Starts
Rosewater
Start: 7/14/2013
Logline: A journalist covering the Iranian elections in 2009 is accused of being a spy is arrested and tortured.
Distributor: Sierra/Affinity (foreign)
Production Companies: OddLot Entertainment, Busboy Productions, Scott Rudin Productions
Director: Jon Stewart
Executive Producers: Lila Yacoub, Eli Bush
Producers: Gigi Pritzker, Scott Rudin, Jon Stewart
Cast: Gael García Bernal, Shohreh Aghdashloo
Screenwriter: Jon Stewart (adaptation)
Details: Based on the book Then They Came For Me: A Family’s Story Of Love, Captivity And Survival, written by Maziar Bahari and published by Random House on June 7, 2011
SSN Insight: This is the feature film directorial debut for Jon Stewart.
Black and White
Start: 7/15/2013
Logline: A white grandfather battles for custody of his biracial granddaughter.
Distributor: IM Global
Production Companies: Treehouse Films, Sunlight Productions
Director: Mike Binder
Executive Producers: Cassian Elwes, Robert Ogden Barnum, Jacob Pechenik
Producers: Kevin Costner, Mike Binder, Todd Lewis
Co-Producers: Rod Lake, Gbenga Idowu, Jasa McCall
Cast: Kevin Costner, Octavia Spencer, Gillian Jacobs, Jennifer Ehle, Andre Holland, Bill Burr, Mpho Koaho, Jillian Estell
Screenwriter: Mike Binder
SSN Insight: Cassian Elwes is handling the U.S. rights for the film. Kevin Costner and his Treehouse Films recently entered a first-look television deal with Sea To Sky Entertainment.
Cooties
Start: 7/15/2013
Logline: A teacher leads his colleagues in a fight for their lives when a mysterious virus turns the students at an elementary school into murderous kids.
Distributor: Synchronicity (foreign),
Production Companies: The Woodshed Horror Company, Glacier Films
Directors: Cary Murnion, Jonathan Milott
Executive Producers: Leigh Whannell, Ian Brennan, Sarik Andreasyan, Gevond Andreasyan, Hayden Christensen
Producers: Elijah Wood, Steven Schneider, Daniel Noah, Tove Christensen, Valdimir Poliakov, Josh C. Waller
Co-Producer: Spencer Madoff
Cast: Elijah Wood, Alison Pill, Rainn Wilson, Jack McBrayer, Jorge Garcia, Nasim Pedrad, Leigh Whannell
Screenwriters: Leigh Whannell, Ian Brennan
SSN Insight: Ace Norton, a music video and commercial director, was previously attached to helm.
Eden
Start: 7/15/2013
Logline: A soccer team struggles with the elements and each other after their plane crashes on a deserted island.
Production Companies: Ombra Films, Gobsmack
Director: Shyam Madiraju
Executive Producers: Steve Smith, Juan Villareal
Producers: Hernany Perla, Shyam Madiraju, Juan Sola, Jaume Collet-Serra
Cast: Nate Parker, Mario Casas, Sung Kang, Diego Boneta, Jessica Lowndes, Ethan Peck, Joey Pollari, Eugene Simon, Rob Mayes, Michael Francis Cardelle, Ryan Mulkay, Brad Schmidt
SSN Insight: Kellan Lutz was previously attached to star in the survival thriller. This is Shyam Madiraju's feature debut who was previously known for his work directing commercials.
Kill the Messenger
Start: 7/15/2013
Logline: Journalist Gary Webb finds himself the target of a smear campaign when he links the CIA to a scheme to arm Contra rebels in Nicaragua and import cocaine into California, which leads to a tragic end.
Distributor: Focus Features
Production Companies: Bluegrass Films, The Combine
Director: Michael Cuesta
Executive Producers: Naomi Despres, Michael Cuesta, Peter Landesman
Producers: Scott Stuber, Jeremy Renner, Don Handfield, Pamela Abdy
Cast: Jeremy Renner, Rosemarie DeWitt, Lucas Hedges, Paz Vega, Michael Kenneth Williams, Josh Close, Barry Pepper, Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Screenwriter: Peter Landesman
Details: Based on the books Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras and the Crack Cocaine Explosion, written by Gary Webb and Kill the Messenger: How the CIA's Crack-Cocaine Controversy Destroyed Journalist Gary Webb, written by Nick Schou.
SSN Insight: The project was previously in development at Universal Pictures.
Love & Mercy: The Lives, Times and Music of Brian Wilson Reimagined
Start: 7/15/2013
Logline: An unconventional look at the life of musical genius Brian Wilson, the celebrated leader of The Beach Boys, and his battle with mental illness.
