Despite teething troubles, Fox still seems very keen on the sci-fi project, Neighborhood Watch. It was initially set up as a Will Ferrell movie with David Dobkin directing, but they both left, before Ruben Fleischer and then Peter Segal started sniffing around to direct. The original script was then overhauled by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, and now it seems they’re at the stage where they’re look at the re-casting, while another director is now mooted.
According to the LA Times, Ben Stiller is now the favourite to headline the film, while Lonely Island member and Hot Rod director Akiva Schaffer is currently in negotiations to helm this long-gestating project.
The writing talents of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg are what drew both Ben Stiller and Akiva Schaffer to the project. However its unclear if Seth Rogen will appear in the movie, and its being speculated that Ben Stiller may simply be too busy to take on the project, which is eyeing a 2012 release.
The plot centres on a group of suburban fathers who use the Neighborhood Watch as a front to get some male-bonding time in away from their family. The plot thickens when they accidentally discover a nefarious extra-terrestrial plot to destroy the world.