A few weeks ago, there seemed to be endless new films being lined up for Steve Carell to star in, with the reason being that he needs to decide soon which films he’s going to make this year between seasons of The Office. Well, it looks like he’s picked one, as Variety reports that Glen Ficarra and John Requa, the directing team behind the upcoming Jim Carrey/Ewan McGregor movie, I Love You Phillip Morris, are in negotiations to helm a currently untitled flick starring Carell.
Although Carell was mulling over Mail Order Groom and a golfing comedy, it appears Warner is keen to get him to star in a film about a father who has a mid-life marital crisis and tries to handle his relationship with his children. The studio bought the script by Cars screenwriter Dan Fogelman recently for an astronomical $2 million (it was the biggest spec script sale of 2009), and so it’s not surprising they’re keen to get moving on the film as soon as possible.
The main question is when the film will go into production. As we said, Carell only has a few months to make movies each year because of his TV commitments, but Ficarra and Requa are currently attached to make Pharm Girl with Reece Witherspoon. It would seem the Carell comedy would have to come first, as it’ll need to go into production in the next few months to fit Steve’s schedule.