Looking to strengthen its development slate, MGM is in final negotiations to acquire a pitch from “Dirty Dancing” scribe Maria Maggenti titled “One Red Paper Clip,” based on the non-fiction book by Kyle MacDonald.
While there is no official deal in place, pic would be based on the true story of a man who wins his girlfriend’s heart by trading a single red paper clip all the way up to a house for the two of them to live in.
Laurence Mark (“Julie & Julia”) will produce through his eponymous production banner along with Sean Sorensen and Mathew Cullen of Motion Theory. Latter duo, who control MacDonald’s life rights as well as the rights to his book, brought the project to Mark before approaching MGM. Tamara Chestna of Laurence Mark Prods. will oversee “Paper Clip” for the company, and should a deal make, MGM exec Cassidy Lange would oversee the project on behalf of the studio.
“Paper Clip” was initially set up at DreamWorks back in 2006 with Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald producing.
Maggenti wrote Fox 2000’s Selena Gomez starrer “Monte Carlo” before she was hired to pen Kenny Ortega’s “Dirty Dancing” remake for Lionsgate. Fox 2000 has stayed in business with Maggenti since “Monte Carlo,” tapping her to write “Before I Fall” for producer Jonathan Shestack and “My Name is Memory” for Chernin Entertainment. Scribe also just sold the mother-daughter gumshoe dramedy “Park and Lex” to ABC, with Ryan Reynolds and Allan Loeb’s DarkFire TV producing.
Maggenti is repped by Paradigm and Madhouse Entertainment.
