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.Reach out to the writer or rep for more information.Imagined movie posters are generated by Midjourney AI.

The Snowdrop: Lost in the Arctic

Arctic Survival

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.WRITER Paul Brown | REP Richard Pike @ C&WLongform article

The Dog and the Dinosaur

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'.WRITER Paul Brown | REP Richard Pike @ C&WLongform article

Death of an Angel

True crime

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'.WRITER Paul Brown | REP Richard Pike @ C&WLongform article

The Female Horse Thief

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'.WRITER Paul Brown | REP Richard Pike @ C&WLongform article, expanded ebook, and podcast episode

The Titanic Rescue

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.WRITER Paul Brown | REP Richard Pike @ C&WPodcast episode adapted by the author from his original article, rights retained

The Ruhleben Football Association

True wartime sports drama

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'.WRITER Paul Brown | REP Richard Pike @ C&WBook (PDF available for consideration)

Sins Dyed in Blood

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'.WRITER Paul Brown | REP Richard Pike @ C&WLongform article and expanded ebook

The Bank Robbers Who Couldn't Shoot Straight

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.WRITER Paul Brown | REP NarrativelyLongform article

The Mermaid Hunter Who Invented Football

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'.WRITER Paul Brown | REP Richard Pike @ C&WLongform article

The Man Who Rode The Bear

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.'WRITER Paul Brown | REP Richard Pike @ C&WLongform article

The Lintz Green Murder

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'.WRITER Paul Brown | REP Richard Pike @ C&WLongform article and podcast episode

The Undercover Cricketers

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'.WRITER Paul Brown | REP Richard Pike @ C&WLongform article

The Man Who Walked His Life Away

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'.WRITER Paul Brown | REP Richard Pike @ C&WLongform article

Optioned

The Rocketbelt Caper

The Rocketbelt Caper

Optioned

FROM A BLOOD-RED SEA

FROM A BLOOD-RED SEA

Optioned

How Four Americans Robbed the Bank of England

How Four Americans Robbed the Bank of England

Optioned

The Fisherman Who Discovered the Loch Ness Monster

The Fisherman Who discovered the Loch Ness Monster

Paul Brown

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.

Contact:

Singular Discoveries

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.