The Scoggins Report: July 2013 Pitch Market Roundup
The Scoggins Reportby Jason Scoggins & Cindy KaplanJuly 29, 2013 July 2013Pitch Market Roundup At first glance, July 2013’s total pitch sales might seem a bit disappointing compared to the…
The Scoggins Report
by Jason Scoggins & Cindy Kaplan
July 29, 2013
July 2013
Pitch Market Roundup
At first glance, July 2013’s total pitch sales might seem a bit disappointing compared to the last two years. But context is everything - it’s the most pitch sales in a single month since April, and all the more impressive considering the number was 1 just two weeks ago.
As you’ll see when you scan through the project details in the following pages, there are a number of green shoots represented in July’s pitch sales:
- Columbia Pictures bought its 2nd original project (not just 2nd pitch -- its 2nd original project, period, since they still haven’t picked up a spec this year).
- Relativity picked up its first pitch, to go along with the three specs they’ve bought in 2013.
- New Line bought its 4th and 5th pitches, which when combined with the spec they bought this month makes them a bigger buyer thus far than parent studio Warner Bros. (6 specs and pitches vs Warner Bros.’s combined 5).
If August runs true to form, we expect to see only a handful of pitch sale announcements next month. Then again, the last couple of July’s have been way busier than years past, so anything can happen. We’re keeping our fingers crossed.
Weekly Activity Breakdown
Week of July 1 (Independence Day)
- No pitch sales announced
Week of July 8
- Untitled Shannon/Swift Horror Project (July 12)
Week of July 15 (Comic-Con)
- Project Kronos (July 16)
- Go Fast (July 17)
- Untitled Shannon/Swift Sci-fi Action Project (July 17)
- Continuum (July 18)
Week of June 22
- The Bus Driver (July 23)
Pitch Sales (alphabetical by title)
Continuum
Writer: Greg Russo (“Autobahn”)
Reps: ICM (Erik Horine, Kathleen Remington) and Madhouse (Ryan Cunningham, Adam Kolbrenner)
Buyer: Relativity
Genre: Sci-fi
Attachments: Atlas Entertainment’s Chuck Roven will produce with Benderspink’s Chris Bender and JC Spink and Arcana Comics' Sean O'Reilly.
Notes: Based on the Arcana graphic novel, written by Steve Snyder and illustrated by Brian Hailes. Jason Barhydt will oversee for Relativity, Jake Weiner for Benderspink.
Logline: 75 years after Earth is devastated by a nano-terrorist attack, with the human race dying out, an historian and a team of soldiers are sent back in time to present-day New York City in the hope of figuring out who launched the catastrophic attack and why. The one-way mission is the last chance for humanity, saving the future by altering the past.
Go Fast
Writers: Rich Wilkes (“xXx”)
Reps: Verve (Adam Levine, Bill Weinstein) and Management 360 (Daniel Rappaport)
Buyer: Columbia
Genre: Action
Attachments: Broken Road's Todd Garner will produce. Jeff Wadlow (“Kick-Ass 2”) will direct.
Logline: THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS, but with DEA speed boats.
Project Kronos
Writer: Hasraf Dulull (Visual Effects Artist, “Prince of Persia” and “The Dark Knight”)
Reps: IAM Entertainment (Scott Glassgold)
Buyer: Armory Films/Benderspinkweiner
Genre: Sci-fi
Attachments: Armory Films/Benderspinkweiner’s Chris Lemole, Tim Zajaros, Chris Bender, JC Spink and Jake Weiner will produce with IAM’s Glassgold and Raymond Brothers. Dulull will direct.
Notes: Based on Dulull’s short of the same name. Slated for an early 2014 start.
Logline: Centers on a space agency of the near future and its first contact with intelligent life during an interstellar space mission.
The Bus Driver
Writers: Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley (“Horrible Bosses”)
Reps: UTA (Jon Huddle, Blair Kohan, Josh Katz)
Buyer: New Line
Genre: Comedy
Notes: Price tag was a reported seven figures. Richard Brener, Sam Brown and Dave Neustadter will oversee for the studio.
Logline: An ex-con gets a job as a school bus driver and doesn't prove to be a good influence on the kids.
Untitled Shannon/Swift Horror Project
Writers: Damian Shannon & Mark Swift (2009’s “Friday the 13th”)
Reps: UTA (Charlie Ferraro) and Magnet Management (Jennie Frankel Frisbie, Bob Sobhani)
Buyer: New Line
Genre: Horror
Attachments: Benderspink's Chris Bender, JC Spink and Jake Weiner will produce.
Notes: Dave Neustadter and Walter Hamada will oversee for the studio.
Logline: Under wraps.
Untitled Shannon/Swift Sci-fi Action Project
Writers: Damian Shannon & Mark Swift (2009”s “Friday the 13th”)
Reps: UTA (Charlie Ferraro) and Magnet Management (Jennie Frankel Frisbie, Bob Sobhani)
Buyer: Skydance
Genre: Sci-fi Action
Logline: Under wraps.
About The Scoggins Report:
The Scoggins Report is a terribly unscientific analysis of the feature film development business based on information assembled from a variety of public and non-public sources. The numbers in the reports are by no means official statistics. Caveat emptor.
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