Forgetting Sarah Marshall director Nicholas Stoller has had a mixed bag with his last couple of projects. The Muppets, which he co-wrote, was a well-deserved hit, but his most recent rom-com (and Jason Segel collaboration), The Five-Year Engagement, has failed to manage big box-office in the US. Still, he’s not letting that bother him, throwing himself into work on the Muppets sequel and entering negotiations to direct Townies for Universal.
**Townies **would see him work once more with another graduate of the Judd Apatow comedy school, Seth Rogen. The film finds Rogen as a regular family guy whose life is made difficult by the noisy alpha-male university frat house near by. He ends up having to deal with one of the frat boys (Zac Efron).
Universal nabbed the story as a pitch from writers Andrew Cohen and Brendan O’Brien, and while we figure they’ll stay aboard, don’t be surprised if the final script features work from Rogen, regular writing / production partner Evan Goldberg and Stoller, who has written or co-written most of his films. There’s no word on when the movie will start shooting.