TV | Film | Podcast
IP Picks
FROM PAUL BROWN
Original source material for your next development project.
Welcome
Your Next Project
IP Picks is a showcase for recommended book and longform intellectual properties suitable for option for your next TV, film, and podcast development projects.The focus is on unusual true stories with bold characters and cinematic arcs. The stories are from Paul Brown, a writer with a track record of optioned material.Contact us for more information.
Wild True Crime
The Rocketbelt Caper
A True Tale of Invention, Obsession and Murder
An obsessive quest to build a jetpack-style flying machine leads to feud, kidnapping, a ten-million-dollar lawsuit, and a brutal murder.An extraordinary Texas-set true crime tale with a cast of colorful characters and centered around an amazing flying rocketbelt. Coen Brothers meets Tiger King.Non-fiction bookUNDER OPTION
wartime sports survival
The Ruhleben Football Association
How Britain's Best Soccer Players Survived A First World War Prison Camp
A group of famous soccer players must play to survive inside a brutal First World War prison camp.A true wartime survival drama with bold characters. '1917' meets 'Escape to Victory'.Non-fiction book (PDF available)RIGHTS AVAILABLE: CONTACT US
Real Life Sci-Fi Caper
The Great British UFO Hoax
How A Bunch Of Students Convinced The Authorities That England Was Being Invaded By Flying Saucers.
In 1967, a series of flying saucers appeared at equidistant locations across southern England...A remarkable true story ripe for documentary or drama with great access to key protagonists.Longform articleRIGHTS AVAILABLE: CONTACT US
Arctic Survival Drama
The Snowdrop
Lost in the Arctic
After his ship is wrecked in the Arctic, a young Scottish whaler must cross broken ice floes, vast glaciers, and berg-filled seas on an epic quest to find help.An extraordinary true-life shipwreck and survival adventure set in the early 1900s, featuring a remarkable protagonist and based on his personal accounts.Longform articleRIGHTS AVAILABLE: CONTACT US
Epic true adventure
The Dog And The Dinosaur
The True Story of the Great Brontosaurus Hunt
A British WWI hero and his rescued German war dog travel into the unexplored heart of Africa on an epic quest to find a living brontosaurus in the Belgian Congo.A wild adventure with emotional and comedic elements, grounded by relationships between the protagonist and his dog and family, and a present-day sub-plot with his fossil-hunting granddaughter. 'Lost City of Z' meets 'The Lost World'.Longform articleRIGHTS AVAILABLE: CONTACT US
Forgotten Monster Hunter
The Fisherman Who Discovered the Loch Ness Monster
In 1933, a bus driver from a tiny village in the Scottish Highlands set out to catch a mythical local creature that became the legendary "Loch Ness Monster."The untold true story of a forgotten man whose remarkable adventure helped create a global phenomenon, with an terrific cinematic arc. 'Jaws' meets 'Local Hero.'Longform articleUNDER OPTION
Transatlantic true crime
The Bank Robbers Who Couldn't Shoot Straight
A pair of self-styled American gangsters botch an armed robbery at a small British bank and must face off against brave bank staff and a market full of cleaver-wielding butchers.A blackly comic true crime story of wannabe Al Capones. 'Dog Day Afternoon' meets the Coen Brothers.Longform articleRIGHTS AVAILABLE: CONTACT US
Shipwreck survivor
From a Blood-Red Sea
The Last Voyage of Daniel Collins
The true story of how a young 1820s mariner survived a shipwreck, a pirate attack, and an epic, shark- and crocodile-infested journey home.An incredible survival story with a remarkable protagonist and a propulsive narrative, set in the same time period and similar in theme to 'The Revenant.'Longform article and expanded ebookUNDER OPTION
True pirate epic
Sins Dyed In Blood
The Lost Pirate Of Blackbeard's Golden Age
A captured sailor must battle pirate hunters and his conscience after being forced to sail under the black flag by infamous pirate captain Blackbeard.A true historical drama with monstrous characters. 'Kidnapped' meets 'Pirates of the Caribbean'.Longform article and expanded ebookRIGHTS AVAILABLE: CONTACT US
True crime investigation
Death Of An Angel
Did A White Cop Kill A Black Guardian Angel?
