Steven Schacter Tagged Articles at Cinematical

For a while now, I wondered what on earth William H. Macy was thinking by being a part of Wild Hogs. While it is great to be silly now and then, it helps to not have audiences groaning when the trailer comes on, and shouting: "Why, Macy? Why?" at the screen. Okay, the last part is exaggerated, but I've been on the search for the "why" for a while now, and I think I finally have my answer -- he was doing a dorky family film to raise money for his passion project -- The Deal -- a film he wrote with long-time collaborator and the feature's director, Steven Schachter.

Erik shared news of the film last year, when Macy was going to co-star with Friends alum, Lisa Kudrow. Now Variety has Macy headlining the feature with Meg Ryan -- so either Phoebe has been axed, or downgraded, or maybe they didn't consider her big-screen material. The film was originally going to be a Showtime original movie, but it was re-imagined for wide-release. Then again, it's not like Ryan's career is roaring either. These days, the most she seems to drum up is questions about whether she's had work done to her face, and what happened to her chest.

The movie, in short -- Macy plays a struggling movie producer who cons a studio into letting him head a big-money action flick. The lead is kidnapped and the movie is shut down, but Macy's Charlie Berns (not Charlie Burns) uses the money for a secret picture without the studio's consent. While it might seem like just a goofy comedy about movie-making, it's also been Macy's labor of love. He's spent the last few years raising close to $8 million for the picture, all from non-Hollywood investors -- ones who have been quite understanding, according to Variety. The film will begin production this March in South Africa.

Prior to shooting his directorial debut, Keep Coming Back, William H. Macy (who, I'm convinced, has found a way to duplicate himself, seeing as he shows up in every freaking movie) has signed on to star opposite Lisa Kudrow in a romantic comedy called The Deal. (Yeah, I'm thinking the same exact thing: Macy and Kudrow in a romantic comedy? That doesn't seem right.)

Based on the novel by Peter Lefcourt (and a script co-written by Macy), pic revolves around a suicidal movie producer (Macy) who, while down in the dumps, attempts to throw together a big-budget biopic on the life of Benjamin Disraeli, starring a popular African-American action star. When the lead actor is abducted and the production falls into chaos, this doomed producer teams up with a "beleaguered creative head" to "concoct a radical new scheme to make their own picture on their own terms -- a bootleg production that could win them an Oscar -- or a prison term."

Heck, it sounds like a lot of fun, though I've never been crazy about Lisa Kudrow. (Don't ask me why, but I think it has something to do with her annoying voice.) The Deal starts filming this October in Bucharest, and will be directed by Steven Schacter, who teamed up with Macy on the TV movies Door to Door and The Wool Cap.