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The Crazies - Breck Eisner interview

The Crazies

Interview by Rob Carnevale

BRECK Eisner talks about directing The Crazies, a remake of the little-seen George A Romero horror film, as well as working with Timothy Olyphant and making sure there’s a keen mix of social relevance, horror shocks and non-gratuitous violence.

He also discusses why horror continues to be so popular, especially the remake genre, and why there’s a cameo worth keeping an eye on in the film.

Q. What was the appeal of remaking George A Romero’s The Crazies?
Breck Eisner: Well, originally the movie’s producers had secured rights and when they mentioned it to me [as a potential project] I had a faint memory of seeing the movie as a kid. Of course, I then re-watched it and enjoyed it again. It’s a flawed film but it also had a fantastic concept and offered an engaging, exciting story. That one existed under the shadow of Vietnam and this one speaks to our current situation under the shadow of Iraq and Afghanistan and I felt, therefore, that it resonated as much today as it did back then. So, that was the appeal and the challenge.

Q. You’ve got a great cast… especially leading man Timothy Olyphant…
Breck Eisner: Tim was the first guy we wanted. You know how these things work… you sit down with the studio and everyone makes a list of people who they believe could do the role. But Tim was the guy who came at the top of everyone’s list – he was certainly at the top of mine! And then I was just so excited when he said he wanted to do it.

Q. What was it about him that appealed to you in particular?
Breck Eisner: Deadwood! That was such a great show. And he seems like a real human being. He has modesty as well as a great movie star charisma, and he just seems smart and intelligent. He’s an actor you’re drawn to. And I think that has a lot to do with that intelligence… he’s remarkably intelligent.

Q. I gather he worked a lot with you on fleshing out his character?
Breck Eisner: We spent a long time doing that. Ironically, the script he originally read was actually quite good but as you get nearer to the start of shooting and start breaking it down and analyse things, you also start to pull things apart a bit. Tim was great at analysing his portion of the movie, which was his character, and we spent hours and hours getting it right. But Tim was really right on and played a big part in the creative process.

Q. Was there anything in particular he wanted to bring out, that wasn’t there before?
Breck Eisner: He was insistent on tracking the relationship between the husband and wife, which was to the benefit of the movie. One of the easy, or more typical ways of introducing a couple such as ours is to show that everything is great between them. But Tim suggested that everything’s not always perfect. There are complications in any long-term relationship. He wanted to explore a couple who were in love but in a real, complex and conflicted way. And their journey in the movie brings them closer together.

Q. How violent is this one going to be? Romero’s certainly had its moments!
Breck Eisner: It’s certainly more violent than anything I’ve ever made [laughs]! I’d say the movie is definitely violent and intentionally so. It’s horrific… both in terms of what the poisoning does to people and in the military response to it. But it [the violence] is all to serve the purpose of the movie… the horror and the terror of the disease itself and the military, which is there to be feared. To me, the best horror movies work on a level where the horror and the terror all support the story. And so this is more in the style of the ’70s horror, which had themes of social relevance and explored relationships that mattered. It’s not just about survival… it’s more complex than that, with characters that are worth caring about and taking the journey with.

Q. And of course it has a conspiracy and the government as the villains…
Breck Eisner: It wouldn’t be a Romero remake if there wasn’t a level of conspiracy! But that was one of the appeals of doing this re-imaging… Romero’s movies always had a real social relevance and a message behind them; they were still entertainment for sure, but there was something intelligent behind them. I wanted to make sure to keep that message.

Q. Have you shown it to test audiences?
Breck Eisner: Yes, we’ve shown it to test audiences and it got a great response. They even liked the ending I wanted! And it was great to watch it in a theatre and to experience the audience reaction. It’s akin to a comedy… watching it as part of an overall group experience. People were jumping in all the right places, so it was a great.

Q. There’s a cameo from one of the original cast members, too, I believe?
Breck Eisner: Yep, we have Lynn Lowry cameo. We decided to look her up and see if she would be interested and she was – but only a few eagle-eyed people will be able to pick her out. Part of me wanted to have her on set just so that I could ask her questions about what Romero was like. But everyone really enjoyed having her around and enabling him to be a part of this new experience.

