First announced last summer, and expected to be Melissa McCarthy's first post-"Bridesmaids" starring project, not much had been heard about "Identity Theft" since. But it looks like the plans to shoot this during McCarthy's hiatus from the dreadful CBS sitcom "Mike & Molly" are coming together, as a director has been roped in.
"Horrible Bosses" director Seth Gordon will re-team with his bud Jason Bateman (who is also producing the film) and take the reins of the upcoming comedy. Penned by Steve Conrad ("The Pursuit Of Happyness," "The Weather Man") with Craig Mazin ("The Hangover Part II") doing a rewrite, the premise originally centered on two men, one who steals the identity of the other. But once Bateman saw McCarthy's comedic chops in "Bridesmaids," he championed her for the role of the identity thief, and it was a smart move.
McCarthy may need to add Oscar nominee to her CV next week, if the heat she's been building through the awards season is any indication. She's already got a handful of movies in the works including "Tammy," which just landed Beth McCarthy-Miller in the director's chair. As for Bateman, he too is extraordinarily busy, with two movies in post-production right now — the drama "Disconnect" and the dramedy "The Longest Week" — not to mention that new season of "Arrested Development," which is supposed to shoot sometime this year. But he's putting his baby in front of cameras first, which makes sense.
The hire of Seth Gordon likely speaks to what kind of comedy we can expect (meaning, R-rated) and at the very least, this will keep him off the terrible idea of a "WarGames" remake and leave the feature film version of "The King Of Kong" on the backburner for now.
But these ingredients are very promising, so we'll be eager to see who else gets rounded up. [Deadline]