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Almost two years after HBO hit pause on its film about the Penn State football scandal starring Al Pacino, the project is moving forward with a green light and a new director. Barry Levinson is set to direct and executive produce the movie, reuniting with Pacino and HBO.

Originally, HBO Films had the Scarface duo of director Brian De Palma and Pacino who had paired up for the project, then titled Happy Valley, in 2012. The film was in pre-production in fall 2014 when it was put on hold over budget issues, with De Palma leaving soon thereafter.

The movie — now untitled — chronicles the fall of Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno, whose legend was undone by revelations he and others in the football program were aware that former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was molesting children, and did little to stop it.

The delay also allowed for more work on the script, which has been written by Debora Cahn, John C. Richards and David McKenna.

After becoming the winningest coach in college football history, Joe Paterno is embroiled in Penn State’s Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal, challenging his legacy and forcing him to face questions of institutional failure on behalf of the victims.

Levinson, Tom Fontana and Jason Sosnoff executive produce via Levinson/Fontana alongside Wall Street producer Edward R. Pressman and Pacino’s manager Rick Nicita who also had been attached as executive producers to Happy Valley. Lindsay Sloane also is exec producing for HBO Films and Sony Pictures Television.

Pacino is the only actor cast in the movie at this time. (Happy Valley also had tapped John Carroll Lynch to play Sandusky. It is unclear whether he would be back.)

Paterno’s fall from grace was Shakespearean and when he died shortly after his firing — many felt it was from a broken heart as much as cancer. He was in the twilight of a career that left him the winningest coach in college football history, an iconic and beloved campus figure. Until his former defensive coordinator Sandusky was revealed to be a prolific pedophile, something that Paterno had been told about. While he informed an administrator, they did not call police, even after a graduate assistant and future assistant coach witnessed Sandusky in an encounter that looked like an act of sodomy with a child in the locker room showers.

The untitled Joe Paterno movie marks Oscar winner Pacino’s fourth longform project at HBO. He has starred in two HBO movies, portraying controversial figures: You Don’t Know Jack, about Jack Kevorkian, which also was directed by Levinson, and Phil Spector.

Pacino is repped by UTA.

Welcome to The Script Lab’s first annual list of of the top 25 emerging screenwriters of 2017! We’ve carefully combed the cinematic landscape in search of the best and brightest new screenwriting talent, from festivals and markets, to the latest Hollywood screenwriting competition triumphs. The writers on this list vary greatly. Some are just getting warmed up, while others already have a credit or two to their names. We can’t wait to see what these writers do next.

Writing duo Alex Greenfield and Ben Powell won ScreenCraft’s 2015 Horror Screenplay Contest for PLAGUE SHIP, which revolves around a honeymoon gone wrong after a deadly disease breaks out on a luxury cruise ship (note to Hollywood: make this movie). Around that time, they also wrote THE SAND, a horror sci-fi romp with serious cult-classic potential. Currently, Greenfield & Powell’s original supernatural thriller, THE VESSEL is in development at Broad Green Pictures (THE INFILTRATOR) with Richard Saperstein’s (SE7EN, THE MIST) Storyscape Entertainment producing.

Production is slated for October 2017. The writers are also working on LULLABY, a horror assignment for Heroes and Villains Entertainment (MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN).

The more you know: Outside of his film work, Alex Greenfield has worked as a writer for the WWE, which doesn’t exactly bode well for the “wrestling is real” crowd.

To view the full list, click the following link: https://thescriptlab.com/resources/announcements/6987-announcing-the-top-25-emerging-screenwriters-of-2017/

History has given a 10-episode straight-to-series order to UFO drama Blue Book,from A+E Studios and Compari Entertainment, a division of Robert Zemeckis’ ImageMovers.

Created and written on spec by David O’Leary, Blue Book, which had been in development at History, marks the network’s fourth original scripted series overall and the third ordered in the past year and a half alongside Six and Knightfall — all from A+E Studios — as the network has been ramping up its scripted portfolio.

Blue Book chronicles the true top secret U.S. Air Force-sponsored investigations into UFO-related phenomena in the 1950s and ’60s, known as “Project Blue Book.”

The series follows Dr. J. Allen Hynek, a brilliant college professor recruited by the U.S. Air Force to spearhead this clandestine operation that researched thousands of cases, many of which were never solved. Each episode will draw from the actual files, blending UFO theories with authentic historical events from one of the most mysterious eras in United States history.

“Blue Book is inspired by the true covert events of an era in American history shrouded in mystery,” said Paul Buccieri, President, A+E Studios and A+E Networks Portfolio Group. “Robert Zemeckis and the creative team have shaped an incredibly compelling narrative, building upon History’s unique, growing brand of fact-based scripted programming.”

Zemeckis and his ImageMovers partner Jack Rapke (Cast Away, Flight) and the company’s Jackie Levine (Allied, The Walk) executive produce for Compari.

“Rarely have I been associated with a project that is a perfect fusion of historical fact and extraordinary entertainment,” said Zemeckis. “We are grateful for A+E Studios’ and History’s support for what I know will be a fabulous series.”

