Deadline is exclusively reporting news out of Toronto that the once-and-future Captain America Chris Evans and the supremely under-utilized Michelle Monaghan will co-star in "A Many Splintered Thing," for McG's Wonderland Sound & Vision and Voltage Pictures. Described in the report as "in the vein of 'Amelie' and '(500) Days of Summer'" (Manic Pixie Dream Girls, activate!), a self-described "anti-romantic comedy." The film will mark Evans' first outing as an executive producer.
The report describes the plot of "A Many Splintered Thing" as " the film tells the story of a young man disillusioned by love who meets a breathtaking young woman at a charity dinner by pretending to be a philanthropist. Turns out that she’s engaged to a guy who doesn’t like her going on dates. Challenged by the chase, and egged on by his eclectic friends, he feigns a platonic relationship in order to keep seeing her as he tries to conquer her heart."
While this does sound a little wacky for wackiness' sake (because, really, what engaged dude would be enthusiastic about the idea of his soon-to-be-wife going on dates with other people?), what we do find somewhat heartening is the fact that the film will be based on a Black List-approved script from last year (it was also a 2011 Nicholl Fellowship Finalist) by Chris Shafer and Paul Vicknair. It will be directed by Justin Reardon (his feature debut), and produced by Nicolas Chartier and Craig Flores from Voltage, and McG and Mary Viola from Wonderland Sound & Vision.
Evans, co-star of one of the biggest movies of all time, "The Avengers," reprises his role as Captain America when he starts shooting "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" for "Community" directors Joe and Anthony Russo in January. He's also starring in one of our most anticipated films of 2013, Bong Joon-Ho's "Snow Piercer." Monaghan, who is a terrific actress who doesn't seem to get work as often as she should, was seen briefly in "Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol" last year, and by very few people in "Machine Gun Preacher," and has a number of projects lined up for the next year or so, including "Better Living Through Chemistry" and "The Coup." Filming gets underway on October 26th, so we'll likely see this on the fall festival circuit this time next year.
