Only Quentin Tarantino likes to chat up potential future projects more than Kevin Smith, but since announcing a few days ago that he’d cast Seann William Scott in the lead role of his Warren Zevon inspired hockey film “Hit Somebody” we figured it was a pretty sure thing. Or is it?
Earlier today a fan tweeted Smith, “Does having Sean [sic] William Scott in Hit Somebody improve its chances?” to which Smith replied, “Of being excellent? Yes. For financing? We’ll see.” Interesting response. Smith previously said he has about a month’s worth of work left on the script, but we figured with Scott attached his planned shoot for later this year in Michigan would stay firm. But it sounds like he’s still shopping it around town.
Our guess? Studios are probably waiting to see a script first which is usually par for the course. While Scott is certainly recognizable, he’s usually part of larger ensemble casts and has pretty much never led a film by himself (though, to his credit, he did do a solid job in the little seen dramedy “Trainwreck: My Life As An Idoit” which didn’t get North American distribution). And certainly, Scott is untested as a lead with material that promises to be a far cry from the variations of Stiffler he’s perfected over the years (though audiences seem to love it as Universal wants to him and rest of the original “American Pie” crew back for another film).
Surely this won’t be the last word we hear on “Hit Somebody” yet, but once “Cop Out” unspools on Friday you can be sure Smith will be turning his attention back to that project. Hell, just as were finishing this story we noticed Smith is still answering questions about the film, saying on Twitter that it will be “a Valentine to the Game as well as Canada.” He’s certainly ready to make the film, let’s just hope he can get all the pieces in place.