Without a doubt this has been the year of the R-rated comedy. From Bridesmaids
to Horrible Bosses
, all of them have found some measure of box office success, with each film having an extremely long shelf life. In the wake of this boom, we've seen a number of new adult themed comedies fast tracked by a number of studios, and now we can add one more, which may be the biggest of them all.Universal has picked up a comedy pitch from writers Andrew Cohen and Brendan O'Brien for a film set to feature Seth Rogen and Zac Efron. Deadline describes it as being in the vein of Old School
, and would have Rogen as a family man living near an "alpha male frat house". Efron would play a member of this fraternity, whose rowdy behavior wreaks havoc on Rogen's life. Rogen has sorta played the straight man before in Funny People
, but this is a clear change of pace for Efron. The deal struck is said to have been a massive one. Seven figures for the writers, and a whopping $8M for Rogen, and that doesn't include what he'll get for producing the film alongside his frequent partner Evan Goldberg.
There's no director named as of yet, but keep in mind the players involved. O'Brien and Cohen are proteges of Judd Apatow, while Seth Rogen is part of that same circle. I'm not saying Apatow will do it, but would anyone be surprised if it's David Gordon Green(Pineapple Express
) or even Greg Mottola(Superbad
)?
