todd garner Tagged Articles at Cinematical

If you're one of those people burned out from the steaming pile of nonsense Hollywood has churned out over the past few years, then boy do I have a treat for you. You want action? You want adventure? You want non-stop combat, complete with some of the most creative death-defying moves ever witnessed before on the big screen? Well, then you'll most certainly want to see The Bass Master -- a new comedy, picked up by Lionsgate, which delves deep inside the high-octane world of competitive bass fishing. I'll pause for a moment while you catch your breath ...

Ready? Okay. Tab Murphy (Tarzan, My Best Friend Is a Vampire) and Devin Maurer wrote the script, and Todd Garner will produce through his Broken Road Prods. Now, The Bass Master is not to be confused with the video game or that other Bass fishing flick (wait, there's actually two of them?) that Martha told us about last August. No, that film is based on the autobiography of one Mike Iaconelli (I believe he has tattoos which cause him to yell a lot) and called Fishing on the Edge: The Mike Iaconelli Story. Because what good is fishing if you're not fishing on the edge?

Here's my question to you: Is bass fishing so insane that we need two feature films about the sport?

It's no surprise that relationship comedies are huge box office money-makers for Hollywood, assuming the right talent is attached. Now, folks at Lionsgate are looking to capitalize on the success of films like The Break-Up and Hitch by picking up The Escape Artist, a script written by newbies (and brothers) Jim and Brian Kehoe. It's an idea I've personally heard floating around for quite some time now, but it seems the Kehoe boys have produced the best product -- one that will hopefully attract a decent director and cast.

Here's how I assume the pitch was presented: Imagine yourself involved in a relationship that you desperately want to escape. For whatever reason, the thing isn't working and you need to find a way out ... fast. Only problem is, you're too much of a wimp to simply break-up with your significant other, and so you search for some much-needed help. Enter: The opposite of Hitch -- a consultant you hire to help with the break-up. Someone who gets paid to dissolve relationships. Of course, if this goes the Hitch route, expect our friendly consultant to have relationship problems of his (or her) own.

Todd Garner helped develop the project and will produce through his Broken Road Prods. Currently, there's no cast -- but, as always, that won't stop us from throwing out names. Assuming this escape artist is a guy, I like Robert Downey Jr. in the role. Hey, he was already a Pick-Up Artist, why not turn it around, add 20 years and make him a break-up artist? C'mon, you know you were thinking the same exact thing.