Paramount Primal has preemptively acquired Sweet Spot, a new erotic thriller spec script written by Nic Curcio and Kirby Gladstein. Plot details remain under wraps, and no director or cast has been attached to the project. The acquisition marks another addition to Paramount Primal’s expanding slate as the studio continues to build its identity as a home for genre filmmaking.
Paramount Primal is the studio’s genre-focused label led by J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules through their BoulderLight Pictures banner. The producing duo earned industry recognition with films including Barbarian, Weapons, Companion, and the A24 comedy Friendship. Their reputation has grown to the point where Jason Blum previously suggested BoulderLight could become “the next Blumhouse.” Lifshitz and Margules took charge of Paramount Primal in September 2025 after their first-look deal with Warner Bros. and New Line concluded.
Since its launch, Paramount Primal has expanded quickly, most notably securing the rights to reboot A Nightmare on Elm Street with the support of Wes Craven’s estate. The acquisition of Sweet Spot further strengthens the label’s growing portfolio of genre projects.
Los Angeles-based writers Nic Curcio and Kirby Gladstein began collaborating in 2023, with Sweet Spot becoming their latest major studio project following the upcoming independent horror film Play House, which they also co-wrote. Alongside screenwriting, Gladstein has built a successful career as a photographer, working across music, portrait and lifestyle photography for clients including Atlantic Records and Live Nation.
Curcio has also established himself across multiple studio projects beyond his partnership with Gladstein. He served as a writer on Sony Pictures Animation’s GOAT, starring Caleb McLaughlin, David Harbour, and Gabrielle Union, and produced by Stephen Curry. The animated feature has grossed more than $195 million worldwide this year.
His recent work also includes developing a live-action Magic School Bus adaptation for Universal and a Planet of the Nerds adaptation for Paramount. Earlier in his career, Curcio’s screenplay Barron was selected for the 2019 Black List, while he has also built a substantial online following through a screenwriting-focused TikTok account with nearly 200,000 followers and more than 10 million likes, collaborating with studios including Neon, A24, and Paramount on promotional campaigns.
Curcio and Gladstein also won the inaugural Fantastic Pitches competition at Fantastic Fest last September, securing funding and distribution for Play House, which marks Curcio’s feature directorial debut. The horror film follows a man who discovers disturbing VHS tapes of an unaired children’s television programme, leading him into an increasingly dangerous obsession. Curcio co-wrote, directed and produced the film alongside Gladstein, with the cast including Will Harrison, Jessie Sula, Jordan Gonzalez, and James Urbaniak. Play House is scheduled to premiere at Fantastic Fest this September.
Curcio and Gladstein are represented by 3 Arts, UTA, and Jackoway Tyerman.
The acquisition also reflects a broader trend within the industry as studios and streaming platforms continue to revisit the erotic thriller genre. After largely disappearing from Hollywood following its peak in the 1980s and 1990s with films such as Fatal Attraction, Body Heat, and Basic Instinct, the genre has begun attracting renewed interest. Recent examples include Netflix’s in-development series Hancock Park, starring Regé-Jean Page, Peacock’s Teach Me from writer Lisa Rubin, and Gregg Araki’s feature I Want Your Sex. The addition of Sweet Spot suggests studios continue to see audience demand for sophisticated adult thrillers.
With Sweet Spot now joining Paramount Primal’s expanding slate and Play House set to premiere at Fantastic Fest later this year, Curcio and Gladstein continue to build momentum within genre filmmaking. Although the project remains in its early stages, the acquisition reinforces Paramount Primal’s strategy of investing in original horror and thriller concepts while positioning the writing duo among the emerging voices to watch in the genre space.
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