Zac Efron signs on for new A24 film, James Marsden and Vince Vaughn team up for a buddy comedy, and Channing Tatum stars in a true convict story
Famous (A24)
After the critical and financial success of the wrestling bio-drama The Iron Claw, Zac Efron is once again teaming with A24 for his next project. Titled Famous, the film will star Efron in dual roles as overzealous fan Lance Dunkquist and Hollywood heartthrob James Jansen. Lance, 38-year-old burnout who looks identical to movie star James, concocts a plan to chase down the career of his lookalike. The film is based on the acclaimed novel by New York Times-bestselling author Blake Crouch and is adapted for the screen by Chad Hodge, who also adapted Crouch’s Wayward Pines trilogy into a series. Jody Hill (Eastbound and Down, Vice Principals) will direct, with shooting to begin on December 17 in Atlanta.
Mike and Nick and Nick and Alice (20th Century Studios)
James Marsden (Jury Duty, the Sonic film series) and Vince Vaughn (Bad Monkey) will star in a new buddy comedy from writer/director BenDavid Grabinski (Are You Afraid of the Dark?). While plot details are vague, the film is described as a buddy action comedy set in the criminal underworld. Filming will commence in mid-November in Winnipeg, Canada.
The Roofman (51 Entertainment)
Derek Cianfrance, the director of behind bracing dramas such as Blue Valentine and The Place Beyond the Pines, will soon oversee a new film with star Channing Tatum (The Lost City, Dog). The plot will follow the true-life story of Jeffrey Manchester, a former convict with special forces training who was imprisoned for robbing a McDonalds’s. After his escape, he hides in a Toys “R” Us and becomes involved with customers and the local community while experiences love and warmth for the first time. Production is set to begin in Pineville, North Carolina (outside of Charlotte). Cianfrance’s longtime collaborators Jamie Patricof (Hunting Lane) and Lynette Howell Taylor (51 Entertainment) will produce.
