After a couple of years sitting lonely at home, mired in development, 20th Century Fox’s comedy Avon Man looks like it’ll finally be able to answer the door to good news as Mark Wahlberg is set to jump aboard to star and co-produce.
But before anyone involved starts celebrating too much, let’s consider that the downsizing doorstep film has been here before. Back in 2009, Hugh Jackman was all set to take the lead role of a guy who is one of several let go from a struggling car dealership.
Unable to find other good job openings, our hero reluctantly becomes an Avon salesman, and though he’s initially embarrassed, his natural charm makes him into a top seller. He does so well that he then tries to help save his small town and his struggling family by recruiting his former colleagues to win a regional sales competition.
Enchanted’s Kevin Lima considered taking up the megaphone, but he’s since dropped out. Wahlberg will apparently help develop a fresh draft of the script with Austin Powers / **Baby Mama **writer Michael McCullers.
Just don’t expect Wahlberg to leap into this one immediately. He’s currently at work on Michael Bay’s Pain And Gain, which he’ll follow with 2 Guns opposite Denzel Washington and Peter Berg’s Lone Survivor. He’ll next crop up on screens in Seth McFarlane’s cuddly toy comedy Ted (set for August 3) and Allen Hughes’ thriller Broken City, which arrives next year.