VOD release April 22.
New Projects
An Untamed State
Logline: In Haiti, a Haitian-American woman is kidnapped for ransom in front of her husband and child.
Studio/Distributor(s): Fox Searchlight Pictures,
Production Company(s): Michael De Luca Productions
Producer(s): Michael De Luca, Gina Prince-Bythewood
Writer(s): Gina Prince-Bythewood, Roxane Gay
Director(s): Gina Prince-Bythewood
Cast: Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Details: Based on the novel “An Untamed State” written by Roxane Gay and published by Black Cat in 2014.
SSN Insight: Mbatha-Raw worked with Prince-Bythewood on Beyond the Lights and most recently starred in Concussion and Belle.
I, Tonya
Logline: The true story of Tonya Harding, who rose from poverty to become prominent in figure skating, but was disgraced when her husband tried to break the leg of her rival in the 1994 Olympics.
Production Company(s): Clubhouse Pictures, LuckyChap Entertainment
Producer(s): Bryan Unkeless, Margot Robbie
Writer(s): Steven Rogers
Cast: Margot Robbie
SSN Insight: Robbie can next be seen in The Legend of Tarzan and Suicide Squad. She is also in preproduction on Terminal which she was in cast in and is attached as a producer.
Jane Steele
Logline: Years after orphan Jane Steele committed a crime that caused her to flee to Victorian London, she returns to her childhood home as a governess.
Production Company(s): 1492 Pictures, Prescience Film Finance, Ocean Blue Entertainment, Altus Productions
Producer(s): Chris Columbus, Bill Andrew, Rich Brennan, Michael Barnathan, Mark Radcliffe
Details: Based on the novel “Jane Steele” written by Lyndsay Faye and published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons on March 22, 2016. Inspired by Charlotte Bronte’s classic Jane Eyre.
SSN Insight: Jane Eyre was adapted for film in 1996 with Anna Paquin and Cary Joji Fukunaga directed a 2011 version with Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender.
Justice
Logline: A US Marshal arrives at a small town in an old frontier fort in the 1860s to find his brother, the town pastor, who died under suspicious circumstances. His investigation uncovers a web of corruption and deceit.
Production Company(s): JLE Cinema Group
Producer(s): A.J. Perez, John Lewis, Jim Burleson
Writer(s): John Lewis, Shawn Justice
Director(s): Richard Gabai
Cast: Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Robert Carradine, Stephen Lang, Ellen Hollman, John Lewis, Nathan Parsons, Jackson Rathbone, Lesley-Anne Down
SSN Insight: Parsons’ credits include The Originals, True Blood and General Hospital. Rathbone was seen in The Twilight Saga films and Finding Carter.
Pieces
Logline: Three best friends from Detroit change the course of their lives when they intercept a drug run.
Production Company(s): Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films, Film 44
Producer(s): Randall Emmett, George Furla, Peter Berg, Taylor Kitsch
Writer(s): Taylor Kitsch
Director(s): Taylor Kitsch
Cast: Taylor Kitsch
Details: Based on the short film “Pieces” (2013) written and directed by Taylor Kitsch.
SSN Insight: Taylor Kitsch will make his feature directorial debut with this film that E/F/O will finance.
The Secret Life of the Lonely Doll
Logline: The story of Dare Wright, author of the 1950s children’s book “The Lonely Doll,” who lived a bizarre life of glamour and isolation, struggling to escape her painful childhood through her art.
Production Company(s): Untitled Entertainment, Bruce Cohen Productions, Indigenous Media
Producer(s): Jon Avnet, Jake Avnet, Rodrigo Garcia, Bruce Cohen, Jason Weinberg
Writer(s): W Merritt Johnson
Director(s): Gia Coppola
Cast: Naomi Watts, Jessica Lange
Details: Based on “The Secret Life of the Lonely Doll” written by Jean Nathan and published by H. Holt in 2004.
SSN Insight: Watts can be seen in The Divergent Series: Allegiant and her next film will be Demolition opposite Jake Gyllenhaal.
Untitled Guillermo del Toro/Cold War Project
Logline: An otherworldly love story set against the backdrop of Cold War era America circa 1963
Studio/Distributor(s): Fox Searchlight Pictures,
Production Company(s): Fox Searchlight Pictures
Producer(s): Guillermo Del Toro
Writer(s): Guillermo Del Toro
Director(s): Guillermo Del Toro
Cast: Sally Hawkins, Octavia Spencer (in talks), Michael Stuhlbarg
SSN Insight: Hawkins recently was seen in Paddington and Godzilla and wrapped the lead role in indie drama Maudie, alongside Ethan Hawke.
What’s the Point? (And Other Fair Questions About Marriage)
Logline: Ensemble comedy about the concept that marriage should be a seven-year contract with an option to renew.
Production Company(s): More Films, Cold Iron Pictures , Ways & Means
Producer(s): Lake Bell, Jett Steiger, Miranda Bailey, Amanda Marshall
Writer(s): Lake Bell
Director(s): Lake Bell
Cast: Lake Bell, Ed Helms
SSN Insight: The film received financing from Cold Iron Pictures and The Film Arcade and will begin shooting next month in Los Angeles.