Tracking every spec script as it hits the market.
March 2020 came in like a lion and left us with only 16 specs tracked: only 7 with attachments, 5 with a production company, and 1 with a studio. Take a breath, and let’s dive in.
REJ Entertainment is out with THE GHOST OF DOHENY by Paul Sanchez Yates. The true story of Jack Nance, the iconic star of ERASERHEAD and TWIN PEAKS, whose real-life Hollywood success, battles with alcoholism, turbulent romances, and mysterious death was more nightmarish than anything David Lynch could even dream up.
Verve, Good Fear, and Romark are out with FEAR AT HOME by John Wikstrom. A contained Horror that follows a group of people trapped in a Home Depot during a hurricane who quickly find out the storm is the least of their problems…
Rothman Brecher Ehrich Livingston is out with LAST SHOT by Ryan Noggle. A time-travel action comedy in the spirit of a modern-day BACK TO THE FUTURE. An affable and wisecracking sports gambler — deep in debt and on the run from brutish collectors — travels back in time to course-correct the chain of events that set his life down a dark and potentially deadly path.
Epicenter is out with TOOTH & NAIL by Brian DeLeeuw. During the World War II siege of Leningrad, a family must endure starvation, German bombs, and deadly cold before facing the greatest threat to their survival: a cult of ravenous werewolves.
WME is out with WE BURY THE DEAD by Zak Hilditch. When the United States is left reeling after a military test instantly kills millions of citizens, Ava Newman volunteers to a body retrieval unit in order to find out if her husband was among the victims.
The television business is in a state of flux as the global COVID19 pandemic continues to claim lives and impact the economy worldwide. This is an update on the TV networks and studios in light of the current industry slowdown.
Mutiny is out with BORDERLINE by Gregory Sarmiento Ballard. Story details under wraps, but described as a contained, grounded sci-fi thriller that revolves around a near-future version of a Mexico-United States border wall known as “The Grid”.
Heroes & Villians is out with SAVAGE by Enio Rigolin. When their plane crashes in the Amazon, two estranged sisters must bond together to escape the dangers of the jungle and find their way home.
Elevate Entertainment is out with FUSE by Marek Polgar & Martyn Pedler. A government assassin suffering from trauma with two personalities battles as the first persona attempts to complete his mission, while the second tries to stop him. Think MEMENTO meets BOURNE IDENTITY meets TAKEN.
Pantheon has optioned COCAINE by Andi Albin. An overzealous police detective gets involved with a crime family that is heavily connected to the local political scene. With the 1980s cocaine wars as a backdrop, this film is immersed in the history of South Florida’s drug trade, paired with a tumultuous, violent love story.
The Gotham Group is out with MODEL PARENTS by Matt Ember. A group of teenagers use robotic versions of their parents to throw a party under their babysitter’s nose. Little do they know, more than one person is plotting to steal the new tech.
Legion M is producing CAPTAIN SMALLS by Robert Blake Whitehall. Robert Smalls, an enslaved man in South Carolina at the height of the Civil War, was drafted by the Confederate Navy and forced to serve. Unable to pay the money to free his family, Smalls planned one of the most audacious heists in history. By stealing the Confederate warship CSS Planter, Captain Smalls navigated the treacherous Confederate-surveilled waters to free himself, his crew, and their families.
Paramount made a preemptive deal on MURDER IN THE WHITE HOUSE by Jonathan W. Stokes. The president is murdered in the White House, and a Secret Service agent has one night to find the killer.
Zero Gravity Management is out with POLICE STATION by Kurt McLeod. An organized crime target running for his life intentionally gets arrested and thrown in jail at a police station where he thinks he’ll be safe for the night, but when the hitman pursuing him does the same, a deadly game of cat and mouse ensues.
Verve out with SINCERELY SAMANTHA SMITH by Joe Ballarini. The incredible, inspiring true story of a 10 year-old girl who prevented World War 3.
In 1982, at the peak of the Nuclear Arms hysteria between the US and Soviets, shy, quiet 10 year-old Samantha Smith shot to world-wide fame when she became pen pals with the Soviet leader who invited her and her family to Russia to discuss peace talks between the super powers.
Ensemble out with PROKSE by G.J. Echternkamp & Kyle Stiff. In the near future, automation has replaced much of our traditional forms of employment, creating a class of mass joblessness and poverty. But a technology is invented that allows people to “rent out” their bodies to the wealthy – acting as physical proxies for their clients’ senses and desires. Now someone has taken this to the extreme, hosting Prokse parties where anything goes, even murder.
Escape Artists out with WE ARE THE PEOPLE by Aaron Nee & Adam Nee. A Pasadena family’s Fourth of July is disrupted by a cloud of ash that drives neighbors and relatives into a ranting, violent rage. Separated, struggling to survive, the family members ultimately reunite and manage to uncover the solution that restores everyone to sanity.
APA out with STEP-FATHER CHRISTMAS by Joey Mazzarino. Garland Festooni is a 40-year-old man child who hates Christmas but loves his mother. His holidays take a turn for the worst when he spies mommy kissing Santa. Garland decides to sabotage their relationship before it’s all a wrap.
Bellevue out with GENERATIONAL LEAP by John Sonntag & Thomas Sonntag. After a crew of astronauts is unexpectedly awoken from hypersleep in deep space, they must survive a mysterious new threat that comes from the one place they never expected — Earth.
CAA out with MINOR MODIFICATIONS by Shia LaBeouf. Based on the life of rapper Kevin Abstract; this biographical fiction follows a Texas teen as he struggles with identity, finding meaningful relationships, sexual fluidity, and his direction in life.
Read about the 24 specs tracked in February 2020: 7 with a studio or production company attached; 12 with producers; 7 with directors; & 5 with talent attached.
CAA out with package including Allison Friedman, Natalia Anderson, and Diane West.
Story details are being kept under wraps but described as a four-quadrant family adventure in the vein of JUMANJI, using the vintage Atari 2600 to set off an alien invasion.
America’s first female Vice President finds herself besieged on Air Force One by evil, depraved bloodsuckers. Oh yeah, and there are a bunch of vampires onboard too. When the red eye from Moscow to DC is overrun, she has to take on the fanged terrorists to save her family… and the free world.
New spec STAY BEHIND by David Guggenheim is out from Verve, and already starting to heat up.
A misunderstood mother calls upon the lessons of her inner 80’s wild child to bridge the gap with her daughter, who has hijacked what was supposed to be her 25th Anniversary “Me” day to get ready to meet her life-long idol, Olivia Newton-John.
Set up with Cold Iron Pictures & The Film Arcade with Julian Higgins directing. GOD’S COUNTRY follows a college professor living at the edge of a national forest who confronts two hunters trespassing, triggering a battle of wills with dangerous ramifications.
Saban bought COSMIC SIN with Bruce Willis starring. A group of warriors and scientists fight to protect and save their race when a hostile alien species with the power to infect and take over human hosts sets its sights on a futuristic human society.