Studios, A-List Talent Circling Spec About “Curious George” Creators Hans and Margaret Rey (Exclusive)

After hitting the town earlier this week, we’re now hearing that the new spec George from newcomer Jeremy Michael Cohen and on the market from Paradigm’s David Boxerbaum, has not only become one of the hottest reads in town, but that the fight to claim territories has continued to intensify as major producers and packages circle going into the weekend.

With offers already starting to come in, as of this afternoon, we can now confirm Michael De Luca, Barry Josephson, Walden Media, Amblin, Imagine Entertainment & WRPCO were among the first to lock territories, with homes such as Universal, Sony, Amazon, Montecito, Focus, New Regency and Netflix now said to be locked up. We’re hearing there are A-list filled packages coming together for those territories, as well as for buyers such as Paramount, WB and Fox.

The project, which is being pitched around town as Finding Neverland meets Theory of Everything, tells the incredible true story of the love, loss and persecution Hans & Margaret Rey would persevere on their way to creating one of the most recognizable and inspiring children’s characters in the world – Curious George. The Jewish couple would survive Nazi occupations, public and professional discriminations, and battles of sexism in the publishing world before they would go on to share their creation with the world.

With awards season on the horizon, and the industry-wide hunt for prestige-pieces at its peek, we’re excited to see which packages come together on this one, and which studio walks away with the prize.