Searchlight Wins 11-Way Bidding War for Thriller Spec "Incidents" from "Hallow Road" Scribe
The hot script follows a woman's harrowing quest to find her would-be kidnapper.
Searchlight Pictures has emerged victorious in a heated, 11-way bidding war for Incidents, a new psychological thriller spec script from rising writer William Gillies.
What’s Happening:
- The industry is buzzing after one of the year’s most competitive script sales saw Searchlight Pictures land a highly sought-after project.
- As Deadline reports, Searchlight Pictures has acquired the spec script Incidents from writer William Gillies. The deal was fiercely competitive, with sources reporting a total of 11 offers were made on the material.
- The film is a taut psychological thriller centered on a woman who manages to escape an attempted abduction. With no clear motive for the attack, she vows to turn the tables, hunt down her kidnapper, and discover why she was targeted.
- William Gillies is quickly becoming a major name in the genre. His debut feature, Hallow Road, starring Rosamund Pike and Matthew Rhys, premiered to rave reviews at the 2025 SXSW Film Festival.
- Gillies, a 2020 graduate of the prestigious National Film and Television School in the UK, is also developing his next feature, Who Goes There?, for Pulse Films and recently worked on the upcoming Netflix/Bad Wolf series The Lord’s Day.
- No director or cast is attached to Incidents yet, but given the intense interest in the script, expect Searchlight to move quickly to package the film with top-tier talent.
The Enduring Power of the Spec Script
- In an industry often dominated by established IP, sequels, and franchises, the sale of a spec script like Incidents is an encouraging event that shows the power of a solid original idea.
- A "spec script" is a screenplay written on speculation (without a contract or payment upfront). It’s a passion project and represents one of the purest forms of creativity in Hollywood.
- Historically, spec sales have launched the careers of unknown writers and resulted in some of cinema’s most iconic films. Classics like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (which sold for a then-record $400,000 in 1967) and modern hits like Good Will Hunting (which famously launched the careers of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck) all began as spec scripts.
- The fact that Incidents commanded 11 separate offers is a career-defining moment for a writer like William Gillies.
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