Pitch buy means Par pic a 'Bitch'

USC grad sells broad female-driven laffer

By DAVE MCNARY

Holden

HOLLYWOOD -- Paramount is bringing out its "Inner Bitch," preemptively buying a comedy pitch from tyro scribe Kara Holden for low against mid-six figures and setting it up at Kelsey Grammer's Grammnet shingle.

"Inner Bitch" is seen as a broad female-driven comedy along the lines of "Liar Liar," with producers holding off on releasing plot specifics.

Holden, who recently graduated with a masters degree in professional writing from USC, told Daily Variety that the title was inspired by an acting coach.

"He was always telling me I was too sweet to make it in the business and that I had to unleash my inner bitch," she explained. "I got the idea from wishing there was a way I could tap into that."

While at USC, Holden took the top award at the Jerome Lawrence One-Act Play Festival with the comedy "Writer's Block."

Project will be produced by Grammer and Joanne Asquith Weiss, senior VP of Par-based Grammnet. Jessica Hochman Casale, director of development for Grammnet, brought the project in and will oversee it.

Grammnet's feature slate also includes "Honeymoon From Hell," penned by Mark Yosowitz, with Brooklyn Weaver attached to produce; "If You Only Knew," by Julie Sherman Wolfe; and "Case of the Halloween Hangman," by Todd Berger.