A couple askew projects made a deal today:

  • DreamWorks optioned The Good Luck of Right Now, a new manuscript by Matthew Quick, author of The Silver Linings Playbook.  The story follows four outsiders who, grieving, come together to form an unlikely family.
  • 13th Sign Pictures will produce and finance the conspiracy thriller Dallas in Wonderland, set in the months leading up to the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination.

Hit the jump for details on both projects.

Deadline has the full synopsis for The Good Luck of Right Now:

"The story follows the intertwined lives of four people, who are all outsiders in their own right.  However, in the wake of grieving over pain and loss in their lives, they come together to form the most unlikely family... The protagonist is a guy who might not be bipolar, but is certainly 'off.' He takes care of his mother, who suffers from dementia.  She has been calling him Richard, and the caretaker tells the story of this broken circle of characters in letters written to Richard Gere.  The film is once again set in Philadelphia, and the love interest is a librarian.  She and her brother believe they were once abducted by aliens."

The quirky movie adaptation of Silver Linings Playbook has been a solid indie hit for The Weinstein Company, grossing $55 million worldwide to date.  Now flush with 8 Oscar nominations, Playbook should find even more success on DVD and Blu-ray, so it's understandable why other studios want to be in the Matthew Quick business.  Four of those Oscar nominations went to the four leads---Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, and Jacki Weaver.  To see the process that went into that, check out this 12-minute featurette from Yahoo on the impressive ensemble:

 

The press release has all the details on Dallas in Wonderland:

Los Angeles (January 17th, 2013) – Producers Tommy Alastra and Joe Mundo from 13th Sign Pictures announced they have signed on to finance and produce, DALLAS IN WONDERLAND.   Film will be directed by Ryan Page (BLOOD INTO WINE, QUEENS OF COUNTRY).

Story is a modern day thriller set in the months leading up to the 50th Anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination.  Hired by a major television network to do a puff piece for their planned motorcade reenactment, set to take place during the televised memorial ceremony, documentary filmmaker Mack Temple and his producer Rachel DuMort find themselves wrapped up in the network's plot to prove that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the murder of President Kennedy. As Mack and Rachel close in on the central narrative surrounding one of history’s greatest murder mysteries, the thrilling climax to the JFK assassination is triggered, playing out in front of a worldwide TV audience.

“Co-Writer Adam Parfrey and I crafted what feels to us like an altogether new kind of thriller, featuring the very latest research done in the JFK assassination case” said Director/Co-Writer Ryan Page. “This story has not fully been told.  It continues to evolve and is rife with the most interesting storylines and fascinating real-life personalities.  I worked with Joe and Tommy at 13th Sign Pictures on previous films and when it came time to select our production partner for DALLAS IN WONDERLAND, there was never even a debate.”

DALLAS IN WONDERLAND will be produced by Tommy Alastra, Joe Mundo and Ryan Page.  It is written by Ryan Page & Adam Parfrey and directed by Ryan Page.