History, which has employed the straight-to-series model for all of its original scripted series to date, has been expanding its scripted footprint. It recently emerged as one of two A+E Networks scripted brands, along with Lifetime, as sibling A&E left the arena to double down on nonfiction programming. Six, which debuted earlier this year, has been renewed for a second season. Veteran Vikings will premiere its fifth season sometime in the fall, Knightfall will launch later this year.

A+E Networks holds worldwide distribution rights for Blue Book. O’Leary is repped by Paradigm and Zero Gravity Management.

EXCLUSIVE: There has been mass slaughter going on in the Western Sudan for years and outside of George Clooney using his celebrity (with his Dad) to draw attention to the atrocities, not much has been done in Hollywood. Now, a film is being made about the genocide based on an international bestselling book from Daoud Hari entitled The Translator. Ericson Core, who established himself as the cinematographer of The Fast and the Furious and then directed Disney’s Invincibleand then the Alcon/Warner Bros.’ actioner Point Break, will helm this incredible story of one man who made a difference.

The book was a memoir by Hari (friends call him “David”) whose life has been one of courage — a man who has truly made a difference in the world by putting together an on-the-ground account of the genocide in Darfur. The project is being produced by Zero Gravity, Sixth Sense and Big Boy Films from an adaptation by Alex Graves.

With the Armenian genocide there was one journalist who was largely responsible for telling that story to the West. For the Irish, the stories were passed down through generations of what the British did to the people. The Jewish genocide was recorded on film, it was widely reported on and stories were also passed down through generations. Paul Rusesabagina’s story helped focus attention on the genocide in Rwanda through the Philip Gourevitch book We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families in 1998 (later made into the Terry George helmed movie Hotel Rwanda).

Hari, a Zaghawa tribesman who was among the hundreds of thousands attacked and driven from their homes by the Sudanese government, is (like Clooney) a messenger for the brutality that the people have suffered in Darfur.

Hari survived the government-fueled militia attacks and although his village was burned to the ground and his family was decimated and displaced, he found safety across the border. He then eagerly offered his services as a translator and a guide to make sure the West knew what was going and the brutality would be reported on. With his high school knowledge of languages, he went back into extreme danger, risking his life multiple times, so that the story of his people would be told, hoping all the while that there was still time to save them.

This heroes story is being produced specifically by Christine and Mark Holder (Zero Gravity) with Richard Harding and Sam Feuer. Priscilla Moralez is the executive producer.

EXCLUSIVE: Ron Perlman, Famke Janssen, Richard Dreyfuss, Peter Facinelli, Jacqueline Bisset, Richard Schiff, Guy Burnet and Nadine Velazquez are starring in Asher. Michael Caton-Jones (Rob Roy, This Boys Life) is attached to direct for Perlman’s Wing and a Prayer Pictures.

In the Jay Zaretsky-scripted drama, Perlman plays the title character. A Mossad member-turned-gun for hire, Asher lives an austere life in an ever-changing Brooklyn. Coming to the end of his career and perhaps his life, Asher breaks an oath he took as a young man when he meets Sophie (Janssen) on a job gone sideways. In an effort to live a life before it’s too late, he must kill the man he was, for a last chance at becoming the man he wants to be.

Wing and a Prayer Pictures’ Perlman and Josh Crook are producing alongside Ad-am Folk of Bullet Pictures, and Brian Wilkins of LINK Entertainment. XYZ Films is selling the film here at Cannes. Gersh and XYZ are handling domestic rights. XYZ will also be executive producing. Gray Krauss Stratford Sandler Des Rochers is handling legal for the film.

Wing and a Prayer Pictures has been busy, recently producing the JK Simmons-Emile Hirsch movie All Nighter; the Marc Forster-directed All I See Is You with Blake Lively and Jason Clarke; Pottersville starring Michael Shannon, Ian McShane, Judy Greer, Perlman, Tom Lennon, and Christina Hendricks; and Sergio And Sergie, the first Cuban and American co-production since the embargo.

Perlman is repped by Gersh and Link Entertainment; Janssen by ICM Partners and Brookside Artist Management; Dreyfuss by APA; Facinelli by Zero Gravity and attorney Barry Littman; Bisset by APA; Burnet by ICM Partners and Untitled Entertainment; and Velasquez by Primary Wave Entertainment.

EXCLUSIVE: One of the most devastating massacres in U.S. history is coming to the big screen. Zero Gravity Management and The Story Company are developing a feature about the racial unrest that happened in the Greenwood section of Tulsa, OK, dubbed “Black Wall Street.” Tim Story is set to direct and produce with his the Story Company alongside Christine Holder and Mark Holder of Zero Gravity.

Christopher Kubasik will pen the screenplay. The project was inspired by Corinda Marsh’s Holocaust in the Homeland, which tells the story of one of the darkest days in American history. As one of the most prominent concentrations of African-American businesses in the United States during the early 20th century, envious locals in Tulsa dubbed the Greenwood section “Black Wall Street” because of its economic success — until the Tulsa race riot of 1921, in which white residents massacred black residents and razed the neighborhood within hours.

