{Exclusive} Bidding War Alert – Brad Pitt, George Clooney & Several Others Fighting Over Hot Property “Killers Of The Flower Moon”

David Grann’s KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON is lining up to be the biggest package and bidding war of 2016, with several A-List producers now fighting for territories. Sources have confirmed to The Tracking Board that among the producers looking to snap up this hot property are George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Brett Ratner and Star Wars producer Kathleen Kennedy. 

The book, from New Yorker staff writer Grann, isn’t set for publication until the fall, but it’s already triggered a feeding frenzy on the rights market. The non-fiction chronicles the real-life 1920s mystery surrounding the suspicious deaths of several Osage Indians, who were at the time among the richest people on the planet. The story follows the twists and turns of the investigation that eventually became the first major case solved by J. Edgar Hoover’s brand new FBI. David Halpern from The Robbins Office reps the book, with Matthew Snyder of CAA handling the film rights.

Grann is the author of The Lost City of Z, the adaptation of which is currently in production with Pitt’s Plan B, and he wrote the article The Brand, which is the basis for the new Showtime series from Narcos executive producer Jose Padilha. The established relationship between Grann and Pitt could prove to be an edge in this all-out battle taking place today, since some of the town’s most powerful names are now involved.

We can now confirm that in addition to Plan B, Smokehouse Pictures, RatPac Entertainment and Kennedy Marshall, Amy Pascal’s Pascal Pictures, Scott Rudin‘s Scott Rudin Productions, Matt Reeves’s 6th & Idaho, Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way, Peter Chernin’s Chernin Entertainment, Jason Blum’s Blumhouse and Bold Films are all in the mix, currently trying to secure territories.

Blumhouse has a first-look with Universal; Clooney, Pascal and Rudin have first-looks with Sony; DiCaprio has a first-look with Warner Bros.; Reeves and Chernin have first-looks with 20th Century Fox; Plan B has a first-look with New Regency; Kennedy Marshall has a first-look with DreamWorks.

With so many elite names coming in for the same territory, we’re hearing several are partnering up, and studios are already prepping bids, while the conversation has now begun to include talent and director attachments.

This one is going to be hot, as we’re expecting no less than a handful of packages to begin to come together, as everyone in town eyes who the ultimate winner will be. Keep it here, as we track the project, as the details continue to surface…

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