scot armstrong Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Inheritances. They could mean a good chunk of change, or a musty furniture set that would be better-served as firewood. They're also a good way for slackers to live a modest life of ease. It's kind of like Ben Stone (Seth Rogen) in Knocked Up. His cash wasn't an inheritance, but it allowed him to not even think of working for a long time. Now The Hollywood Reporter has posted that Fox Atomic has picked up a new pitch for mid-six figures that kind of merges inheritances, Knocked Up and a much crappier father than the one played by Harold Ramis.

The pitch, Spending My Inheritance, is the brainchild of Nick Kurzon, who recently found success with another pitch -- On the Clock, which is about a guy looking for the right mother for his future baby. The new movie will focus on a 20-something slacker who has been living beyond his means, thinking he's got a sweet inheritance coming to him. Well, when he has to move home, he discovers that his previously-frugal pops has been spending the inheritance and making the most out of his life and his son's money. Scot Armstrong (who wrote flicks like Old School) and Ravi Nandan are producing.

Nandan says: "Nick is a writer we've wanted to work with for a long time. When he pitched us this idea, it seemed very timely and the perfect way to pair up a veteran comedy actor with an up-and-coming comedian." I imagine he is referring to picking the old man and his kid -- are they thinking something like Rogen, or someone from Apatow's pack, with someone like Ramis or Eugene Levy? Personally, I'm really hoping for Michael Cera with Martin Short. Yeah, Cera's a bit young, but I'd love to see them as father and son. Who would your dream father-son duo be for this project?

Yes, we're back again with what's becoming a monthly Old School 2 (or Old School Dos) update. Last time we checked in with the highly-anticipated sequel, Will Ferrell was on the fence about whether or not he would return. In some interviews, he was optimistic and wanted to read the script, while at the same time (during other interviews) he denied any and all involvement in the pic. Since the entire film hinges upon Vince Vaughn, Will Ferrell and Luke Wilson participating, writer-director Todd Phillips (and co-writer Scot Armstrong) would have to turn in one helluva script in order to get those three back onboard. Could it be done? Would it be done.

Speaking with Rotten Tomatoes, producer Ivan Reitman felt that script may have just arrived in his lap. He says, "I have in my briefcase a new draft of the screenplay, I got last night. I haven't read it yet. I'm going to read it on the plane. So yeah, we very much want to do it. We hope we can corral the entire cast because it was written by the same writers, will be directed by Todd Phillips as before." Since he uses the words "new draft," I'm thinking Phillips and Armstrong might be having a hard time producing a quality sequel; one that would immediately attract the attention of those very expensive actors. Another potential reason why the sequel is taking so long to come together might be the fact that Phillips' last film, School for Scoundrels, bombed at the box office. If Dreamworks is going to open their deep wallets for Vaughn, Ferrell and Wilson, I imagine they want to make real sure their director is going to produce a quality flick. Then again, the first film wasn't all that special (that's right, I said it!), so who knows ...

In an attempt to add yet another sport to his repertoire, Will Ferrell has officially signed on to star in Semi-Pro for New Line. You'll remember how we told you about this wayyy back in August when it was just a rumor at the time, but according to the Hollywood Reporter, things are now set in concrete -- Ferrell will strap on some sweet sneaks and play basketball.

Pic will mark Ferrell's fourth sports-related comedy, following Kicking and Screaming, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby and the upcoming ice-skating flick Blades of Glory. While we originally thought this might be Ferrell and Adam McKay's third film in the duo's everyman trilogy (Anchorman, Talladega Nights), it doesn't appear that way as Scot Armstrong (who previously worked with Ferrell on Old School) has penned the script and, in a move that you don't see every day, New Line exec Kent Alterman will take on directorial duties. Pic will co-star Woody Harrelson (who was awesome in the basketball-related White Men Can't Jump) and revolve around the world of the American Basketball Association (ABA), a league that no longer exists in real life. Ferrell will play the owner-coach-player of a team who is desperate to make the big leagues.

Will Ferrell playing basketball? What do you think about that?

These are good times for comedian Demetri Martin. In just a few years, the Yale graduate and NYU law school dropout has won a comedy award at Edinburgh's Fringe Festival, scored a high-profile gig writing for Conan O'Brien, worked as a Daily Show correspondent and also starred in his own Comedy Central special. Oh, and he's sold two comedy pitches to major Hollywood studios -- I'd say that's a pretty good three-year run.

The first pitch, which sold to Dreamworks earlier this year, was entitled Will and will be executive-produced by Scot Armstrong, one of Old School's writers. Pitch number two, called Moon People, was just bought by Columbia and sounds potentially very cool, assuming it's been placed in the correct hands. The movie will detail the struggles of "a group of people who return to assimilate on Earth years after they were sent to colonize the moon." Nice, huh? Martin himself will write the screenplay and then hand it over to Ali G Show writer-director James Bobin to direct.