In a bit of deja vu, screenwriters Terry Rossio and Bill Marsilli have sold their pitch for an epic space adventure to Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer Films for a whopping low-seven figures against $3.5 million, reports Variety.
Titled "Lightspeed," the story follows a young pilot who earns a spot on the Earth Interstellar Racing Team and must take his ship on a dangerous journey across the galaxy on the brink of war. Bruckheimer apparently envisions the potentially 3D project as a live-action adventure.
Rossio and Marsilli previously wrote the Tony Scott thriller "Deja Vu," which marked the highest spec sale of all-time when Disney and Bruckheimer paid mid-seven figures for the script in 2004.
"Lightspeed" is unusual in that there’s no talent attached to the rich pitch, but Disney and Bruckheimer clearly have complete faith in Rossio, who has written all four of Disney’s "Pirates of the Caribbean" films with partner Ted Elliott. The duo also hatched the story for Disney/Bruckheimer’s "National Treasure: Book of Secrets."
Rossio, who wrote the animated classic "Aladdin" and earned an Oscar nominaton for co-writing "Shrek," will also exec produce "Lightspeed." He earned his first feature credit for co-writing one of my favorite childhood movies, the Fred Savage-Howie Mandel fantasy comedy "Little Monsters."
IMDB lists Marsilli as the writer behind Disney and McG’s take on Jules Verne’s "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," as well as an adaption of Kenneth Grahame’s literary classic "The Wind in the Willows."
