What seemed like a lark of an idea penned drunkenly at 3 AM on a bar napkin became real this spring, when it was announced that Sony was indeed going to make a “21 Jump Street“/”Men In Black” crossover movie, with James Bobin (“The Muppets,” “Alice Through The Looking Glass“) in talks to direct. The plan was for the movie to shoot this summer, but clearly, that didn’t happen and it looks like the high concept picture may already be off the table.
Chatting with The Toronto Sun, Hill reveals that the deal-making process is complex, and the concept itself seems like a high wire act that will be difficult to pull off.
“It’s too complicated,” the actor explained. “They’re trying to make all the deals, but it’s kind of impossible with all the ‘Men in Black’ stuff. The ‘Jump Street’ films were so fun to make and the whole joke of them was they were making fun of remakes and sequels and reboots and then now it’s become a giant sequel, reboot. It’s almost become what we were making fun of and it’s hard to maintain that joke when it’s so high stakes.”
That’s a bit of a bummer, but maybe Hill is right in that the project was probably too good to be true. But he has plenty to keep him busy on top of two movies opening this month, “Sausage Party” and “War Dogs.” In early 2017, Hill will get started on his directorial debut, “Mid ’90s,” a coming-of-age story following a group of California teenagers, and talking with Collider, he reveals a bit more about the plot and inspirations.
“…it’s the most boring elevator pitch in the world, but it takes place in a skateboarding scene in the mid-90s in L.A…. Skateboarding’s always been put on screen as a joke or an ’80s cowabunga kind of trope, and it’s more in the tone of ‘Kids‘ or ‘This Is England.’ Those are kind of the movies that I’m influenced by the most,” he said.
Those are definitely some unexpected touchstones, which suggests that Hill’s film is aiming for a particularly kind of gritty immediacy found in the pictures of Harmony Korine and Shane Meadows. And with producer Scott Rudin in the mix, Hill’s debut is one to keep on your radar.