Production Companies: River Road Entertainment, John Wells Productions
Director: Bill Pohlad
Executive Producers: Jim Lefkowitz, Oren Moverman, Ann Ruark
Producers: Bill Pohlad, Claire Rudnick Polstein, John Wells
Cast: Paul Dano, John Cusack, Paul Giamatti, Elizabeth Banks, Kenny Wormald, Jake Abel
Screenwriter: Oren Moverman (current draft), Michael Alan Lerner (previous draft)
SSN Insight: River Road Entertainment acquired life rights to musician Brian Wilson and his wife Melinda Wilson.
Squirrel to the Nuts
Start: 7/15/2013
Logline: A married Broadway director meets a call girl and tries to convince her to change her life.
Distributor: Red Granite Pictures (foreign)
Production Company: It Never Happened Productions, American Empirical Pictures
Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Producers: Peter Bogdanovich, Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach, Louise Stratten, Holly Wiersma, George Drakoulias, Logan Levy, Michael Sledd
Cast: Jennifer Aniston, Owen Wilson, Brie Larson, Cybill Shepherd, Jason Schwartzman, Kathryn Hahn, Eugene Levy
Screenwriter: Peter Bogdanovich, Louise Stratten
SSN Insight: Olivia Wilde was previously attached to star.
Camp X-Ray
Start: 7/17/2013
Logline: A female soldier is stationed at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and forms a bond with one of the prisoners.
Production Company: Gotham Group
Director: Peter Sattler
Executive Producers: David Gordon Green, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Lindsay Williams
Producers: Gina Kwon, Sophia Lin
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Joseph Julian Soria, Peyman Moadi, Lane Garrison
Screenwriter: Peter Sattler
SSN Insight: This is the directorial debut for Peter Sattler, who had previously worked as a graphic designer on several films including Walk the Line and Black Snake Moan.
Wraps
Solace
Wrap: 7/13/2013
Logline: Desperate to catch a serial killer, an FBI detective coaxes a doctor with psychic abilities out of retirement to help him.
Production Companies: Contrafilm, Flynn Picture Co., Vinson Films
Director: Afonso Poyart
Executive Producers: Matthias Emcke, Claudia Blumhuber, Gerd Schepers, Jacob Pechenik; Producers: Beau Flynn, Tripp Vinson, Thomas Augsberger; Adam Yoelin (co-producer), Wendy Jacobson (associate producer)
Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Colin Farrell, Abbie Cornish, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Xander Berkeley
Screenwriters: Peter Morgan (current draft), James Vanderbilt (previous draft); Specs: Sean Bailey, Ted Griffin
SSN Insight: New Line Cinema had paid seven figures for the spec script and contemplated restructuring the project as a sequel to the 1995 film Seven, before it was put into turnaround. The project has had several directors attached over the many years in development, including Nick Cassavetes, Paul Verhoeven, Gary Fleder, and Mark Pellington.
Divergent
Wrap: 7/15/2013
Logline: In a future society, divided into factions based on human traits, a 16-year-old girl leaves her own faction to join a rival one and falls in love with a young man.
Studio/Distributor: Summit Entertainment
Production Company: Red Wagon Entertainment
Director: Neil Burger
Producer: Douglas Wick, Lucy Fisher
Cast: Theo James, Shailene Woodley, Kate Winslet, Jai Courtney, Ray Stevenson, Maggie Q
Screenwriter: Vanessa Taylor (current draft), Evan Daugherty (adaptation)
Details: Based on the novel Divergent, written by Veronica Roth and published by Katherine Tegen Books in May 2011.
SSN Insight: Divergent marks another strategic foray for Summit Entertainment in producing material for young adults. The studio acquired the film rights to the novel in early 2011, several months before the book was published. A planned trilogy with the third novel is being published in October 2013.
Endless Love
Wrap: 7/15/2013
Logline: A passionate relationship between two teenagers turns obsessive with disastrous results.
Studio: Universal Pictures
Production Companies: Fake Empire, Bluegrass Films
Director: Shana Feste
Producers: Tracy Falco (executive producer), J Miles Dale (executive producer), Lisbeth Rowinski, Scott Stuber, Pamela Abdy, Stephanie Savage, Josh Schwartz
Cast: Gabriella Wilde, Alex Pettyfer, Robert Patrick, Dayo Okeniyi, Rhys Wakefield, Emma Rigby, Bruce Greenwood, Joely Richardson
Screenwriter: Shana Feste (current draft), Joshua Safran (previous draft), Lamar Damon (pitch), Scott Spencer (source material)
Details: Scott Spencer's novel was previously filmed as Endless Love (USA/1981), directed by Franco Zeffirelli and starring Brooke Shields.
SSN Insight: Writer/Producer Lamar Damon reportedly received high-six figures for his pitch.
