John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein Penning Script; Phil Lord & Chris Miller Not Returning To Direct
Hitting theaters in 2009, “Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs” was a surprise hit both with critics and audiences. Hauling in over $240 million worldwide, it was proof that Pixar wasn’t the only animation studio with a stranglehold on the public and it also announced the arrival of directing duo Phil Lord and Chris Miller who have since parlayed the cred they earned on that film, into their first live action gig, taking on the upcoming “21 Jump Street.” A sequel was pretty much inevitable, and now the wheels are formally in motion as 24 Frames reveals that “Horrible Bosses” writers John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein will be penning the screenplay.
It’s an interesting, but worrisome hire. While Daley and Goldstein are riding high on the buzz for their scripts for “Horrible Bosses” and “Burt Wonderstone” which Steve Carell is actively trying to get off the ground, the results we’ve seen so far don’t live up to the inspired concepts these guys come up with. The premise of three guys planning to murder their overbearing bosses is great, but as we said yesterday in our review of the film, it completely disappoints, delivering standard levels of rudeness and raunch you could expect from any sub-Apatow production with none of the creativity or truly envelope pushing directions the story could have and should have gone in. The less said about the car chase third act, the better.
While the first ‘Meatballs’ was based on the celebrated children’s book by Ron and Judi Barrett the sequel will not utilize the authors’ followup “Pickles to Pittsburgh” and instead will allow Daley and Goldstein to come up with their own story. Again, after witnessing “Horrible Bosses” we’re not quite sold yet on these guys yet but if they can take their ideas to their fullest possibilities, they will be a force to be reckoned with.
As for Lord and Miller, they won’t be back and instead — while no one is named just yet — the director’s chair will be given to somebody “who had worked in a lower-profile capacity developing the story for the original.” Any guesses? No release dates yet, but we assume the central voice cast from the first go-round will be back to reprise their roles. One request please: also bring back Mark Mothersbaugh to score the movie. Okay? Thanks.
