Universal counts to 'Thirteen'

Universal has pre-emptively bought "Thirteen," a spec by Benjamin Magid, and set it up with Uni-based Strike Entetrainment and Brooklyn Weaver at Energy Entertainment.Veteran production exec Kristel Laiblin brought the project into Strike's Eric Newman and will oversee."Thirteen" centers on possession and is understood to utilize a mixture of found-footage point of views. The story is reminiscent of 1990's "Flatliners," which starred Julia Roberts and Kiefer Sutherland as medical school students experimenting with the line between life and death. Sale closed Friday night. Magid penned "Pan," a supernatural take on J.M. Barrie's "Peter Pan," which is scheduled to go into production later this year with Chris Tuffin, Renee Tab and Weaver producing and Ben Hibon directing. Magid's repped by WME and managed by Energy Entertainment. WME and Energy teamed on last week's spec sale of Brad Ingelsby actioner "Run All Night" to Warner Bros. in a preemptive deal. Contact Dave McNary at dave.mcnary@variety.com