The Scoggins Report: September 2013 Pitch Market Roundup
The Scoggins Reportby Jason Scoggins & Landon RohwedderSeptember 30, 2013 September 2013 Pitch Market Roundup For the third month in a row, September’s pitch sale totals ended on par with…
The Scoggins Report
by Jason Scoggins & Landon Rohwedder
September 30, 2013
September 2013
Pitch Market Roundup
For the third month in a row, September’s pitch sale totals ended on par with 2011’s and 2012’s numbers. We’re not complaining -- we appreciate the fact that we’re currently on pace to match 2012’s year-end pitch numbers. Still, with the spec market likely to end down quite a bit from its record-setting pace of the past two years, we’ve been hoping to see the pitch market pick up the slack with above average numbers.
Regardless, here are our favorite takeaways from last month’s pitch market:
- Dreamworks picked up its 5th pitch of 2013, which puts the studio in a three-way tie with New Line and Warner Bros. for 3rd-biggest buyer of the year, (behind Universal and Fox). Dreamworks bought 1 pitch in 2012 and 2 in 2011.
- This year’s two smallest major studio buyers each bought a pitch in September (the 3rd for Columbia and 2nd for Paramount). It’s nice to see them trying to be part of the solution for a change.
- Two buyers appeared on the list for the first time this year: LD Entertainment and MGM.
September’s raw numbers are below, followed by the usual weekly breakdowns and the details of each sale. Enjoy.
Weekly Activity Breakdown
Week of September 2 (Labor Day)
- Raindrop (September 4)
Week of September 9
- Abe (logged September 12, set up August 21)
- Untitled Cold War Thriller (September 13)
Week of September 16
- Santa School (September 17)
Week of September 23
- Untitled Maple Syrup Heist Comedy (September 24)
Pitch Sales (alphabetical by title)
Abe
- Writer: Rob McLellan
- Reps: APA (Chris Ridenhour) and Caliber Media (Adam Simpson-Marshall)
- Buyer: MGM
- Genre: Sci-fi
- Attachments: McLellan is also attached to direct. Kevin Misher will produce through Misher Films with R & G Productions’Steve Tzirlin.
- Notes: Jonathan Glickman and Cassidy Lange will oversee for MGM. Andy Berman and Kevin Chang will supervise for Misher Films.
- Logline: Based on McLellan’s short. Revolves around a robot serial killer.
Raindrop
- Writers: Jason Pagan & Andrew Stark (“Almanac,” “Paranormal Activity 5”)
- Reps: WME (Mike Esola) and Underground (Trevor Engelson)
- Buyer: Paramount
- Genre: Sci-fi thriller
- Attachments: Michael Bay will produce through Platinum Dunes.
- Logline: Under wraps, but will employ innovative handheld camera work to tell a story with a teenage protagonist.
Santa School
- Writer: Karen Janszen (“Dolphin Tale”)
- Reps: Gersh (Sandra Lucchesi) and Rain Management Group (Jonathan Baruch)
- Buyer: LD Entertainment
- Genre: Family comedy
- Attachments: Patrick Aiello and Pete Shilaimon will produce with LD Entertainment’s Mickey Liddell.
- Notes: LD Entertainment’s Jennifer Monroe and Patrick Raymond will oversee.
- Logline: Santa Claus, real and ready to retire, embarks on a lengthy search for a worthy replacement. “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” in tone.
Untitled Cold War Thriller
- Writer: Matt Charman
- Reps: CAA (Kevin Cooper) and Fourth Floor (Jeff Silver)
- Buyer: Dreamworks
- Genre: Period thriller
- Notes: Jonathan Eirich will oversee for Dreamworks.
- Logline: True story of James Donovan, a prominent American attorney who was unexpectedly thrust into the center of the Cold War after being tasked by the CIA to slip past the Berlin Wall on his own and negotiate the release of downed U-2 spy plane pilot Gary Powers.
Untitled Maple Syrup Heist Comedy
- Writer: Chris Sheridan (“Family Guy”)
- Reps: WME (Richard Weitz)
- Buyer: Columbia
- Genre: Comedy
- Attachments: Jason Segel is attached to star, Seth Gordon to direct. Both will produce with Barry Josephson through his eponymous production company.
- Logline: Inspired by real events reported in the Montreal Gazette. In 2012, $20 million worth of maple syrup was stolen in from Quebec’s Federation of Maple Syrup Producers. Over 20 individuals have since been arrested.
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.
Check out the newsletter’s beautiful new-ish home on SpecScout.com.
