Jason Reitman has officially signed on to team up with Jim Carrey on a comedy titled Pierre Pierre (yay!) for Fox Atomic (barf). You first heard about this project on /Film in early December 2007, before Juno became a monster hit at the box office.
Pierre Pierre was ranked the 11th hottest screenplay in Hollywood in the Black Lis, an annual poll of 150 development executives and high-level assistants. Here is what I wrote about the project in December:
“Fox Searchlight paid close to a million dollars upfront for the screenplay by Edwin Cannistraci & Frederick Seton. Described as simular to Bruno/Borat, the story follows a “self-indulgent, lazy, French nihilist who is transporting a stolen Mona Lisa from Paris to London.” Through the journey, “he comes to love his home country again.” Jason Reitman (Juno, Thank You For Smoking) was in talks to direct, with Jim Carrey in talks to star.”
Well the project is now set up at Fox Atomic (boo!) with a budget pegged at $13 million, and is being prepped as a potential vehicle after the possible actors strike. So this will not be Jason Reitman’s next film, and I’m sure we’ll get an announcement on that soon enough. Reitman is also producing Jennifer’s Body, starring Megan Fox, directed by Karen Kusama, from a script by Oscar winning screenwriter Diablo Cody, also set up at Fox Atomic.
Jason, I loved Thank You For Smoking, and was one of the biggest cheerleaders of Juno in the webspace, but please please, get as far away from Fox Atomic as fast as you can. Go back to Searchlight.
Discuss: Jim Carrey as a self-indulgent French nihilist transporting a stolen painting? Does that even sound like a Jason Reitman movie?
March 5th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
I get a feeling this will be The Pet Detective meets Borat… Whilst both have their very own merits, it’s like mixing beer (great) and orange juice (or some other great thing that is kinda similar but not the same)
Sometimes it’ll come out amazing, other times… yeah.
Doesn’t sound like a Reitman film though. Maybe Seth Rogen if he ever decided to peel away from T&A and doobies to try another field of comedy.
March 5th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
Umm whoever wrote this article is a jerk.
Fox atomic is now a part of 20th century fox so i am pretty sure they can turn this into a good hit.
If i am not mistaken 20th century fox delayed 27 dresses just so that fox searchlight their sister company can expand Juno and get #1 position which it did.
They will support this flick in a similar fashion only if the response is similar to juno or better.
March 5th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
This sounds like a post-Juno Reitman film, I imagine it being like “Little Miss Sunshine” except instead of getting to a contest its transporting the Mona Lisa, and through it all he comes to realize that he loves the many people meets and finds that life is not that nihilism has taught him it was.
March 6th, 2008 at 12:24 am
It doesn’t sound like a Reitman movie, but it sounds awesome. Carrey is always good when paired with talented people. Also, any word on that film Carrey’s doing with Ewen McGregor that sounded really good?
March 6th, 2008 at 1:56 am
HAHAHA “Yay” “Barf”
That is hilarious. And so true.
March 6th, 2008 at 2:12 am
Atomic, Searchlight, 2000, 20th Century…it’s all Fox, isn’t it? As for Atomic, 28 Weeks Later was very good, I haven’t seen their other releases.
March 6th, 2008 at 9:13 am
what IS a reitman movie?
March 6th, 2008 at 9:35 am
a Reitman movie is a movie directed by a Reitman..
Actually, from I gather, cyncial, kinda dark humored, alittle taboo too.
March 6th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
Jason Reitman has directed two feature films. I’m not even sure HE knows what a “Jason Reitman film” is.