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| Thursday
October 23rd, 2003 |
| JIM
CARREY GETS $20 MIL FOR 'SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN' |
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Jim Carrey is normally one of Hollywood's $20 million men. So the rubbery-faced funny guy probably won't be taking a paycut as he gets ready to go bionic in a send-up of 'The Six Million Dollar Man'.
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The flick has long been in development as a by-the-numbers
suspense thriller. But unlike the classic 1970s ABC
sci-fi series starring Lee Majors, the movie will be
now be transformed into a comedy vehicle with 'Old School'
director Todd Philips onboard to direct.
Thus allowing Carrey to parody the action genre much
in the way Mike Myers poked fun at James Bond movies
in Austin Powers.
Carrey hatched the idea of doing a comic take on the
character and, along with managers Jim Miller and Eric
Gold, recruited Phillips, whose CV also includes 'Road
Trip'.
Phillips immediately sparked to the concept and agreed
to pen the script with his 'Old School' writing partner
Scot Armstrong, as well as direct.
Dimension, which owned the rights to the Martin Caidin
novel 'Cyborg' on which the original show was based,
readily agreed to revamp the project, a no-brainer considering
Carrey's last comedy, 'Bruce Almighty', grossed a heavenly
$470 million at the international box office.
"The teaming of Jim and Todd is the perfect creative
combination to launch the franchise," says Dimension
chief Bob Weinstein. "Todd is a director with proven
instincts and Jim is a superstar".
Universal, which produced the original 'Six Million
Dollar Man' for ABC from 1974 to 1978 (and its spinoff,
The Bionic Woman), still owns the rights to the TV series
and is co-producing.
Carrey, of course, would play Air Force Colonel Steve
Austin, who after a horrible plane crash, is rebuilt
with experimental bionic limbs that give him superhuman
strength and speed. Becoming an agent for the Office
of Scientific Investigation, he uses his new powers
to fight injustice and battle everything from mad scientists
to Big Foot.
No word whether Majors or Lindsay Wagner, who starred
as 'The Bionic Woman', will pop up in the picture. (USA
Network plans to launch an update of latter show, which
ran from 1976 to 1978).
Phillips plans to get to work on the screenplay as soon
he and Armstrong finish writing Dimension's remake of
'School for Scoundrels', which he will also helm. Phillips
recently completed shooting on 'Starsky & Hutch', another
movie based on a popular 1970s TV staple.
Like 'The Six Million Dollar Man'. That flick starred
Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, and it also put a funny
spin on what was a straight drama.
Before he goes bionic, Carrey needs to finish a few
other projects in the pipeline, including a remake of
the 1977 comedy, 'Fun with Dick and Jane', which will
reunite him with his 'Mask' costar Cameron Diaz.
He's also slated to begin production on Lemony Snicket
this winter for a December 2004 release and is talking
with Steven Spielberg about collaborating on a remake
of 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty'.
The Six Million Dollar Man is expected to start shooting
in fall 2004. |
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| "Yes...
thank you God - a bionic groinal area" |
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