It's been three years since Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut, the hyper confusing(but worth the mental effort) Synecdoche, New York
. Before that, Kaufman has been the driving force behind some of best movies of the last decade, and that's simply not an understatement: Being John Malkovich
, Adaptation
, and my beloved Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
. He's got another screenwriting gig lined up with his Adaptation partner Spike Jonze directing. That film is reportedly a satire with Joaquin Phoenix attached to it. But what about Kaufman's next writing/directorial effort? Haven't heard much about it in months, until now that is, as Variety reports three of Hollywood's best funnymen have come aboard.Steve Carell, Jack Black, and Nic Cage are all attached to Frank or Francis, Kaufman's long in the works musical satire about a bigshot Hollywood filmmaker(Frank) who gets into a heated clash with an online blogger(Francis). Two more female roles are being sought as well, with singing required for both. Zooey Deschanel? Please?
For Cage, this might be chance for him to shed his recent reputation as an actor who'll take any job regardless of how crappy the film is. He received his last Oscar nomination for Adaptation back in 2002. Carell will be seen next in Crazy, Stupid, Love opposite Ryan Gosling. You'll want to be seeing that, trust me. As for Black, he most recently voiced Po in Kung Fu Panda 2
. Shooting on this begins early next year, and I'll be very interested in seeing how this develops, especially in regards to the music. Will Kaufman write it himself? Who will he get to play the female leads?
