In the annals of cinematic history, perhaps no adaptation has had more failed attempts than John Kennedy's Toole's Pulitzer Prize winning classic, A Confederacy of Dunces. The novel is simply a piece of comic Heaven, which was published in 1980 a decade after the author had committed suicide, so he never lived to see how beloved his work would become. His picaresque novel follows the obese, cynical slob Ignatius J. Reilly, who lives with his mother in 1960s New Orleans, and meets a wacky crew of eccentric characters during his quest to find a job. Thirty years ago, Harold Ramis(Stripes) was the first to take a stab at adapting the book, and every attempt has been cursed since. Without getting our hopes up in the least, there may be some light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe.
Vulture reports that James Bobin(The Muppets) is in talks to direct the film for Paramount Pictures. A fitting choice, if you ask me, however that's just a small part of the puzzle. Zach Galifianakis is being lined up to take on the iconic role of Reilly, which is even more perfect. If you had asked me two years ago I would have said Jonah Hill, but now Galifianakis is a logical choice. Phil Johnston(Cedar Rapids) looks to be the guy set to pen the script.
The most recent failed attempt to get this film off the ground was in 2005 and led by Steven Soderbergh, who co-wrote a script with Scott Kramer for David Gordon Green(Pineapple Express) to direct. Will Ferrell would have taken the Reilly role, and the production reached far enough that staged readings were being held with a number of stars. Then a beef developed between Soderbergh and uber-producer Scott Rudin(who is still on board), and the whole thing went "Kablooey".
A Confederacy of Dunces always ranks high in lists of Hollywood's most wished for films, so maybe we're about to see all those hopes fulfilled? I'll believe it when I see it.
