According to The Hollywood Reporter the idea for the script was hatched when he and manager Jake Wagner were up drinking late night and brainstorming script ideas (cool way to spend your nights guys!)

Oren Aviv (head of Disney and also creator of the “National Treasure” franchise) was looking for this kind of fare and that’s probably the reason the screenplay price was as high as it was (sources indicate that Disney paid $300,000 against $600,000 for it.)

Sullivan, whose mother teaches sixth grade in Northport, NY said that having grown up on films like “Goonies” and “Weird Science” he:

“really wanted to explore something that was more family-friendly and something that I would actually like to go see myself if I was 12-16. There’s a lot of wish fulfillment in that. Movies like this are just fun to write.”

At age-24 Sullivan sold his first screenplay “Fear of the Dark” in 2001 and has since written two direct-to-DVD horror genre films in “The Prophecy” franchise.