Q. Has Romero seen it?
Breck Eisner: Romero has seen it. He saw it a couple of weeks ago in Toronto and I talked to him afterwards. I was very nervous after showing him the movie but he was very happy and had a lot of positive things to say. It’s a hard thing showing a movie to a director that’s a remake of an original. It’s a complex relationship. But he watched it with an open mind and said that while there are differences, they work. He also commented on the bigger budget for effects – and of course, having more money helps for sure. I think he made his for $220,000, which is an unbelievably low budget. We’re not a huge budget, but we certainly had more than that!

Q. Why is horror such an enduring genre? There are so many remakes, apocalyptic films and/or zombie movies?
Breck Eisner: I think that’s a two-part answer. Firstly, why is horror so popular? I think it’s because people when go to the cinema and have a group experience. It’s one of the reasons Avatar has been so successful. It has the feel of an event movie… the type of film you have to see on the big screen and watch as part of a group experience. And horror has that same feel. It’s a great experience for cinemagoers, and people really want that. It’s best to see a movie like this in the cinema because it makes the horror that much more enjoyable… and the release that much more fun afterwards.

And in terms of zombies and vampire movies, I have no idea why they’re so popular! That said, this is not a zombie movie. This is one of Romero’s few non-zombie movies. But I don’t know if people are just obsessed, or if we’re just not being original enough. But they keep on coming!

View photos from The Crazies

From Paris With Love - Review

From Paris With Love

Review by Jack Foley

IndieLondon Rating: 2 out of 5

THERE are two types of bad film: those that are beyond redemption and offer nothing in the way of entertainment, and those that are so bad they’re actually quite enjoyable.

John Travolta’s From Paris With Love falls into the latter category. It’s awful… but kind of a blast at the same time.

Co-created by Luc Besson and Pierre Morel, the team behind Liam Neeson hit Taken, this is a muscular action vehicle that insults the intelligence given that nothing really makes sense… but then that’s kind of the point.

Travolta plays unorthodox US agent Charlie Wax who arrives in Paris to partner by-the-book desk jockey James Reece (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) in attempting to prevent a terrorist attack.

En route, they lay waste to drug dealers, local hoodlums, informants and anyone who gets in their way… and not necessarily for any reason other than they seem to enjoy it.

Admittedly, both actors seem to know how absurd the whole thing is and don’t really take matters seriously: Rhys Meyers playing straight man to Travolta’s OTT Wax.

But as much of a guilty pleasure as seeing just how insane things can get is, there’s no masking the film’s obvious flaws… or the fact that its plot could have been written on the back of a postage stamp!

Travolta attempts to compensate by delivering a greatest hits compendium of some of his better movie moments, channelling the energy of his Face/Off villain with a cheesy nod to a former Tarantino outing.

While Morel attempts to compensate by tossing in one exaggerated gunfight after another, culminating in an outlandish motorway chase between a would-be assassin and Wax’s bazooka wielding agent.

Some of this action is delivered with genuine verve, but most struggles to mask the fact that Travolta is using a stunt double.

The supposed plot twist, meanwhile, is too easily signposted early on and then not exploited enough to really feel worthwhile.

The overall result, while flying by in 90 odd minutes and fully aware of its own shortcomings, is still a bad movie… no matter how you try to dress it up!

Certificate: 15
Running time: 94mins
UK Release Date: February 26, 2010

Win tickets to see Father of My Children and Q&A

Father of My Children

Compiled by Jack Foley

TO CELEBRATE the March 5, 2010 release of acclaimed French film Le Père De Mes Enfants/The Father of My Children we have a pair of tickets available to attend a Q&A screening on March 4.

The preview screening of the gentle drama will be held at the Curzon Renior at 6:15pm. After the screening winners will be invited to stay for an opportunity to put their questions about the film to director Mia Hansen-Love.

Father of My Children (Le père de mes enfants) follows an art house film producer in the days before his suicide.

Hansen-Love based the narrative and characterization on the aristocratic charm and passionate nature of prolific French independent film producer Humbert Blasan, who agreed to finance her first feature All is Forgiven before his untimely death.

