DreamWorks has won a bidding war for Alpha Squad Seven, a sci-fi action comedy pitch that has Dwayne Johnson attached to star.
Jeremiah Friedman and Nick Palmer are behind the pitch which has Beau Flynn producing via his FlynnPictureCo. banner along with Johnson, who will produce through his 7 Bucks Productions.
The plot details are being kept on the dark side of the moon but the project is described as four-quadrant action-comedy adventure set in space. Independence Day, Armageddon and Guardians of the Galaxy are some of the watchwords.
The project is meant to act as a two-hander as well as launch a potential franchise.
The writers, who have several projects, mostly comedies, set up at studios ranging from Columbia to Universal, got the ball going less than two weeks ago over a dinner with Flynn and his exec Wendy Jacobson with only a one-line idea.
Sensing something out of this world, the quartet approached Johnson and his production company 7 Bucks, which fast-tracked development of the idea. (Flynn and Johnson have a long-standing relationship that dates back to 2012’s Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. The two worked together on last summer’s Hercules and have San Andreas opening May 29.
The project hit the town mid-week and had several studios bidding. It came down to DreamWorks and Paramount with DreamWorks acting aggressively to nab it.
Dany Garcia of the Garcia Companies will executive produce and Hiram Garcia will associate produce through 7 Bucks Productions.
Jacobson will oversee for FlynnPictureCo.
Johnson, who is prepping to shoot New Line’s comedy Cenral Intelligence with Kevin Hart, is repped by WME and Gang Tyre. He is also starring in Ballers which premieres on HBO June 21.
Friedman and Palmer are repped by UTA, Mosaic and Sloane Offer.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
