Spacey invests in Fox comedy
Spacey invests in Fox comedy
Jan 8, 2004
Two-time Oscar winner Kevin Spacey, in Europe filming the Bobby Darin biopic "Beyond the Sea," is moving into TV production.
Spacey's Trigger Street Prods. has wrapped a script deal with Fox Broadcasting Co. for an untitled comedy pilot based on the 2003 book "The Teenage Investor: How to Start Early, Invest Often & Build Wealth," by precocious money whiz Timothy Olsen. Olsen is a New Jersey high school student who has said he began investing at age 8 by turning $150 in Pepsico shares into a $70,000 portfolio. He wrote "Teenage Investor" for McGraw-Hill the summer before he began the eighth grade.
Spacey will executive produce. The deal is Trigger Street's first major foray into network TV; 20th Century Fox TV is the studio. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The script, written by J.J. Wall ("My Wife and Kids"), is pitched as a domestic comedy about an ordinary family coming to grips with the financial genius of their teenage son. Wall also is expected to executive produce along with Plant Film founder Ross Martin, who originally brought the project to Trigger Street.
Martin said he learned of Olsen's book through his mother, who attends the synagogue where Olsen's mother worked as the rabbi's assistant.
"In this business, you find interesting projects one way or another, and sometimes they come from your mom," he said.
While Martin -- who was a development exec for Spike Lee's 40 Acres & a Mule Filmworks -- had no prior relationship with Spacey, he believed the actor's stated desire to find interesting material from fresh voices made Trigger Street a logical partner. "It was just an instinct thing," Martin said. Spacey, who is partnered at Trigger Street with Dana Brunetti, was said by his media rep to be busy shooting and unavailable for comment.
Martin and Trigger Street executive Sarah Bay Williams originally tried developing "Teenage Investor" as a feature but quickly realized that the material might work better as a family-oriented TV series. The financial prodigy based on Olsen, in particular, held small-screen promise. "He's kind of Doogie Howser and Alex Keaton rolled into one," Martin said, referring to two well-recognized teen characters of 1980s TV.
The team successfully pitched Fox comedy exec Jeremy Gold. Wall, who has a development deal at the studio, was brought in as writer.
Spacey, who won Oscars for his roles in "American Beauty" and "The Usual Suspects," and Trigger Street are repped by WMA and Stone, Meyer & Genow. Wall is repped by the Gersh Agency and Alex Hertzberg of Blueprint Management. Martin is repped by Gersh and attorney Bob Myman. Olsen is repped by Sam Fleishman of Literary Artists Representatives.
Spacey's Trigger Street Prods. has wrapped a script deal with Fox Broadcasting Co. for an untitled comedy pilot based on the 2003 book "The Teenage Investor: How to Start Early, Invest Often & Build Wealth," by precocious money whiz Timothy Olsen. Olsen is a New Jersey high school student who has said he began investing at age 8 by turning $150 in Pepsico shares into a $70,000 portfolio. He wrote "Teenage Investor" for McGraw-Hill the summer before he began the eighth grade.
Spacey will executive produce. The deal is Trigger Street's first major foray into network TV; 20th Century Fox TV is the studio. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The script, written by J.J. Wall ("My Wife and Kids"), is pitched as a domestic comedy about an ordinary family coming to grips with the financial genius of their teenage son. Wall also is expected to executive produce along with Plant Film founder Ross Martin, who originally brought the project to Trigger Street.
Martin said he learned of Olsen's book through his mother, who attends the synagogue where Olsen's mother worked as the rabbi's assistant.
"In this business, you find interesting projects one way or another, and sometimes they come from your mom," he said.
While Martin -- who was a development exec for Spike Lee's 40 Acres & a Mule Filmworks -- had no prior relationship with Spacey, he believed the actor's stated desire to find interesting material from fresh voices made Trigger Street a logical partner. "It was just an instinct thing," Martin said. Spacey, who is partnered at Trigger Street with Dana Brunetti, was said by his media rep to be busy shooting and unavailable for comment.
Martin and Trigger Street executive Sarah Bay Williams originally tried developing "Teenage Investor" as a feature but quickly realized that the material might work better as a family-oriented TV series. The financial prodigy based on Olsen, in particular, held small-screen promise. "He's kind of Doogie Howser and Alex Keaton rolled into one," Martin said, referring to two well-recognized teen characters of 1980s TV.
The team successfully pitched Fox comedy exec Jeremy Gold. Wall, who has a development deal at the studio, was brought in as writer.
Spacey, who won Oscars for his roles in "American Beauty" and "The Usual Suspects," and Trigger Street are repped by WMA and Stone, Meyer & Genow. Wall is repped by the Gersh Agency and Alex Hertzberg of Blueprint Management. Martin is repped by Gersh and attorney Bob Myman. Olsen is repped by Sam Fleishman of Literary Artists Representatives.
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