Syfy films circle 'Day 38'

Syfy Films is developing "Day 38" and is in early talks with McG and Mary Viola to produce, and Richard Farmer to direct the found-footage thriller. Project, scripted by Chris Rossi and Gabe Scott, was developed in-house at McG's Wonderland Sound and Vision with Farmer -- a noted commercial director whose latest campaigns include Sims, Activision and Nintendo. It's Wonderland's/McG's first partnership with Syfy. Story is told from the point of view of a group of stormchasers who face a Category 5 tornado and find themselves fighting off a force even greater than Mother Nature. Year-old SyFy Films, created as a venture between Universal and SyFy Ventures, made its first deal in October when it bought feature rights to George R.R. Martin's superhero anthology "Wild Cards" and tapped Melinda Snodgrass to pen the screenplay. Variety reported Friday that SyFy Films senior VP Gregory Noveck made the deal for "Day 38" with APA, which repped the writing team. McG directed "This Means War," which Fox opens Feb. 17. Scott wrote and directed "The Sentient," a nine-minute film with more than 80 vfx shots that was set up in November with Quincy Pictures with the aim of making a full-length feature. Crew included Oscar nominees Randy Kerber as composer, Scott E. Anderson on VFX and Rick Kline as sound mixer. Scott is managed by Dave Brown of Artist International. Rossi's managed by Jennifer Levine at Untitled Entertainment. Contact Dave McNary at dave.mcnary@variety.com