Kenan Thompson Also Joins
It seems that even before it has started lensing, the next effort from the inconsistent Rob Reiner is already trading down. First announced as “The Third Act,” the title is now “Summer At Dog Dave’s,” which sounds like a wacky made-for-Nickelodeon movie that we would never watch. Next, Morgan Freeman and Annette Bening were said to be toplining the film, but the latter (who apparently was never officially signed on) has been replaced by Virginia Madsen — who is a fine actress indeed — but obviously doesn’t bring as much zing to the movie.
Regardless, the production pushes forward as Variety report that “Saturday Night Live” star Kenan Thompson has also come aboard for the film that will either tank like “Flipped” or do some kind of “Bucket List“-sized numbers. It seems there’s no middle ground with Reiner these days. Written by Guy Thomas, Andrew Scheinman and Reiner, the film follows “a wheelchair-bound author of Western novels (Freeman) whose alcoholism is making him lose his passion for writing. Madsen will play his new neighbor, a single mother going through a divorce who has three daughters. The family strikes up a relationship with the novelist and helps him rediscover his talent and find his passion for writing again.” Awwwww….get out your hankies folks. Oh yeah, Thompson will get the coveted “helpful nephew” role in the film.
Production is set to begin in July, so a 2012 release looks to be in the cards. But that title….what up with that?