Paramount Picks Up Family Fantasy 'The Hauntrepreneur' (Exclusive)

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Scott Rosenberg

Paramount is in negotiations to pick up The Hauntrepreneur, an original spec by Scott Rosenberg.

Platinum Dunes, the horror thriller shingle run by Michael Bay, Andrew Form and Brad Fuller, is producing.

The story centers on a family that has trouble adjusting to a new town and hires a peculiar man, the Hauntrepreneur, to help it. The man attempts to bring them together by creating a haunted house populated by an odd cast of characters.

The tone is described as being similar to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Platinum Dunes is mostly known for its horror remakes but it is slowly moving beyond that box. It is in pre-production on Universal’s untitled Ouija movie, a supernatural family adventure to be directed by McG.

Rosenberg was a high-flying action writer who worked in the Jerry Bruckheimer stable, penning movies such as Con Air and Gone in Sixty Seconds before moving into TV. He created the Showtime series Going to California, loosely based on his life, and more recently co-created October Road and Happy Town with Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec. The trio also developed the American version of Life on Mars.

He is repped by WME.