Scoggins Report: April 2012 Pitch Sales Roundup
The Scoggins Report is a compilation of sales and trends in the industry. The Report is reprinted at ScriptMag.com by permission of the authors. The Scoggins Report by Jason Scoggins & Cindy…
The Scoggins Report is a compilation of sales and trends in the industry. The Report is reprinted at ScriptMag.com by permission of the authors.
The Scoggins Report
by Jason Scoggins & Cindy Kaplan
April 30, 2012
April 2012
Pitch Sales Roundup
Before we start, a quick Scoggins & Kaplan update: We’re pleased to report that we have a new home at FilmFunds.com. Jason is the company’s new CEO, Cindy is its new film and TV writer, and we’re thrilled to be working alongside our former colleague Joshua Weinstein, who joined FilmFunds a couple of weeks ahead of us as the site’s Head of Content.
FilmFunds launched in beta last summer as a platform for filmmakers to promote their projects to film lovers and connect with financiers. In the coming weeks we’ll be expanding the site’s coverage to include info and data about Hollywood and mainstream indie film and TV projects, targeting entertainment pros and enthusiasts like yourself.
Ultimately, we plan to make FilmFunds the go-to site for people like us: Everyone who’s big into movies and TV, from the latest development and casting news to what’s worth watching this weekend. We’ll keep you posted on our progress. For now, let’s focus on April’s Pitch Sales.
It seems each month we write some version of “This month started out slow but ended strong,” and April is no exception, as you can see from the below grid. Last month was up nearly 50% over 2011‘s numbers, which is basically the reverse of March’s results. This year’s total pitch sales are now up 12.5% over last year.
There were lots of big winners last month, especially UTA, which had 6 pitch sales in April. We’re looking forward to compiling the Scorecard in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, here’s the year-over-year comparison for April, through the 30th:
Weekly Activity Breakdown
Week of April 1:
- 3 pitch sales announced (“Speeding Bullet,” “Warren Lich” and “Woogles”)
Week of April 8:
- 3 pitch sales announced (“Business Trip,” “Status Update” and “Untitled Rodney Rothman Mob Comedy Project”)
Week of April 15:
- 3 pitch sales announced (“Agent 13,” “Need for Speed” and “Untitled Overbrook/Stokes Action Thriller”)
Week of April 22:
- 4 pitch sales announced (“The Great Unknown,” “Law Zero,” “No Hearts Club,” “Untitled Country Western Love Story”)
Pitch Sales (alphabetical by title)
Agent 13
Writer: TS Nowlin
Reps: WME (Mike Esola) and Caliber (Adam Marshall)
Buyer: Universal
Genre: Sci-Fi
Attachments: Rupert Wyatt to direct, Charlize Theron to star. Sean Daniel will produce through his Sean Daniel Company.
Notes: Based on the graphic novel by Flint Dille and David Marconi. Jason Brown will oversee for Sean Daniel Company
Logline: Follows a man brainwashed by an evil organization. Once he realizes its true nature he commits to fight against it.
Business Trip
Writer: Steve Conrad
Reps: CAA (Spencer Baumgarten) and The Collective (Ilan Breil)
Buyer: New Regency
Genre: Comedy
Logline: Under wraps.
Untitled Country & Western Love Story
Writer: Brandon Camp
Reps: UTA (David Kramer, Matt Rice)
Buyer: New Line
Genre: Musical drama
Attachments: Offspring’s Adam Shankman and Jennifer Gibgot will produce, Matt Smith will executive produce.
Logline: Nicholas Sparks-style love story in the vein of “ROCK OF AGES,” but with country & western music.
The Great Unknown
Writer: Michael Starrbury
Reps: CAA (Bill Zotti & Dan Rabinow) and Caliber (Julian Rosenberg & Dallas Sonnier)
Buyer: New Line
Genre: Action comedy
Attachments: Jorma Taccone (“MACGRUBER”) to direct. Mark Gordon Company’s Mark Gordon and Jennifer Todd will produce.
Notes: Based on the comic by Duncan Rouleau. Drew Simon will oversee for Mark Gordon.
Logline: Centers on a slacker with delusions of grandeur who believes his so-called great ideas are popping up elsewhere. After failing to convince his friends and family that his mind is being pilfered, he goes on a quest to solve the mystery behind the idea thefts.
Law Zero
Writers: Bruno Zacharias & Miguel “MacGregor” de Olaso
Reps: UTA and Mosaic
Buyer: Warner Bros.
Genre: Sci-fi action
Attachments: Vertigo’s Roy Lee will produce.
Logline: Under wraps.
Need for Speed
Writer: George Gatins
Reps: UTA (Blair Johan, Larry Salz, Jeremy Zimmer)
Buyer: DreamWorks
Genre: Thriller
Attachments: John Gatins (“REAL STEEL”) will produce along with Electronic Arts.
Notes: Jonathan Eirich and Mark Sourian will oversee for DreamWorks.
Logline: Adaptation of the EA video game series in the vein of THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS.
No Hearts Club
Writer: Ben Schwartz
Reps: WME (Brian DePersia) and Tom Sawyer Entertainment (Jesse Hara)
Buyer: Universal
Genre: Romantic comedy
Attachments: Brian Grazer will produce and Kim Roth will executive produce for Imagine.
Notes: Maradith Frankel will oversee for Universal.
Logline: Under wraps.
Untitled Overbrook/Stokes Action Thriller
Writer: Jonathan Stokes
Reps: UTA (Michael Sheresky, Ramses Ishak, Scott Carr, Geoff Morely) and Energy Entertainment (Brooklyn Weaver)
Buyer: Overbrook
Genre: Action thriller
Logline: Under wraps.
Untitled Rodney Rothman Mob Comedy
Writer: Rodney Rothman
Reps: UTA (Julien Thuan)
Buyer: Warner Bros.
Genre: Comedy
Attachments: Max Winkler to direct, Jake Johnson to star.
Logline: Under wraps.
Speeding Bullet
Writers: Jeremiah Friedman & Nick Palmer
Reps: UTA (Jason Burns, Rebecca Ewing, David Kramer, Geoff Morley)
Buyer: Universal
Genre: Action
Attachments: Seth Graham-Smith & David Katzenberg will produce through their Katzsmith banner.
Logline: In the vein of “DIE HARD.”
Status Update
Writers: Randi Barnes & Sascha Rothchild
Reps: WME (Sarah Self), Paradigm (Ida Ziniti) and Apostle (George Heller)
Buyer: Paramount
Genre: Comedy
Attachments: Fake Empire's Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage will produce.
Logline: High school comedy centering on social media, particularly Facebook.
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