Hard to believe, but it has been six years since the last film by Charlie Kaufman, the mind-boggling Synechdoche, New York. For awhile he had been developing the ambitious and star-studded musical comedy, Frank or Francis, but it hasn't come together and possibly never will. But Kaufman has found something new to take on, and it's not only perfectly suited to him but it gives him a chance to work with Steve Carell, who would have been a part of the Frank or Francis cast.
Carell and Kaufman will team for the Dr. Strangelove-style satire, I.Q. 83, with the latter doing a total rewrite of the long-developing project. In the works for more than two decades, having bumped around a couple of studios, the film is based on the Arthur Herzog novel about a scientist and his team who accidentally unleash an airborne virus on the world. This isn't a lethal disease but it does rapidly deteriorate the IQ of those afflicted, and the scientists must race to find a cure before their own intelligence drops to the point of no return.
No word on if Kaufman plans to direct but at this point anything from him is good news. [Deadline]
