Gold Circle Films buys spec feature “Mercy” from writer Chris Sparling:

The script, which is described as having multiple twists, centers on a family intent on protecting their dying mother, and their individual financial interests, from the violent wrath of a religious sect.

Sparling, repped by UTA and Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment, is best known for “Buried,” his first feature script. The thriller, now in production, centers on a civilian contractor (Ryan Reynolds) who is kidnapped and awakens to find he has been buried alive in the Iraqi desert inside a coffin with only a phone and a lighter at his disposal.

You can go here for an interview with Sparling about his first movie An Uzi at the Alamo, which he wrote, directed, and acted in. Here’s an excerpt:

Sparling: My version of film school was making this film. Just out of high school I didn’t know what I really wanted to do. I looked at RISD but at the time it was more theoretical. That is a vital part of filmmaking but I wanted to either act or make films. I wanted to do it, not study why people do it, so I went with my second interest. I have my bachelors and masters degree in criminal justice. At one point I toyed with applying to the FBI.

I tell my students that you have to have an arsenal. You never know what people are looking for. If they say, ‘We are looking for this,’ you have to be able to say, ‘Oh I have one of those,’ as opposed to writing just comedy or just drama. I had never thought about writing a horror film, but I am just finishing a horror screenplay.

ET: How did that go?

Sparling: It just kind of sucked, it seemed so formulaic. But that was me realizing this is a business script. You have to make a film that makes money. You make one for the money people, then make one for yourself. I also wrote a 50-page business plan.

ET: Seriously? That is so much work.

Sparling: It’s just part of what you have to do. So few filmmakers ever see a return on their money, so few investors ever see a profit — never mind profit — a return. I am not the kind of person who can look someone in the eye and ask them to invest when essentially what I am asking for is a donation.

Fancy that. A screenwriter who actually thinks about the business side of things.