When you get famous, you have a lot of influence to get your passion projects made. Although nobody has been crying out for a remake of the 80s TV series, 21 Jump Street (which is best known for giving Johnny Depp his first break), Jonah Hill had an idea for a film version, and so now we’re getting one.
He’s been talking to ComingSoon about the film, telling them that, “[Audiences are] not expecting what it’s going to be. It’s not a parody of the show. I’m not playing Johnny Depp’s character… I’m not saying I’m Johnny Depp. I’m not playing his character. It’s a group of people that go back to high school to deal with a drug problem. To deal with crime in high school. I really love the Back to the Future moment of that where it’s getting to relive a certain period of your life… It’s a comedy with really cool action. We’re not doing something serious like ‘Miami Vice.’ But it’s not a parody. It’s a funny movie with a lot of great action and a real story. I’ve been saying that it’s like a John Hughes movie with ‘Bad Boys’ style action.”
He also added that, “We’re going to shoot it this year I think. We hired directors, Phil Lord and Chris Miller who directed ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs’ and are friends of mine. They are incredible. Their take on the movie is incredible… It’s about cops who go back to high school. Young rookie cops who go back to high school. I think that’s a real interesting idea as opposed to saying, that’s not what happened in the show so it can’t happen in the movie.”
It basically sounds like Hill wants the movie to be all things to all people, and if it’s not really going to be anything like 21 Jump Street, why use the name? He also seems a bit confused about Back To The Future, as no one in that gets to relive a certain period of their life.
Hopefully he’s just trying to big up the film here and getting over-enthusiastic, as he makes is sound like a complete mess. ‘A John Hughes movie with Bad Boys style action’? No, I can’t see that working either.