The Scoggins Report is our bi-weekly analysis of the feature film development business. The numbers in the reports are comprehensive but by no means official statistics. You can download a PDF of this week's edition here, and details on each of the people, companies and projects in the article are available to subscribers of ItsontheGrid.com, a division of TheWrap. Follow the site's Twitter feed here, and the Facebook page is here.
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As you’ll see, there’s plenty to be optimistic about in the below breakdowns. Familiar faces from 2010 like Esola and Fenton are mixed in with fresh ones like Kessman and Karp, and half of the month’s sales went to four major buyers (Disney, DreamWorks, Sony and Warner Bros.), two of which hadn’t bought spec scripts in a year. But there are two obvious standout stories from last month’s spec market:
• Two companies sold 3 specs each in February: CAA and Gersh. WME and Circle of Confusion are close behind with 2 each.
• Gersh’s Greg Pedicin and Circle’s David Alpert were on fire individually last month: Each sold two specs.
Here’s a snapshot of the raw numbers, with year-over-year comparisons since 2009:
Weekly Activity Breakdown
Week of January 31:
• 8 scripts hit the tracking boards, 1 of which has sold (“Harker”)
Week of February 7:
• 6 scripts hit the boards, 1 of which sold (“Line of Sight”)
• 2 additional sales were reported (“Voices from the Dead” and “Good Time Gang”)
Week of February 14:
• 13 scripts hit the boards, none of which have sold
• 2 additional sales were reported (“Article III” and “Stash House”)
Week of February 21 (President’s Day):
• 6 scripts hit the boards, none of which have sold
• 3 additional sales were reported (“Something Cliqued,” “Inherit the Earth” and “Zombie Pet Shop”)
Genre Breakdown
Spec Sales (alphabetical by title)
Article III
Writers: Aaron Tracy
Reps: CAA (Grant Kessman)
Buyer: Route One Films
Genre: Thriller
Good Time Gang
Writers: Max Landis
Reps: WME (David Karp) and Circle of Confusion (Britton Rizzio and David Alpert)
Buyer: RCR Pictures
Genre: Action comedy
Attachments: RCR’s Robin Schorr and Chris Ferguson will produce.
Harker
Writer: Lee Shipman & Brian McGreevy
Reps: Paradigm (Trevor Astbury) and Mad Hatter (Michael Connolly)
Buyer: Warner Bros.
Genre: Horror
Attachments: Jaume Collet-Serra will direct. Appian Way’s Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson Killoran will produce along with Connolly.
Notes: Project is a re-imagining of Bram Sroker’s Dracula. Mike Ireland will oversee for Appian Way.
Inherit the Earth (aka “Robots vs Zombies”)
Writers: J.T.
