One of the busiest men in Hollywood has just added two more gigs to his schedule: Jason Bateman has signed on for the comedies Disconnect and **The Longest Week.
Marking a bit of a break from his recent studio-centric output, both are independent productions. The Longest Week will be directed by Peter Glanz (TV's The Trivial Pursuits of Arthur Banks) and sees Bateman as a layabout living a life of luxury and leisure in his parents' Manhattan hotel, until he finds himself out on his ear, at which point he falls in love. The object of his affection is Olivia Wilde, marking a bit of a Change-Up reunion (as if they wanted to be reminded).
Disconnect, meanwhile, is an ensemble affair, in which the Batester will co-star with Alexander Skarsgard, Frank Grillo, Andrea Riseborough, Colin Ford and Michael Nyqvist. The details so far are somewhat nebulous, but it apparently involves various characters being "affected and in some cases destroyed" by "the internet and other forms of modern communication". This one's directed by Henry-Alex Rubin, half of the creative team behind the wheelchair rugby documentary Murderball (he also shot second unit on Cop Land and Girl, Interrupted).
The two films will shoot back-to-back in October and November, before Bateman heads back to Studioland for **The ID Theft **(with Melissa McCarthy) and The Insane Laws (with Vince Vaughn). All of which is well and good, as long as it leaves him clear for the Arrested Development movie next summer. Okay, Jason? Okay?