Apparently there has been an influx of cash into the wallets of studio executives, and they aren’t afraid to use it.

First up, Deadline is reporting that Universal and Imagine Entertainment have nabbed up the rights to a project called AMNESTY. The film is a pitch from writer Max Landis, and currently has Ron Howard attached to helm, with Brian Grazer on to produce. No premise has been revealed, but it is being described as a blend of Robert Ludlum and JRR Tolkien.

The interesting thing to note here is that, for all intents and purposes, Howard will be hard at work on his project, THE DARK TOWER, something that doesn’t quite give way to an open schedule. This project does actually sound a bit interesting, something that, for a Ron Howard-backed production, isn’t all that synonymous, so it will be intriguing to see where the hell this lands on his slate.

In other acquisition news, Dimension has come in and picked up the spec script for a film called THE GREYS, penned by Adam Cohen, with BEFORE THE FALL helmer F. Javier Gutierrez on board to direct. Again, no premise has been revealed, so at this point it is hard to really get excited here, but this is one that I will definitely be keeping an eye on.

Finally, Magnolia has picked up the Western BLACKTHORN. Following the last days of Butch Cassidy, the film stars Sam Shepard, and is directed by Mateo Gil. It will be playing at the Market at the Cannes Film Festival in May.