Jack Black Developing a Comedic Bourne Identity
Posted by Neil Miller (neil@filmschoolrejects.com) on October 1, 2008
After delivering solid performances in three very good films in 2008, Jack Black is now looking toward the future, and it appears that he is bringing his Kung Fu Panda writers with him. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Black and Panda writers Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger will reunite for an untitled live-action spy comedy at Universal Pictures.
The film is being described as a comedic take on The Bourne Identity. It follows Black as an American who finds himself washed up on the shores of Cuba with no idea of who he is or how he got there. He comes to the conclusion that he must be some sort of superspy, though he is far from one. And as Glenn Berger explains, “if he did turn out to be a superspy, this wouldn’t be a ‘comedic Bourne Identity,’ but just ‘The Bourne Identity,’ and apparently Universal has already made that movie, several times.”
“For our next live-action project, we knew we wanted to work with either a panda or Jack. Luckily, Endeavor repped Jack,” Aibel said. “We also figured that if we could write for Jack as a panda, we could write for him as a human.”
The two scribes are currently working on Dreamworks’ next animated adventure, Monsters vs. Aliens, while Black is currently in production with director Harold Ramis and Judd Apatow on Year One.
My thoughts: this could be funny. 2008 was a great year for Jack Black, with a very solid performance in the heavily underestimated Be Kind Rewind, a funny supporting role in Tropic Thunder, and of course a big win with Kung Fu Panda — it all proves that Black is making much better decisions with his roles. As long as he stays away from anything resembling Nacho Libre, I think he’s in good shape to maintain his position among the comedic acting elite.
What do you think about Black making a comedic Bourne Identity?
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