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'Treehouse Gang' is Grown-Up Version of 'The Goonies'
Filed under: Action », Comedy », Deals », Warner Brothers », Scripts », Newsstand »
When a spec script is described as "a grown-up version of The Goonies" you'll either perk up immediately ... or groan because you really hated The Goonies. (You know who you are.)Kent Alterman is hoping you're one of those who would still go hunting for buried treasure, because according to The Hollywood Reporter, he's just signed on to direct Treehouse Gang for Warner Bros. The grown-up adventure story was written by Role Models' Timothy Dowling, and centers on a group of six childhood friends who, in the spirit of their gold seeking youth, come back together for a treasure hunt. Naturally, they'll dig up a good dose of childhood nostalgia and old grudges along the road to recovering any buried treasure.
Alterman made his directorial debut with Semi-Pro, making a rare jump from a job as an executive producer overseeing big hits at New Line to becoming a full time director. The shift in focus was apparently partially the responsibility of Will Ferrell and a little film Alterman produced called Elf. The two struck up a friendship which resulted in Semi-Pro ... and I wouldn't be terribly surprised if Ferrell showed up somewhere in Gang.
We'll have to see where this goes, but a grown-up version of The Goonies sounds pretty damn appealing to me. Let's just hope that it doesn't stir up plans for an actual grown-up Goonies sequel, as my childhood memories can't take any more abuse.
"McLovin" Joins David Wain's 'Little Big Men'
Filed under: Comedy », Casting », Universal »
He will always be "McLovin", but at least newcomer Christopher Mintz-Plasse has found another role to follow-up his hilarious debut in Superbad. The actor told Moviehole in an interview hat he has been cast in Little Big Men alongside comedy vets Paul Rudd and Sean William Scott. This is apparently the movie formerly known as Big Brothers, which was written by Timothy Dowling (George Lucas in Love) and which was to be directed by Luke Greenfield (The Girl Next Door). According to Mintz-Plasse, though, Little Big Men will now be helmed by Wet Hot American Summer and The Ten director David Wain. The movie's plot involves two wild and crazy guys who end up sentenced to community service in the form of the Big Brothers mentoring program. Why a judge would think a couple of party boys would be suitable mentors to kids is beyond me (the program does have very strict guidelines against drug users, and I'm sure these guys are probably potheads), but it should at least make for some funny situations.It isn't clear what kind of role Mintz-Plasse will have (the mentored kid, perhaps?), but I see him having difficulty shedding his persona as Fogel/McLovin, which was so perfect I almost found the guy funnier than Michael Cera. The actor may end up like Napoleon Dynamite's Jon Heder, who similarly came on the scene with a quirky, imitable character and has had trouble finding another movie that audiences accept him in (he succeeded marginally by co-starring with Will Ferrell in Blades of Glory). Interestingly enough, Heder even played a Big Brother in School for Scoundrels -- at least, his character was in the program until being let go for being too much of a loser. If Mintz-Plasse can join the ranks of Wain's usual crop of collaborators -- which spans the State/Stella/Reno 911! crowd and the Apatow/Stiller "Frat Pack" group -- then he should be able to make a decent career for himself.
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