Paramount Pictures continues its streak of high-profile deals, with a first-look, multi-picture deal with Will Smith and his company Westbrook.
Following the Skydance deal last month, the new pact with Smith will focus on creating global, four-quadrant theatrical movies with franchise-starting and IP-based films.
The terms encompass a first-look deal with a development commitment to franchise-starters, positioned as starring vehicles for Smith which include the thriller Sugar Bandits and Rabbit Hole. Westbrook will be based on the Paramount lot in Hollywood.
Based on the book Devils in Exile by Chuck Hogan, Sugar Bandits follows a former special forces soldier who runs an elite vigilante squad working to wipe out the drug trade in Boston.
Rabbit Hole will be penned by Dune scribe Jon Spaihts with plot details unknown at this time.
The deal marks another huge win for Paramount who has been on a streak of luring over big time talent in recent weeks. Smith and Westbrook has had his deal for Sony for decades but in recent weeks Paramount’s new regime has shown the ability to lure over high-profile talent from other rival studios. Last month the Duffer brothers, who had a strong relationship with Netflix going back to the premiere of the hit series Stranger Things, signed a four year deal with the studio last month that stunned the industry.
Paramount has also been busy on the content front recently acquiring the rights to adapt a feature film based on the hit video game series Call of Duty from Activision. They also made a big splash the day the Skydance deal closed, landing the highly coveted package High Side, starring Timothee Chalamet with James Mangold directing.
Smith and Westbrook are repped by CAA.
Source link
