Dimension taps 'Man' men
Scribes to co-produce 'Nantucket' under 3-pic pact
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In an effort to feed a three-year production deal it forged with director Todd Phillips ("Road Trip"), Dimension Films has made a three-script deal with scribes Jeremy Garelick and Jay Lavender that starts with their comic pitch "The Man From Nantucket." Phillips will produce the trio.
Deal comes after the writers turned in "The Golden Tux," a script they sold as a pitch. Pic, about a groom who hires a professional best man, is the first project bought for Phillips, whom Dimension expects to be its go-to guy for reasonably priced comedies.
"They were great collaborators, and as a writer myself, I found it fun to get in a room with guys who are so open," said Phillips, who follows "Road Trip" with the upcoming DreamWorks comedy "Old School," opening Feb. 21. "Bob Weinstein, Andrew Rona and Brad Weston have been wide open to my desire to bring in material for comedies that can be done at a price. While my main goal there is to direct 'School for Scoundrels,' I plan to supply the studio with a ton of comedies of the caliber that Jay and Jeremy deliver."
The three-pic nonexclusive pact calls for the scribes to get co-producer credit on "Nantucket" and exec produce the second and third films. Each script is a mid-six-figure deal --impressive for a couple of guys who met while they were assistants at CAA. They left, signed with WMA and begin selling scripts.
They are also writing a pilot script for Brad Grey Television, "Harold and Arnie," which is reminiscent of "Dumb and Dumber," only the protagonists are sixth graders.
Phillips is writing "School for Scoundrels," a remake of a 1960 British comedy, with scripting partner Scot Armstrong. He'll likely direct it after helming Warner Bros.' "Starsky & Hutch," in which Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson play the detectives from the 1970s TV series.
