Sony Buys 190-Page Medieval Spec From First-Time Writers in Near Seven-Figure Deal
Sony has paid near seven figures to pre-empt "The Ballad of the Ember Knight," a 14th-century medieval epic and the first screenplay siblings Kieran and Brennan O'Dea have ever sold, according to Deadline.
A pre-empt means the studio bought the script before it could circulate to rival bidders, locking it down early. The deal was brokered by CAA and Kaplan Perrone, who took the spec — an original screenplay shopped on the open market, not commissioned by a studio — out to buyers.
Set during the Hundred Years' War between France and England, the story follows a legendary warrior accused of murdering the royal family. He must protect the kingdom's last surviving prince from a conspiracy. The script ran 190 pages, a length that made it a difficult sell in a feature market where the conventional screenplay clocks in near 112 pages. Aaron Kaplan of Kaplan Perrone read it first, knowing the page count would be a hurdle. CAA came on board after him.
The O'Dea brothers declined two obvious paths: cutting the script to a standard feature length, or pivoting it into a longform television series. They held firm on the page count and the format.
What makes the deal unusual is that combination — first-time writers, no producer attachments, and a script nearly 80 pages longer than the industry norm for a feature. Sony executives Brittany Morrissey and Peter Kang championed the project internally and brought it into the studio.
The O'Dea brothers are the middle sons of two astronomers. They grew up on the East Coast — first in Baltimore, then Rochester — before moving to northern Idaho after college. Their late grandfather fuelled their love of storytelling, spinning bedtime tales drawn from "The Iliad," "The Odyssey," "Macbeth," Second World War stories, and an errant knight named Sir Kay.
No director, cast, or release date has been announced.
