Okay, so this started as a spec script, it then made the oft-vaunted “Hollywood Black List” of acclaimed but as yet unmade films and then, rather than being a Heat-style heist film, it is being re-worked as an Ocean’s 11-style action comedy. As if all of that weren’t enough, Steve Carell, who seems relatively unlikely as an action star, is set to star.
The script tells of a bank robber who, having served a stretch, is recruited by the FBI, Catch Me If You Can-style, to entrap a fellow crook who is planning a big heist. I suppose with films like Pineapple Express showing that unlikely characters can make funny and effective action stars, the success of this one will all come down to the execution. Joel Silver, who knows a thing or two about action films, will co-produce with Carell. No word yet on other casting news or even a director. Jonathan Herman put the script together originally.