Grégoire (de Lencquesaing) is a happily married father of three and an independent film producer who somehow manages to juggle the never-ending demands of his company with his domestic responsibilities.

Glued to his mobile and chain-smoking his way through meetings and crises, he maintains his sense of humour despite the incessant demands of his work.

In addition to massaging artistic egos and keeping one step ahead of his bank, he reluctantly joins the family on an Italian holiday, but on his return, Grégoire finds he can no longer maintain any sane work/life balance.

The film is wonderfully reminiscent of Truffaut’s Day for Night in it’s evocation of the world of European cinema.

For your chance to win just answer the following question…

Q. Who directs French film Father of My Children?

Simply send the answer to Father Children competition and include your name, address, telephone number and email

Everybody's Fine - Review

Everybody's Fine

Review by Jack Foley

IndieLondon Rating: 3.5 out of 5

ROBERT De Niro delivers one of his finest performances in some time in Everybody’s Fine, an engaging and frequently poignant family drama from British director Kirk Jones.

A remake of Guiseppe Tornatore’s little seen 1990 Italian weepie Stanno Tutti Benne, the film is a thought-provoking insight into family and communication that will almost certainly trigger some soul-searching of your own.

De Niro plays recently widowed retiree Frank Goode who takes it upon himself to try to re-connect with his children after realising that all the interaction he had with them came via his late wife.

At first poised to host a weekend get-together, Frank is dismayed when each child takes it in turn to cancel, and so sets off on a cross-country trip to surprise and catch up with each of them.

His journey entails stop offs with his daughters – Kate Beckinsale’s apparently happily married businesswoman and Drew Barrymore’s Vegas dancer – as well as both his sons (including Sam Rockwell’s orchestra percussionist).

But with each stop it becomes increasingly clear that his children aren’t being totally honest with him, while the mystery whereabouts of his fourth son gradually becomes a major cause for concern.

Jones’ film isn’t without flaws but is mostly an engaging character study that’s bolstered by nice performances and some touching moments of interplay that are guaranteed to tug at the heart-strings.

De Niro is both frustratingly naive and hopelessly sympathetic as he slowly comes to realise how he has let his bonds slip, while there are nice scenes between him and Barrymore, Rockwell and Melissa Leo (as a truck driver who offers him a lift).

It’s on that all-important human level that the film works best, although sadly Jones can’t resist tossing in the odd plot contrivance that threatens to insult viewer intelligence and underline the obvious.

The way in which De Niro’s Frank continually visualises his kids as their child-like selves becomes repetitive and unnecessary, while a surreal dinner party gathering in the rain – during which the truth behind each child’s life is exposed – feels like a clumsy way of revealing some of which was obvious anyway.

Fortunately, such blips don’t detract too much from what’s otherwise an enjoyable road movie cum relationship drama, especially since De Niro is on such fine form.

It may even make you want to pick up a phone afterwards and dial home…

Certificate: 12A
Running time: 99mins
UK Release Date: February 19, 2010

Micmacs - Review

Micmacs

Review by Jack Foley

IndieLondon Rating: 5 out of 5

JEAN-Pierre Jeunet’s Micmacs is an absolute gem of a movie: a visual treat that’s intelligent, thought-provoking and often hilariously funny.

Admittedly, it embraces themes that are common to all of Jeunet’s past films. But when you’re having this much fun, it hardly seems to notice.

Essentially a revenge drama with both Looney Tunes and Pixar inspired tomfoolery, the film follows the fortunes of video store clerk Bazil (Danny Boon), after he is hit in the head with a stray bullet while witnessing a gun battle.

Fortunate to survive, Bazil is nevertheless left homeless and jobless, but is taken in by a misfit group of scrapyard dwelling eccentrics who each boast a set of extraordinary skills.

Seeing an opportunity, Bazil begins to plot an extravagant revenge plan against the weapons manufacturers responsible for making the bullet, as well as the landmine that was responsible for killing his father some years earlier.

Jeunet has described Micmacs as a cross between all of his films, from Delicatessen and Amelie, that also marks a conclusion of sorts. And he remains unapologetic for the recurrent theme of an orphan taking on a monster.

In this case, we’re with him all the way. In lesser hands, Micmacs could have become a routine revenge drama that was violent, crude and a victim of its own message.

