The in-development comedy “Trump Heist,” (though if the name can’t clear legal with The Don, “Tower Heist” is the back up name) that has had names like Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock and Chris Tucker attached for the lead roles has been given a facelift of sorts with Ben Stiller now in talks for the lead role. If he joins, he would be taking of the role previously slotted for Murphy.
While the LATimes is playing up the race angle of the story, we frankly don’t see the point. The film, “about a group of con-men who devise a plan to swindle the residents of New York’s upscale Trump Tower, where they also work” isn’t particularly race specific, though the lead role will probably be rewritten to suit Stiller’s comedy style.
The film hasn’t had a smooth development, going through various screenwriters like Russell Gewirtz (“Inside Man”), Rawson Marshall Thurber (“Dodgeball”), and Ted Griffin (“Ocean’s Eleven”). Brett Ratner is still in talks to direct but we hope that changes.
While LATimes mentions that Universal, who are putting the picture together, certainly has a vested interest in Stiller with “Little Fockers” and “Greenberg” (Focus Features is a division of Universal) being released this year, we can pretty much guess that Stiller probably came in much cheaper than either Murphy or Tucker who still demand huge salaries. As for Rock, despite his popularity, his record as a leading man has been spotty at best and given that the film sounds like a high concept (ie. expensive) undertaking, Universal probably don’t want to take too many chances.
“Greenberg” opens on March 26th and in April Stiller will begin production on “Help Me Spread Goodness” which he will be directing.