Paramount Primal Snaps Up High-Concept Thriller Spec ‘Sweet Spot’ From Nic Curcio & Kirby Gladstein

Paramount Primal has preemptively acquired the high-concept thriller spec Sweet Spot from Nic Curcio & Kirby Gladstein, the writing duo behind the upcoming indie horror film Play House, Deadline can confirm. Plot details are under wraps, and there are no other attachments to the project as of yet. Curcio and Gladstein are filmmakers based out of Los Angeles who began writing together in 2023. Curcio was a writer on Sony Pictures Animation’s hit GOAT, starring Caleb McLaughlin, David Harbour and Gabrielle Union, and produced by Stephen Curry, which grossed over $195M worldwide earlier this year. He has developed projects for multiple studios, including a live-action Magic School Bus for Universal and an adaptation of Planet of the Nerds for Paramount. His script Barron was featured on the 2019 Black List. Additionally, he runs a popular screenwriting TikTok account with nearly 200K followers and over 10M likes, and has partnered with studios like Neon, A24 and Paramount to promote films. RELATED: 45 Of The Most Anticipated Movies Of 2026 Watch on Deadline Last September, Curcio and Gladstein won Fantastic Fest’s inaugural Fantastic Pitches competition, thereby securing funding and distribution for Play House, a project marking Curcio’s feature directorial debut. Curcio co-wrote and produced the film, starring Will Harrison, Jessie Sula, Jordan Gonzalez and James Urbaniak, with Gladstein. The pair got married a week after wrap and have set the pic to premiere at Fantastic Fest in September. Curcio and Gladstein are repped by 3 Arts, UTA and Jackoway Tyerman. THR was first to the news of their deal for Sweet Spot. RELATED: The 63 Movies That Have Made More Than $1 Billion At The Global Box Office RELATED: 25 Theatrical And Streaming Movies To Look Forward To This Summer