With Jeunet’s mercurial touch, it’s an ingenious romp that fuses child-like innocence and cartoonish/Buster Keaton elements with adult flights of fantasy.

The film is positively brimming with ideas, often supplied by the oddball characters that inhabit it – whether it’s a kooky female contortionist who can fit anywhere she feels, or a mechanical scuplture creator with unknown strength, or even Boon’s own Chaplin-esque hero, who is an unlikely foil for the corporations he’s going up against.

The various revenge schemes are a blast, too, combining those classic comic elements with touches of Sergio Leone and Quentin Tarantino.

Indeed, not a frame feels wasted… so much so that the film demands at least one repeat viewing to catch up with what you missed the first time (whether it’s sly self-references in the form of a Delicatessen cameo or posters advertising Micmacs itself!), or the various subtleties inherent in every performance or plot twist.

Jeunet, in short, has created another masterpiece to rival previous masters works such as Amelie and A Very Long Engagement. It’s a film not to be missed.

In French, with subtitles

Certificate: 15
Running time: 104mins
UK Release Date: February 26, 2010

Micmacs – Jean-Pierre Jeunet interview

Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Interview by Rob Carnevale

FRENCH director Jean-Pierre Jeunet talks to us about making his latest movie, Micmacs, and why the theme of an orphan taking on a monster is such a recurring theme.

He also talks about his experience of Hollywood [making Alien Resurrection], his attempts to make Life of Pi, and why he likes to use every toy in the filmmaking box.

Q. Why is it to important for you to have a co-writer such as Guillame Laurant?
Jean-Pierre Jeunet: It’s important because it’s like ping-pong. But you have to find the right partner. It’s exactly like in real life and finding your lover. It’s very important. And when you have, don’t give up: keep him or keep act. And Guillame is a perfect partner for me. When I find an idea, immediately we exchange more of them [gestures like ping pong]… and I could not say whether it was my idea or his, or ours. But I need to find the concept first because it’s my film and I’m going to spend two years on it.

Q. And what was the inspiration for Micmacs?
Jean-Pierre Jeunet: The concept for this one was a mix between three different ideas: the feeling to speak about weapons sellers, the feeling to have a band of silly people like the Seven Dwarfs in Snow White or the toys of Toy Story, and to have a feeling of revenge. I’m a big fan of Once Upon A Time In The West, so I wanted to meet the three different themes. I also love the idea of Pixar or Disney movies to have one idea per shot: so we opened the box and threw in thousands of notes and ideas. Once that box was packed with ideas, we started to write. And when we wrote, he writes the dialogue scenes and I write the visual scenes and by email we exchange ideas and I re-write his stuff!

Q. You also like the idea of an orphan fighting against a monster. Why do you like that theme so much?
Jean-Pierre Jeunet: It’s the story of all my films… even Life of Pi, which I didn’t do for lack of money, but it was the same story of an orphan fighting against a monster. In that, it was a tiger, in Micmacs, it’s weapons sellers, another time it’s a butcher in Delicatessen. I don’t know why. Often my wife is reading them and she says: “Oh shit, it’s one more time the same story!” I hope maybe one day I’m going to change.

Q. For Micmacs, I believe you did some research by speaking to weapons factory owners? What did you learn? And why did you have to go to Belgium to do it?
Jean-Pierre Jeunet: I knew an ex-Minister of Defence in Belgium, by coincidence, and they were very open. They opened the door… we couldn’t take pictures but they explained everything. It was pretty weird. We met such interesting people who had a passion for technology. They explained in fascinating detail about the manufacture of these weapons. And they conveniently forget the destination of that technology. When you say: “But it’s to kill people…” They say: “Yes, yes, but you know, we’re on the right side. We work for the Ministry of Defence, not the Ministry of Attack.” So, they protect themselves and they don’t care because they love technology. It’s a question of money also.

Q. When Danny Boon came on board, how much did the character change?
Jean-Pierre Jeunet: Not much, except that [original choice] Jamel Debbouze had a handicap. I changed the beginning of the film because Jamel was supposed to have the accident with the mine, so now he’s the father of Danny Boon. But they [Jamel and Danny] are so different in terms of physicality: Jamel is like a shrimp and Danny is like a bear. But in their minds, they’re very similar. They come from the streets, they have imagination, they are very close.

