We’re one step closer to seeing that massive comedy collaboration with Richard Gere, Anton Yelchin, Gerard Butler, Naomi Watts, Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, Anna Faris, Johnny Knoxville, Julianne Moore, Liev Schreiber, Elizabeth Banks, Kristen Bell, Kate Bosworth, Josh Duhamel, Justin Long, Seann William Scott, Emma Stone, Jack McBrayer, Chloe Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Uma Thurman. As reported by Deadline, the untitled comedy now belongs to Richard Branson’s latest business endeavor, the new production company Virgin Produced.
The film will consist of 19 segments, 14 of which have been shot. Each piece comes from a different director like Steve Brill, Steve Carr, James Gunn, Peter and Bobby Farrelly, Brett Ratner, Banks and Griffin Dunne. Virgin has a deal with Relativity Media to distribute their films, but Relativity is also co-financing this one.
Could this get any better? Apparently it can. Deadline is also saying that the stellar roster is continuing to grow. The portion the Farrelly brothers directed with Jackman and Winslet is already in the can, so it’s being peddled around to pull in even more talent. That segment is being described as “especially outrageous and R-rated.”
Lastly, a Variety article discussing the launch of Branson’s packaging and production company is calling this film Movie 43. Did the untitled comedy finally get a name? It’s possible, but this is the first I’ve heard of it. Actually, it’s not, but the only other article I found using that title includes details that don’t quite correlate with the facts we have. In a Slash Film piece about Relativity’s new streaming deal with Netflix, one of the film’s on the list to hit Netflix and not a premium television channel is “Movie 43, written and directed by Peter Farely.” Spelling error aside, if they’re talking about the same film here, where are the names of the other directors? The press release also states that the film is set to hit theaters this year. With five more segments to film? I doubt it.
By Perri Nemiroff
