Comedy project Neighborhood Watch has been through a few personnel changes in the two years since 20th Century Fox first got it set up. And the latest twist finds Seth Rogen and regular writing/producing collaborator Evan Goldberg brought aboard to bash out yet another rewrite of the script.
Fox executive John Fox (bet he still gets jokes about his name) originally hatched the idea, which follows a suburban neighbourhood watch group (yeah, we added the "u"; what of it?) that is really just a front for blokes to get some time away from their family duties. But then they stumble onto a real conspiracy that threatens not just their local streets, but the entire world. Jared Stern was originally hired to write the first draft of what sounds to Empire like the love child of The ‘Burbs and Hot Fuzz.
Since then, Shawn Levy and David Dobkin have sat briefly in the director’s chair, and Will Ferrell was attached at one point to star. But now Get Smart’s Peter Segal is the man calling the shots, with the starring role(s) wide open. Given that the pair wrote Green Hornet, Superbad and Pineapple Express, this doesn’t feel too far away from their comfort zone. And could this latest gig mean Rogen is eyeing the film as a potential follow-up to Hornet?