EXCLUSIVE: Talk about a timely acquisition. Given the environment in the country right now with talk about building walls, Fox just picked up the Joe Ballarini spec Skyward about two families trying to escape to freedom over a wall. Producer Karen Rosenfelt and her Sunswept Entertainment has the project which is the…

EXCLUSIVE: Paramount Pictures is in final negotiations to scoop up the New York Times bestselling novel Greenglass House by Kate Milford — a middle grade story that won the Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery. The project, which was picked up for mid-six figure deal after a pre-emptive bid, is being eyed as a…

EXCLUSIVE: Another day, another big material sale. Joe Ballarini has made a deal with Walden and Montecito Pictures for A Babysitter’s Guide To Monsters, a children’s book by Ballarini, best known for scriping My Little Pony. Ballarini will write the script. After closing a six-figure, three-book deal from the…

EXCLUSIVE: Fox Animation is moving again on animated adaptation Cardboard. I’m hearing Dance of the Dead‘s Joe Ballarini has been tapped to adapt the graphic novel written by Earthworm Jim creator Doug TenNapel, which the studio optioned in 2012 with Epic‘s Chris Wedge attached to direct. Story tracks a young boy and…

EXCLUSIVE: New Line has spent mid six figures for an untitled pitch by Joe Ballarini. The pitch, in a deal closed tonight, is a high concept action fantasy set in medieval times, and it was bought preemptively. Offspring Entertainment’s Adam Shankman, Jennifer Gibgot and Matt Smith will produce. Ballarini sold the…

EXCLUSIVE: Joe Ballarini has been set by Walden Media to rewrite Atlantis 7, a thriller in which an elite military Navy SEAL force attempts to find the mythical city of Atlantis. A military code breaker seeks out his absentee father, who may hold the secret to unlock the clues that make an Atlantis discovery possible…

EXCLUSIVE: Sony Pictures ended the week by closing  preemptive deal for Lockdown At Franklin High, a spec script by Dance of the Dead team of Greg Bishop and Joe Ballarini. The bidding was competitive and Sony’s plan is to move quickly to get a director and put the film into production. Pic is about a straight edge…