It’s no surprise that with ace new comedy Bridesmaids crossing the $100 million mark at the US box office alone, the creative team behind the film is being courted once more by Universal. The film’s success means that director Paul Feig has now sold a new comedy pitch to the studio, with old mucker and regular producer Judd Apatow on board to oversee the film’s development.
Feig was a big part of why Bridesmaids worked, along with the cracking script from Kristen Wiig and some great performances from Wiig and her cast mates. This time around, Feig will be writing and directing from the get-go, though details are scarce for now. Deadline has only heard that it’s an unconventional love story and that Feig’s been slaving away at the idea for a fair time, so chances are it could be moving along swiftly. Curses! If only this had slipped out earlier – we’d have grilled the man when he couldn’t escape our clutches during Tuesday’s Web Chat (the transcript of which will be posted soon).
It’s good to see Feig succeed in both movies and TV, especially following the early heartbreak of the brilliant-but-cancelled Freaks & Geeks and the relative flop of his first big cinematic studio break, Unaccompanied Minors. But he’s since put both behind him, directing episodes of The US Office, Arrested Development and Nurse Jackie, among others. And now he has a hit film to push his career even further forward...