Kevin Costner is set as the lead in Yellowstone, Paramount Network’s upcoming straight-to-series drama. The project is written and executive produced by Oscar-nominated Hell Or High Water and Sicario screenwriter Taylor Sheridan and executive produced by The Weinstein Company and John Linson and Art Linson (Sons of Anarchy, Fight Club).

Costner, who also is an executive producer, will play John Dutton, who controls the largest contiguous ranch in the United States, under constant attack by those it borders — land developers, an Indian reservation, and America’s first National Park. It is an intense study of a violent world far from media scrutiny — where land grabs make developers billions, and politicians are bought and sold by the world’s largest oil and lumber corporations. Where drinking water poisoned by fracking wells and unsolved murders are not news: they are a consequence of living in the new frontier. It is the best and worst of America seen through the eyes of a family that represents both.

Yellowstone is the first scripted drama series greenlighted by Paramount Network, Viacom’s new general entertainment network and leading scripted brand, which will replace Spike in early 2018, The 10-episode series is slated to go into production in the fall for premiere on the network in summer 2018.

The project marks Oscar winner Costner’s first major return to television in five years following his starring role in History miniseries Hatfield & McCoys, which earned him an Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG award. His most recent film work includes starring roles in Oscar-nominated Hidden Figures, Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of Justice and McFarland, USA.

“Our goal is to bring premium cinematic storytelling to television. With an icon such as Kevin Costner in front of the camera, and the renowned Taylor Sheridan behind the camera, we are off to a great start,” said Keith Cox, President, Development and Production, Paramount Network and TV Land. “We are thrilled to have such a celebrated actor as Costner to play the lead role in such an important project for Paramount Network,” Cox added.

“Taylor Sheridan wrote a giant of a character in lead John Dutton,” says TWC co-chairman Harvey Weinstein. “There was only one actor who could be transformational — Kevin Costner. This is a coup for the show and fulfills a joint promise that Kevin and I made — that we would find a mutual project to work on.”

Executive producers for Yellowstone include John Linson, Art Linson, Sheridan, Weinstein and David Glasser.

Filmmaker Rob Cohen, who has long been interested in making a movie from the bestselling comic book franchise Razor, has just partnered with The Crow producer Jeff Most (Most Films) to produce the film with Number 11 Films fully financing and handling worldwide sales on the project. It will be the first film under a new sales and financing partnership Number 11 Films entered into with Lotus Entertainment. The two companies will be introducing the project to buyers at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival during the Marché du Film.

Razor is based on two of Everette Hartsoe’s comic book series, Razor and Stryke. Razor, considered a bad girl comic, has sold over 6 million copies worldwide and tells the story of a woman — impervious to pain after the death of both her sister and father — who becomes a superheroine and wears a get-up with razors on her arms to go after evil in Chinatown.

Cohen is best-known for creating and directing the debut films for The Fast and the Furious and the XXX franchises. Because of his work in writing and developing Razor, the filmmaker has also become a comic book creator with his series Red Dog.

EXCLUSIVE: TriCoast Worldwide has lassoed international rights to Timothy Woodward Jr.’s western Hickok starring Luke Hemsworth, Kris Kristofferson and Bruce Dern, and platinum-selling country music artist, Trace Adkins.

Hemsworth plays Wild Bill Hickok who is on the run from the law when he rides into Abilene, Kansas – the most hedonistic town west of the Mississippi. In Abilene, Hickok is offered the position of Sheriff by the town’s mayor, in hopes that his unparalleled shooting skills will tame the wildest cow-town in the West. While delivering his own brand of frontier justice, the infamous hard-drinking gunfighter’s reputation as the fastest draw in the West is put to the test. Dern portrays Doc Rivers O’Roark, Kristofferson is George Knox while Adkins plays Phil Poe.

Cinedigm has domestic rights and will open Hickok on July 7. Pic will also be available day and date for purchase through On Demand and Digital HD ​services.

Hickok is directed by Timothy Woodward Jr. and written by Michael Lanahan, produced by Woodward Jr., Lauren de Normandie, Henry Penzi and Chris Nicoletti, and executive produced by Benjamin Gerry, JD Seraphine, Kirk Peterson and Eric Peterson.

Also part of Tricoast Worldwide’s Cannes slate: Lost Birds, centered around the Armenian conflict as told through the eyes of 2 abandoned children; a heartwarming holiday musical ballet in Christmas Dreams; Natalie Avital’s documentary 3 Hikers; Black Gold starring Mike Colter from Netflix’s Luke Cage fame, Miami Love Storyfeaturing Pit Bull’s recording artist Fuego and music from Wyclef Jean; Mystery crime thriller; The Ghost and the Whale with Maurice Benard, Tippi Hedren and Jonathan Pryce; and SXSW favorite 2 Pigeons starring Guillermo Del Toro protégé, Javier Botet.