Gross points to Touchstone

Producer inks deal with studio

By JOSEF ADALIAN

Gross

Feature producer Matthew Gross is sticking with Touchstone for TV, inking a seven-figure deal with the studio.

Gross, former head of "The Fugitive" producer Kopelson Entertainment, shot two pilots last spring under his previous deal with Touchstone. One of those projects, the Taye Diggs starrer "Day Break," was picked up to series and will debut in November in the "Lost" timeslot.

New two-year deal calls for Gross to continue to develop and produce series projects for Touchstone under his Gross Entertainment banner. It also covers his series services on "Day Break."

Morgan Wandell, senior VP of drama development at Touchstone, called Gross "a disciplined and experienced producer" who has a "talent for finding fresh voices for television and a knack for wildly original ideas."

Gross added that he and the Touchstone exec team "share a highly collaborative and creative vision."

In addition to "Day Break," the previous Gross deal with Touchstone yielded the 2006 drama pilot "Twenty Questions." There's been buzz that ABC may yet move forward with that project.

Overall, Gross has developed 15 scripts since launching his own company at Touchstone in 2003, producing a total of three pilot orders. In addition to "Day Break" and "Twenty Questions," company shot the 2005 comedy pilot "Neighbors" for ABC.

On the feature side, Gross is in post-production on "Across the Universe," the Julie Taymor-helmed pic driven by the music of the Beatles.

His company, along with Dennis Publishing's Moving Pictures unit, recently set up the comedy pitch "Fired Up!" at Screen Gems. Gross and Peter Jaysen will produce the coming-of-age laffer about two high school guys who join the yell squad in order to hook up with girls.

Gross produced the 2001 Tim Allen feature "Joe Somebody." He snagged an Oscar nom for producing the short film "Bronx Cheers."