Peter Chelsom, the British director whose eclectic CV includes movies as diverse as Hear My Song,** Funny Bones**, Serendipity and, erm, Hannah Montana: The Movie, has lined up his next project.
Fresh from the commercial success of that Montana movie, the talented Chelsom has signed to direct Last Vegas, a comedy about four older gentlemen who decamp to Sin City for a stag weekend when one of their number decides to get hitched.
Sounds familiar? Well, it’s The Hangover with colostomy bags. Very Bad Things with a free bag of Werther’s Originals. **What Happens In Vegas **with bus passes, and a faint smell of urine.
But, while it may sound thuddingly unoriginal, Chelsom is a fine director, and we trust him to elevate the material. However, he’s also acutely aware of the comparisons that will be made, and welcomes them, even telling Variety that The Hangover’s success opened the door long enough for CBS Films to switch on the green light.
“This was a great script by Dan Fogelman," Chelsom told Variety, namechecking a writer whose movies have included, erm, **Fred Claus **and Licence To Wed. "These are four guys from Coney Island, who, when we meet them, think they are invincible. I think the film should attract four great stars in that age range."
That age range is around the sixty mark, which immediately brings to mind the likes of Morgan Freeman, Ian McKellen, Tommy Lee Jones etc. But our dream quartet would see Chelsom get the likes of Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy and Bill Murray back for something of a classic SNL last hurrah. Mind you, that’s just a suggestion – but if Chelsom’s a gambling man, he might do well to have a punt on that little lot.
CBS Films picked up Fogelman’s pitch for $1 million, which is a confidence booster for any struggling writers out there (simply pitch the plot of a current popular movie, and add ‘but with old people’, and you’re in!).
Filming will start next year.