It’s tougher than ever to predict the future of our industry in these uncertain times, and that’s why it’s also more important than ever to keep an eye on what scripts are selling. If you want to know if your script will succeed, you need to look at what producers are interested in right now – so here’s our pick of script sales from October 2020.
Filming of WriteMovies produced THE LIST
Several stories about potential vaccines have hit the news lately, with promising results seen from early tests. Unsurprisingly, a lot of people are starting to think about life after the pandemic as a result – and getting productions started again.
But while producers are always trying to think ahead and anticipate what audiences want, the pandemic has radically changed the landscape, and not just in practical terms. 2020 has taken its toll on people and altered the kind of entertainment they’re most looking to consume in the near future.
We think it’s likely there will be an interest in feel-good movies after this difficult year – which is why we think this the perfect time for our new Romance and Comedy Award, which is open until January 17th! This is the time to be preparing for these kind of productions especially.
Of course, there will still be plenty of interest in other genres. Horror always has a strong following, and the disappointment seen on the internet in response to the delay to DUNE shows that sci-fi and fantasy aren’t going away any time soon. We’re always on the lookout for VFX-driven scripts on behalf of the directors we work with, and we’re hopeful that these kind of projects can get back to filming more easily next year.
The script sales from October 2020 bear out our thoughts, and you can see how producers are thinking at the moment. If you want to get your project into their hands, don’t forget that we pitch all our winners to industry – enter our Winter 2021 Screenwriting Contest or Romance and Comedy Award today! So here’s our pick of the October script sales as reported by Script Pipeline.
- In line with what we wrote above, a lot of comedies were sold last month – although all quite different! Gaming comedy 1UP is set to be produced by BuzzFeed, romantic comedy REVOLVER will star father/daughter duo Ethan and Maya Hawke, and sports comedy ONE AND DONE will be produced by (and potentially star) Martin Lawrence. There’s also an untitled spec comedy from Katie Welch, described as a cross between SAUSAGE PARTY and TOY STORY.
- Sci-fi franchise BATTLESTAR GALACTICA is set to get a film adaptation, which is set to be written by Simon Kinberg (X-MEN, MR. AND MRS. SMITH, JUMPER, SHERLOCK HOLMES). It remains to be seen whether it’ll be more like the original 1978 series or the 2004 one – or whether it will just be its own thing completely.
- It looks like Disney are looking to replicate the success of PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN by adapting another of their theme park rides into a film. SPACE MOUNTAIN is set to be written by Joby Harold, although not many details have been released yet.
- Ridley Scott is set to return to the historical epic genre with a movie about Napoleon – hopefully this will turn out more like GLADIATOR than ROBIN HOOD. Joaquin Phoenix is set to star, which sounds like perfect casting to us.
- Some projects that caught our eye are the two separate ones based on Egyptian Pharoahs. CLEOPATRA will be produced by and star Gal Gadot (another bit of great casting) while Mathew A. Cherry is writing Afro-futuristic film TUT, inspired by the life of Tutankhamun.
Read the full details of script sales from October 2020 at Script Pipeline HERE. And if you these sales makes you sure that this is the right time for your script, click HERE to enter our Romance and Comedy Award or click HERE to enter our Winter 2021 Screenwriting Contest!