Gervais and Merchant Re-Team for New Film
Filed under: Deals, Fandom, Scripts, Newsstand
I think it's fairly safe to say that when Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant get together on a project, the outcome is nothing short of comedic gold. These are the men who brought us the original TV version of The Office, and they're also the guys who dreamt up the very awesome (but no longer around) HBO series Extras. These days, Gervais has officially crossed over to Hollywood, and he's starring in all kinds of films -- his latest being Ghost Town (which he just wrapped) and This Side of the Truth. Now, the BBC tells us that Gervais and Merchant are reuniting once again; this time, as writers on a film script.
As of right now, the working title for the film is The Men at the Pru, and according to the BBC, it's "about a group of 20-somethings in the early 1970s." Gervais notes, "They work for the building society and they're having a great time but it's about them coming of age and having to grow up." The idea of having to grow up is a constant theme in their work, but it will be interesting to see what Gervais and Merchant can do with a screenplay -- a feature film that clocks in at around an hour and a half or so. He adds, "We're really getting excited. We went down to the Prudential headquarters and got all this old footage so we're really getting into it." Gervais has only co-written one script so far, and that's the upcoming This Side of the Truth (which he's also co-directing). This new project will mark the first time the duo has teamed on the script for a feature. Unfortunately, there's no word yet on when The Men at the Pru will be ready for production. My only request is that they please please please give Merchant a starring role. That man is beyond hysterical.









Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-28-2008 @ 1:27PM
Robin said...
I cannot wait for anything that will come from these two. Pure genius.
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2-28-2008 @ 5:48PM
Jordan said...
my favorite moment in the entire office series is when stephen merchant plays one of garreths buddies that comes into the office, and david brent starts to make fun of how tall he is and how googly his eyes are, which in turn causes merchant to stomp off with tears in his eyes. good stuff.
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2-28-2008 @ 6:46PM
KevinInChains said...
he was so funny on extras, they need to put merchant on screen.
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2-29-2008 @ 2:14PM
AJ Wiley said...
Yeah, I hope Merchant is onscreen too.
I also hope that this is better than Extras season two which, while still very good, experienced a major drop-off in quality from the first. It just became kind of redundant and repetitive.
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4-03-2008 @ 9:58AM
Aaron said...
Ricky mentioned in his last podcast that they are going to be looking for actors to be in the movie. Any idea how to get in on this?
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