John Hughes script stirring up interest

11:05 PM PDT 10/13/2010 by Borys Kit, Jay A. Fernandez

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Late writer-director's 'Grisbys' making rounds in Hollywood

He passed away in August, but the film legacy of John Hughes may not be over.

The late writer-director -- who was given an Oscar tribute Sunday -- has an unproduced screenplay, "Grisbys Go Broke," floating around the industry ether. Word crept out Friday that Paramount, which has a long history with Hughes, was picking up the script with hope of turning it into a family comedy with Joe Roth ("Alice in Wonderland") producing.

However, the studio told THR that it is not negotiating to purchase the screenplay, which follows a wealthy Chicago family that loses everything and is forced to move to the sticks. But Paramount certainly has no problem with digging back into Hughes material.

Hughes' last feature was Paramount's 2008 Owen Wilson comedy "Drillbit Taylor," which began as a Hughes original but was rewritten by Seth Rogen and Kristofor Brown (Hughes' story credit appeared under the pseudonym Edmond Dantes).

The writer-director may have walked away from Hollywood in 1994, but he never lost his desire to write. After his death, family members found reams of unpublished and unproduced material.

Hughes also worked with Fox, Universal and Disney, but many of his 1980s classics were developed at Paramount, including "She's Having a Baby," "Planes, Trains & Automobiles," "Some Kind of Wonderful," "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and "Pretty in Pink." (His "Home Alone" trilogy at Fox grossed more than $800 million worldwide.)

It seems as if the studio, despite "Drillbit's" disappointing run, would jump at the chance to take part in another Hughes creation. Paramount -- or someone else -- might still go for "Broke."