Spec Script Deal: “The Survival List”

Lionsgate acquires action comedy spec script “The Survival List” written by Tom Melia. Via Deadline:

After working with Blake Lively on the Another Simple Favor films, Lionsgate has acquired the Tom Melia spec The Survival List as a starring vehicle for the actress that she’ll also produce, Deadline has confirmed.

An action rom-com, the film follows Annie, a highbrow reality TV producer who against her wishes is assigned to a new show hosted by famous survival expert Chopper Lane. However, when a shipwreck strands them on a deserted island, Annie discovers Chopper is a fraud and knows nothing about survival, leaving her in charge of figuring out how to keep them alive. Forced to work together, they begin to discover an unlikely chemistry.

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Melia is a British writer best known for Rye Lane, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and was nominated for Outstanding British Film at the 2024 BAFTAs, also scoring 16 nominations at the British Independent Film Awards. He’s also written for the Sky drama series Brassic as well as the Sky comedy Bloods.

This is the 6th spec script deal announced in August.

Melia is repped by WME and Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment.

Congratulations, Tom!

By my count, this is the 17th spec script deal in 2025.

There were 14 spec script deals year-to-date in 2024.