The police shooting of a volunteer crime fighter ignites claims of a cover-up of a racially-motivated killing.A forgotten true crime story set in the mean streets of the 1980s with pertinent modern themes. 'Fruitvale Station' meets 'The Warriors'.Longform articleRIGHTS AVAILABLE: CONTACT US
Historical Bank Heist
How Four Americans Robbed the Bank of England
In Victorian London, a gang of US hustlers attempts a $10m heist on the safest bank in the world. Can the detective who inspired Sherlock Holmes catch them?Set in the fog-draped streets of Victorian London, this unusual and untold crime adventure is 'Ocean’s 11' meets Arthur Conan Doyle.Longform articleUNDER OPTION
True historical drama
The Female Horse Thief
A young English heiress becomes a notorious American criminal after crossing the Atlantic in search of her exiled lover.An epic historical blockbuster with an extraordinary female protagonist. A one-woman 'Thelma and Louise' set in the era of 'The Revenant'.Longform article, expanded ebook, and podcast episodeRIGHTS AVAILABLE: CONTACT US
RESCUE AND SURVIVAL DRAMA
The Titanic Rescue
More than 1500 people went down with the Titanic. But more than 700 survived. This is the story of the men, the ship, and the technology that rescued them.An often overlooked angle of the Titanic legend, from the perspective of the modest heroes of the rescue ship Carpathia, independently produced as a narrative podcast.RIGHTS AVAILABLE: CONTACT USPodcast episode adapted by the author from his original article, rights retained
Historical True Crime
The Lintz Green Murder
An isolated railway station is the scene of one of Britain’s most mysterious unsolved murders. Who killed stationmaster George Wilson?An atmospheric true crime investigation set in the English countryside in 1911. 'Sherlock Holmes' meets 'Strangers on a Train'.RIGHTS AVAILABLE: CONTACT USLongform article and podcast episode
True Survival Adventure
The Man Who Rode The Bear
A gold rush pioneer is pursuing his friend’s murderer through Californian redwoods when he stumbles into a deadly encounter with a grizzly bear.A thrilling true story set in 1850s California, part true crime mystery, part survival adventure. A man vs. bear tale with shades of 'The Revenant' and 'Jeremiah Johnson.'RIGHTS AVAILABLE: CONTACT USLongform article
Historical sports / crime
The Man Who Walked His Life Away
Two hundred years ago, Britain's most famous sportsman is a jailed endurance walker who must survive a brutal prison and overcome physical injury to achieve a grueling sporting record.A true historical drama set in early 1800s England following a colorful protagonist on an obstacle-laden journey through the bizarre sport of pedestrianism, or competitive walking. 'Chariots of Fire' meets 'The Duellists'.RIGHTS AVAILABLE: CONTACT USLongform article
Historical sports drama
The Mermaid Hunter Who Invented Football
An intrepid New York journalist, adventurer, and mermaid hunter negotiates 'Gangs of New York'-era Manhattan while reflecting on his past as the man who invented the rules of soccer.A true historical drama with an unsung and eccentric protagonist, and an untold sports origin story. 'The English Game' meets 'Gangs of New York'.RIGHTS AVAILABLE: CONTACT USLongform article
Historical True Crime
The Undercover Cricketers
An Agatha Christie-era detective joins an English cricket club to catch a thief, while solving other eccentric crimes in 1930s London.A cozy British crime set-up with gentle Sunday evening serial potential. Agatha Christie meets 'Downton Abbey'.RIGHTS AVAILABLE: CONTACT USLongform article
Meet the writer
Paul Brown
Paul Brown is a writer from England who specializes in unusual true stories with colourful characters and cinematic narratives. He is the author of The Rocketbelt Caper, From A Blood-Red Sea, and How Four Americans Robbed the Bank of England. Several of his properties have been optioned and set up with major movie studios, production companies, and streaming platforms. He has worked with Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks, Focus Features, eOne, Netflix, BBC, and more. He writes the Singular Discoveries newsletter and podcast. IP Picks showcases his optionable work.
Newsletter and Podcast
Singular Discoveries
Singular Discoveries is a newsletter by Paul Brown featuring a regular selection of unusual stories and interesting recommendations, plus links to his latest longform articles and books. It's also a podcast featuring narrative audio stories. You can find the newsletter on Substack and the podcast on Apple, Spotify and elsewhere.
© Paul Brown. All rights reserved.