Adam McKay Shopping New Project With Amy Adams, Danielle Deadwyler, Robert Pattinson, Robert Downey Jr.
The mastermind behind The Big Short and Don’t Look Up has been cooking. Following his Best Picture nomination for the latter, Adam McKay has spent the past year prepping yet another unique script that has already recruited a long string of A-listers and is looking for a studio home.
Details on the story were first broken by Jeff Sneider on The Hot Mic With Jeff and John, where Sneider threw out into the world that he’d heard that studios had been passing on a new Adam McKay project that had a long list of top-tier talent involved. He couldn’t get any more specifics, but the trades have since filled in the details. According to Matt Belloni, over at Puck News, the working title for the film is Average Height, Average Build, and he describes it as an allegorical dramedy centered around “a serial killer who gets into politics in an effort to change the laws to be more, well, murder-friendly”. Robert Pattinson would be attached to lead an ensemble that would also include Robert Downey Jr.
What is the problem, then? Well, the budget, obviously. Studios are reportedly finding the pitch very appealing from a story perspective, but McKay’s finances tend to go overboard, and this is no exception, especially for a political thriller. Netflix would have probably bid high for the project two years ago, much like they did for Don’t Look Up (the investment went well for them, at least in terms of viewership numbers, as the movie is the second-most watched film on the service), but everyone’s tightening their belts (well, except for Apple, who is preparing to unload $1 billion in theatrical distribution this year). And for good reason. Superhero movies are flopping, and several at a time. High-budget Netflix movies are a no-go from now on (the studio recently revoked their pass on a Nancy Meyers $150-million rom-com with top-tier talent attached), as the streamer has finally realized they are not turning a profit for them, especially in this economy and with the Streaming Wars in full force. Netflix has apparently not bid for it yet, and neither has Apple, where McKay has a first-look deal. Nobody knows what is going on, and the landscape could change completely within six months.
That is the reason why Hollywood studios are not being so quick to jump on what otherwise looks like a very attractive package. The Hollywood Reporter also added more names to the cast of the movie, including Forest Whitaker, Danielle Deadwyler, and Amy Adams, with more to be thrown in there. They are hearing the filmmaker just started making the rounds this week, with several houses already saying no and others taking their time to crunch the numbers.
Production would begin in Boston in late summer, should it find a studio to finance it. Stay tuned for more details.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as authors like Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
