Phillips
In two separate deals, Dimension Films and producer Todd Phillips have made a preemptive acquisition of a comic pitch by "The Ringer" scribe Ricky Blitt and set E. Max Frye to adapt "Goodbye to Romance."
Dimension paid mid-six-figures for Blitt's comedy about a youth's infatuation with an older woman. Pic will be produced by Phillips, Alan Riche and John Jacobs.
Blitt is best known for writing "The Ringer," the Fox comedy about a guy who attempts to fix the Special Olympics by entering the competition. Barry Blaustein is directing, with Johnny Knoxville playing the title character and Jacobs producing with Conundrum partners Peter and Bobby Farrelly and Bradley Thomas. The ICM-repped Blitt also wrote and starred in "Blitt Happens," a Fox Broadcasting comedy pilot directed by Peter Farrelly.
Phillips tapped "Something Wild" scribe Frye for "Goodbye to Romance," a pic that originated from an Arena magazine article by "Troy" scribe David Benioff about Russian mail-order brides. The Endeavor-repped Frye wrote for the HBO series "Band of Brothers," as well as three episodes of the proposed HBO/Playtone series "Lloyd: What Happened?"
Since anchoring his company at Dimension, Phillips has set a slew of comedies and dramas at the studio to produce, some of which he'll direct. Phillips will helm "The Six Million Dollar Man," starring Jim Carrey, as well as a remake of "School for Scoundrels."
The WMA-repped Phillips recently completed directing "Starsky & Hutch" for Warner Bros. and Dimension, with Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson in the starring roles.
Phillips' production veep Scott Budnick is overseeing both new projects along with Dimension co-prexys Andrew Rona and Brad Weston and senior veep Dan Levine.
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