With one directing / starring job so far under his belt with spelling bee comedy Bad Words, Jason Bateman is already hard at work on a second. He’s now eyeing a potential third, making a deal to develop, direct and star in an untitled comedy project that apparently blends a wedding and the FBI.
Universal is trying to get this one made, having been through several drafts of the script through a years-long gestation that originated with Warner Bros. Back in 2011, Universal attempted to score Steve Carell as a potential star, with Phil Alden Robinson on script duty. Since then, David Flebotte has taken a crack and the current draft bears the keyboard marks of David Bar Katz.
It’s that version of the script that Bateman will develop, and hopefully announce a plotline for, as the story – sometimes described as blending My Best Friend's Wedding with **Stakeout **– remains shrouded in mystery. Maybe it would be bad luck for us all to see it before production starts.
First, however, Bateman will make** The Family Fang**, in which he’ll star with Nicole Kidman and Christopher Walken in the story of grown children reluctantly returning to help their performance artist parents pull off one last big act. He’ll next be seen in This Is Where I Leave You, out in the UK on September 12 and** Horrible Bosses 2**, due November 28.