EXCLUSIVE: In a competitive situation, Amazon MGM Studios has secured film rights to “Code Black,” a new short story by Harrison Query, for seven figures guaranteed, sources tell Deadline. The deal is believed to be one of the biggest of all time for a short story.
Scott Glassgold of 12:01 Films brought the package into Jake Gyllenhaal‘s Nine Stories, which will develop the political thriller as a starring vehicle for the Oscar nominee, under its first-look deal with the studio.
In Code Black, the country’s top heart surgeon is flown to D.C. to perform a high-stakes operation, finding himself led into a trap where his guile and genius become the only way to stop a plot that threatens both his family and the nation.
In addition to Gyllenhaal and Josh McLaughlin for Nine Stories, producers in talks include Lynn Harris and Matt Reeves for 6th & Idaho, and Glassgold for 12:01. The latter will also adapt the screenplay.
Code Black marks the second high-profile sale for Query in just two months. In May, he set up his drama series spec Trigger Point in A24 after six-way bidding, with Rebel Ridge‘s Jeremy Saulnier coming on to direct and exec produce alongside former Fifth Season Head of TV Joe Hipps. Query also wrote Amazon MGM’s action-comedy Heads of State, starring John Cena and Idris Elba, which is out July 2, and teamed with Tommy Wallach to set up the forthcoming limited series on JonBenét Ramsey at Paramount+.
After exec producing and starring in Apple’s Presumed Innocent and seeing the critically acclaimed series break out as one of Apple’s most-watched dramas of all time, Gyllenhaal is back on board to exec produce a second season. Previously, his Nine Stories has produced lauded titles like The Guilty, Wildlife and Stronger, among others. Upcoming, he also has the Guy Ritchie-directed sequel to his hit Road House remake for Amazon MGM, where he’s both starring and producing. The first film had a record-breaking debut on Prime Video with over 50 million viewers in its first two weekends on the service.
The Code Black deal marks the fifth short story sale of the year for Glassgold, who last month went to Skydance with Drift, based on an unpublished work of science fiction by Ben Queen & Jason Shuman, securing a $2M+ deal following a heated auction. A master at selling the short story, he prior to that saw 20th preemptively acquire Ripped, a feature adaptation of the short story by Joe Ballarini, which his 12:01 Films will produce alongside Dwayne Johnson’s Seven Bucks. Glassgold also bagged the first big sale of 2025 with After Shock, a Lionsgate adaptation of the earthquake-themed short story by Aaron Jayh, to star Brandon Sklenar. Other upcoming projects include Caretaker at Universal with Sydney Sweeney, The Dwelling at Amazon MGM with Michael B Jordan, and Occupant at New Line with Zach Cregger producing.
Gyllenhaal is represented by WME and Carlos Goodman; Query by CAA, Ground Control and Jeff Frankel; Reeves by CAA, 3 Arts, and attorneys Karl R. Austen and Peter C. Sample; and Glassgold’s 12:01 by Verve and McKuin Frankel Whitehead. CAA and Verve oversaw the auction.
