Well, the tears have been shed and are now dry as Steve Carell officially exited “The Office” just a few weeks ago leaving the door open for a new boss to step in (this writer hopes the scene-stealing James Spader will do it but it will never happen — but watch this, it’s amazing). The actor is wasting too much time mourning his stint on the show as he’s already moving full steam ahead on a number of projects. He’s currently shooting “Seeking A Friend At The End Of The World” with Keira Knightley and later this summer he’ll go toe-to-toe with Meryl Streep in “Great Hope Springs.” But one project in particular has been in the works for a while now, with Carell keeping it near the top of his every growing list of options for his next movies.
Written by “Horrible Bosses” writers John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, “Burt Wonderstone” has been knocking around since last year. The story revolves around a fading traditional magician who accidentally kills his partner and is upstaged by a younger illusionist, forcing him to regain his love for magic and is considered to be a great vehicle for two major comedy stars. Jim Carrey was briefly linked last summer before Carell took the role of the older magician last fall and the hunt for a director has been on ever since. “The Office” and “Parks & Recreation” director Charles McDougall came on board early this year only to exit a couple of months later. But now another TV veteran is on board.
Deadline reports that Don Scardino, who has thirty-five episodes of “30 Rock” under his belt, has landed the gig. We’re not sure TV directors seem to be the favorite for the project instead of more established comedic film directors, but we suppose it might be an effort to keep the cost down. Regardless, it’s clear Scardino knows his way around comedy though his feature film CV is a bit more spotty. He’s directed a couple films we haven’t really heard of including the 1999 Andy Dick movie “Advice from a Caterpillar” and some 1993 dramedy “Me And Veronica” (trailer below). But clearly, his game has been stepped up considerably in the intervening years.
No word on when this will lens, but likely not until late 2011 at the earliest. The next step now that a director is on board, is to find a co-star for Carell to play the young, upstart magician. Suggestions?