Summit picks up 'Puzzle Palace'

While it may seem that Summit is all about vampires and witches, the upstart company is going into teen thriller mode, picking up "Puzzle Palace" from newbie writer David Guggenheim. Temple Hill, the production shingle behind "Twilight," is attached to produce.

"Puzzle" follows a kid who gets locked in a police station trying to steal evidence and has to escape crooked cops to get out.

Guggenheim is the US Weekly editor with no prior screenwriting experience who made a splash last month when he sold his spec "Safe House" to Universal in a competitive environment.

With "Palace," the N.Y.-based writer, repped by APA and Madhouse Entertainment, found himself at the center of another auction.

With his screenwriting kicking into high gear, Guggenheim is planning on relocating to L.A. with his wife and newborn baby.

Madhouse's Adam Kolbrenner is exec producing "Palace."

Summit has emerged as one of the few reliable buyers in a town that still has, for the most part, locked purse strings except in the most extreme or high-profile cases. On Monday, the company has picked up "The Last Witch Hunter" while the previous week it partnered with Regency on "The Darkest Hour," an alien invasion thriller.

"Palace" brings the studio back to a more grounded reality, something in the vein of "Disturbia," the DreamWorks teen thriller that starred Shia Labeouf and grossed a healthy $80 million domestic.
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