Cut Bank
Wrap: 7/18/2013
Logline: Dwayne McLaren has been looking for a way out of his small town upbringing of Cut Bank, MT since he graduated high school years ago. When he finds himself in the wrong place at the right time, he jumps at a chance to pursue a better life in a bigger city with his girlfriend Cassandra. But luck doesn’t exist in Cut Bank, and this perceived good fortune is quickly followed by a flood of bad karma.
Distributors: Untitled Entertainment (domestic), Entertainment One Films (foreign & Canada)
Production Companies: MBar Productions, Bedford Falls Company, Untitled Entertainment, Stick ‘N’ Stone Productions
Director: Matt Shakman
Executive Producer: Laura Rister
Producers: Mickey Barold, Dan Cohen, Edward Zwick
Cast: John Malkovich, Liam Hemsworth, Teresa Palmer, Billy Bob Thornton, Bruce Dern, Oliver Platt, Michael Stuhlbarg
Screenwriter: Robert Patino
SSN Insight: The screenplay was on the 2009 Black List and the project previously had Armie Hammer attached as the lead.
Tokarev
Wrap: 7/18/2013
Logline: A reformed criminal finds out his daughter has been murdered and slips back into his former ways to exact justice.
Distributor: Hannibal Classics (foreign sales), RLJ Entertainment, Inc. (domestic sales)
Production Companies: Hannibal Pictures, North By Northwest Productions
Director: Paco Cabezas
Executive Producers: Richard Rionda Del Castro, Richard Salvatore, Michael Mendelsohn
Patricia Eberle, Nicolas Cage, Michael Nilon, Hayley Magouirk, Jim Agnew, Sean Keller, Cam Cannon, David Milner, Martin J. Barab, Frederico LaPenda
Producers: Richard Rionda Del Castro, Richard Salvatore, Michael Mendelsohn
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Danny Glover, Peter Stomare, Aubrey Peeples, Patrice Cols, Max Fowler, Jack Falahee
Screenwriter: Jim Agnew, Sean Keller
SSN Insight: After writing and directing several films in his home country of Spain, this will be director Paco Cabezas’ American debut.
The Keeping Room
Wrap: 7/19/2013
Logline: Three southern women defend their home from the Union army while their husbands are off fighting in the Civil War.
Distributors: Sierra/Affinity (foreign), WME Entertainment (domestic), Lionsgate U.K. (U.K.)
Production Companies: Gilbert Films, Wind Dancer Films, Anonymous Content
Director: Daniel Barber
Executive Producers: Gary Gilbert, Michael Sugar
Producers: Jordan Horowitz, David McFadzean, Judd Payne, Dete Meserve, Patrick Newall, Nicole Romano (co-producer), Trevor Adley (co-producer)
Cast: Nicole Beharie, Hailee Steinfeld, Brit Marling, Sam Worthington
Screenwriter: Julia Hart (spec)
SSN Insight: The Civil War period screenplay was on the 2012 Black List.
The Other Woman
Wrap: 7/19/2013
Logline: A woman learns that she's part of a love triangle, so she teams up with the spurned wife in order to exact revenge on the cheating husband.
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Production Company: LBI Entertainment
Director: Nick Cassavetes
Executive Producer: Donald J. Lee Jr.
Producer: Julie Yorn
Cast: Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Kate Upton, Taylor Kinney, Nicki Minaj, Don Johnson
Screenwriter: Melissa Stack
SSN Insight: Screenwriter Melissa Stack was on the 2007 Black List with her script, I Want to F**k Your Sister. She recently did a rewrite on King of Kong, which Seth Gordon is attached to direct.
Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters
Wrap: 7/20/2013
Logline: At St. Vladimir’s Academy, Rose Hathaway, a 17-year-old half human/half vampire guardian of the Moroi race of peaceful mortal vampires, must deal with the Strigoi, a race of bloodthirsty immortal vampires.
Studio/Distributor: The Weinstein Company, IM Global (foreign sales)
Production Company: Kintop Pictures, Reliance Entertainment, Angry Films, Preger Entertainment
Director: Mark Waters
Executive Producer: Stuart Ford
Producers: Don Murphy, Mike Preger, Deepak Nayar, Susan Montford
Cast: Zoey Deutch, Lucy Fry, Danila Kozlovsky, Olga Kurylenko, Sami Gayle, Cameron Monaghan, Ashley Charles, Sarah Hyland, Claire Foy, Gabriel Byrne, Joely Richardson, Dominic Sherwood
Screenwriter: Daniel Waters (adaptation), Richelle Mead (source material)
Details: Based on the novel Vampire Academy, written by Richelle Mead and published by Penguin Group on August 16, 2007.
SSN Insight: A lot is riding on the film in regards to a possible franchise since this is the first book in the popular Vampire Academyseries, which is comprised of six novels.