Lionsgate Acquires Crocodile Spec ‘The Death Roll’ by Kas Graham & Rebecca Pollock; Glen Powell to Produce Horror-Thriller
EXCLUSIVE: Lionsgate has secured the rights to The Death Roll, a survival horror-thriller spec script written by Kas Graham and Rebecca Pollock. Glen Powell and Dan Cohen are set to produce through their Barnstorm banner, alongside Bryan Haas of Chasing Epic Pictures.
The Death Roll revolves around a couple whose idyllic vacation spirals into terror when they encounter an invasive 15-foot saltwater crocodile.
Ryan Schwartz from Barnstorm will serve as executive producer, while Chelsea Kujawa and Maria Ascanio will oversee the project for Lionsgate. Robert Melnik negotiated the deal on behalf of the studio.
Graham and Pollock, who previously worked with Haas on a Netflix film about Betty Ford starring Sarah Paulson and directed by Ryan Murphy, have an established collaboration. Their script Stolen Girl was adapted into an action film featuring Kate Beckinsale and Scott Eastwood, which premiered last year. They are also working on May Savidge Moves Her House, set with Pathè and starring Helena Bonham Carter, and developing a suffragist home invasion film titled Suffer, directed by BAFTA winner Tina Gharavi.
In television, Graham and Pollock have produced Apple TV’s Lessons in Chemistry and are adapting Diane Ducret’s novel La Dictatrice as a series for FX. Following a competitive seven-way bidding war, they are currently developing Young Agatha for Wiip, with more projects underway with Monumental Pictures, Universal, A&E, and Apple France. They are represented by CAA, Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment, and attorney Joel Vanderkloot, with UK representation by Independent Talent and Revolutionary Talent.
Barnstorm is also setting up its first feature, an untitled comedy at Universal, scripted by Powell and Judd Apatow, who will direct with Powell starring. The company, which recently completed production on Season 2 of Chad Powers, has seen The Death Roll become its second spec sale in recent months, following Paramount’s acquisition of *The F**boat. Additionally, Barnstorm is poised to produce both a new film and television series based on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in collaboration with A24.
Barnstorm and Powell are represented by CAA and JSSK, while Haas is represented by Joel Vanderkloot.
