Fox has picked up Bad Times at the El Royale, a spec script from The Martian screenwriter Drew Goddard.
He is attached to also direct the project and produce it.
Details are being kept secret, but sources say it is a contained thriller with either sci-fi or horror elements.
Not only is the logline under a veil of secrecy, but the whole process of selling it was hush-hush as well. The script went only to the top studio execs, bypassing the normal reading process. And to view the script, potential buyers had to read it off of a tablet and then return it to the courier when done.
Fox, which made The Martian, moved aggressively to buy it.
Goddard is a favorite of the fanboy space, with credits ranging from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Alias to Lost to launching Netflix’s Daredevil. He worked on World War Z and was nominated for an Oscar for writing The Martian, which starred Matt Damon.
Goddard made his feature directorial debut on 2012’s horror mash-up Cabin in the Woods.
