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Jay Roach ('Austin Powers In Goldmember') will direct, and the script is being written by Jim Herzfeld, who co-wrote the Roach-directed 'Meet the Parents'. Herzfeld will be paid seven figures to script, and Roach is likely to produce as well.
The original starred Peter Sellers as an accident-prone Indian actor who is mistakenly invited to an A-list Hollywood party. He becomes a true party crasher, as his clumsiness leads to the destruction of everything in sight.
Owned by MGM, the picture becomes another Sellers films on the studio's redo list, along with 'The Pink Panther'.
'Sex and the City creator Darren Star will produce with Priscilla Presley , and DreamWorks production chiefs Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald. DreamWorks will take the lead in developing the picture. Once it has been greenlit, MGM has the option to take foreign rights. DreamWorks will get domestic distribution in the co-production deal.
'The Party' attracted the creatives involved because two different teams each tried separately to collar remake rights. Star said he'd approached MGM president Chris McGurk only to learn the studio had entrusted the rights to Presley, who aside from being a member of the MGM board, also starred in 'The Naked Gun' series and knows her way around a comedy.
At the same time, Roach had discussed the notion with Parkes as they continue developing the 'Meet the Parents' sequel 'Meet the Fockers', along with another Ben Stiller comedy, 'Used Guys'. Since Star and Presley both had put Roach and Herzfeld at the top of their 'Party' list, a co-production deal was made.
While some directors make swarms of attachments, Roach is known to be selective and usually makes what he develops. Roach has emerged as a pre-eminent comedy director, last helming the New Line hit 'Austin Powers in Goldmember'.
Why the fuss over a comedy that got mixed reviews?
'It was always a favourite of mine, and seemed ripe for a remake and an update', said Star, who expects the remake to be redrafted away from the original concept of an Indian actor, reframed on a guy who fits the mold of an outsider. 'It is that character who, in the course of destroying a party, liberates those attending it. That was a great '60s theme that plays now'.
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