CBS Films Picks Up 'Olivia Twisted' With Michael De Luca Producing (Exclusive)

2:52 PM PST 1/24/2013 by Borys Kit

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The script hails from Michael Roberts, a stuntman who worked on shows such as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Alias."

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for AFI

Michael De Luca

CBS Films is putting a twist on Oliver Twist.

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The company has optioned Michael Roberts’ screenplay Olivia Twisted, which has Michael De Luca and Michael De Luca Productions' Alissa Phillips attached to produce.

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The script uses Charles Dickens’ classic novel Oliver Twist as a jumping-off point, taking the setting to a hyper-real, unnamed gothic city and centering on a young woman named Olivia. She is part of a highly trained gang of street kids ranging in age from 6 to 19 who work for a criminal named Fagin. When the gang takes on a kidnapping job, it lands in the middle of a turf war between the city’s two major kingpins.

The script has been praised for putting beautifully choreographed action on the page, which is fitting since it hails from a former stuntman.

Twisted is the debut script for Roberts, who broke into the business as a stuntman for TV shows including Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Alias before an injury prompted a career change. Roberts is married to actress Alana De La Garza, who stars on NBC's upcoming drama Do No Harm. He is repped by WME.

De Luca is in post on Captain Phillips, the true-life Somali pirate tale starring Tom Hanks and Catherine Keener, which is set for an Oct. 11 opening.