It's been a quiet few years for Jim Carrey. Since the release of Robert Zemeckis' "A Christmas Carol" back in 2009 in which Carrey underwent the mo-cap treatment, we've only seen him in the disappointing "Mr. Popper's Penguins." So, more accurately, it's actually been a long time since we saw Carrey in a legitimately good film. If you ignore the brilliant "I Love You Phillip Morris" (which me might as well considering the amount of people who saw it) Carrey hasn't shown up in a decent film in quite a few years. But might all that be about to change?
It certainly looks like we'll be a seeing a little bit more of Carrey in the coming years. He's currently reuniting with his "Bruce Almighty" co-star Steve Carell on the set of "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone," while sequels look to be in the pipeline for both "Dumb and Dumber" and the aforementioned 2003 box-office smash in which God played Morgan Freeman (Universal recently hired a writer to get a script in place). One project that looks like it will be definitely moving forward though is "Pierre Pierre".
The film has been in the works for a long time, with the script by Edwin Cannistraci and Frederick Seton, making the Black List in 2007. Jason Reitman was first attached to direct, before Larry Charles ("Borat," "Bruno") signed on in 2010. Little has been heard since, but the film boasts an outrageous concept, follows a nihilistic, constantly-smoking, foul-mouthed Frenchman who is hired to transport the Mona Lisa after a theft from Paris to London, a gig he takes on so he can finally move out of his parents house. So just how extreme is this R-rated script? In a draft we ready, it stars with Pierre introducing himself to the audience saying: "My whore mother and idiot father fucked some years ago and nine months later I was ripped from oblivion's womb into this shit life…I want so very fucking much to be nothing again."
Sounds good to us, and with the filming closing a plethora of international deals, distributors don't seem to be fearing the edgy material (though, no U.S. rights have been snagged yet). Initially budgeted at $20 million, the film has recieved a 50% increase due to an apparently starry supporting cast lining up for the movie. We'll know more soon as "Pierre Pierre" is gearing up to shoot this summer. [Screen Daily]