Q. Danny Boon is also a mime performer. Did you like to use that?
Jean-Pierre Jeunet: He’s a one-man show. He’s a writer, an auteur, an actor and a director. He also made animation. I’m very jealous because he got 21 million admissions for our film.

Q. Did you think about Danny straight away after Jamel pulled out?
Jean-Pierre Jeunet: Yes, because I could imagine him in the role. I discovered Danny 15 or 17 years ago doing his first one-man show. He was playing a depressed guy and was so funny.

Q. I really enjoyed the Delicatessen cameo…
Jean-Pierre Jeunet: Thank you. I wanted to make it Amelie, it would have been funnier. I wanted to see Amelie with kids and a baby crying, Mathieu Kassovitz with a beer bottle in front of the TV. But of course, Audrey [Tautou] said ‘no’ because she was shooting Coco Before Chanel. So, I made it Delicatessen at the last moment.

Q. You also place loads of billboards advertising Micmacs in the background of the movie. What was the idea behind that?
Jean-Pierre Jeunet: It doesn’t make sense, does it? But I thought I don’t care: it’s funny for me, so it can be funny for some other people. There are five posters. If you don’t see them first time, you have to buy it on DVD [laughs]!

Dominique Pinon in Micmacs

Q. You’re working with Dominique Pinon again and have said it’s almost impossible now to make a film without him…
Jean-Pierre Jeunet: I can’t make a film without Dominique. It’s not a question of superstition; it’s just because he surprises me every time. And he has such a beautiful face, for me… like an African statue.

Q. Do you have kind of a competition with each other to see how much you can put him through? This time you fire him into the Seine…
Jean-Pierre Jeunet: Not really. But it became a kind of game between us. Yes, we throw him into the Seine and he had to have an injection for protection against the rat pee. When he was in the water, we had two divers to pull him to the bottom.

Q. How did he react when you told him that was going to happen?
Jean-Pierre Jeunet: [Shrugs shoulders playfully] He loves that! He pretended to be upset. The toughest part was when he was inside the cannon, because he had to stay in there a long time. Sometimes, we fooled him by saying: “OK, we’re going to eat! See you later!”

Q. Have you ever considered being in front of the camera?
Jean-Pierre Jeunet: No, never. I’m too handsome [laughs]!

Q. How do you position Micmacs in your filmography? Your first films are very dark, whereas Amelie is very bright and positive. So, where does Micmacs come?
Jean-Pierre Jeunet: I would say it’s a mix of everything I’ve made; a kind of conclusion. Now, I need to make something different. I had some reproach in France about always doing the same thing. And it’s true… because I was supposed to make Life of Pi. It would have been very different: the sea, the tiger, the kid… But for money reasons it didn’t happen. So, I decided to shoot something and I opened my box and put everything I had in this film. So, if you like my previous films, Micmacs is OK. If you don’t, then don’t go and see this [laughs]!

Q. What kind of audience did you have in mind while you were making it?
Jean-Pierre Jeunet: I don’t want to say kids, but young people, because it’s a slapstick cartoon. Ideally, I would like to have the audience they have for Pixar movies. But I think it could be the same audience!

Q. You had a big Hollywood experience with Alien Resurrection and you tried to do Life of Pi. Will you make another American movie?
Jean-Pierre Jeunet: Why not? For Life of Pi, I wrote the script and I had the freedom. So, the freedom is the most important thing for me. I need the complete freedom. By law you have the final cut in France. Did you know that? For Alien, it was different. It was OK. But I always used to say that every day was the toughest day of my life. One day, I almost missed leaving the gates of the studio in my car because it was tight every day. But I’m proud of the film and I stayed friends with Twentieth Century Fox. They offered me to make Life of Pi. But I prefer the freedom and I’d like to find a compromise because I’d like to shoot with American actors.

When I hear my American agent… last time he told me: “Oh, there’s an American actor, he lives in New York, he’d like to meet you. His name is Al Pacino…” You say: “Oh yes, why not?” It’s the same with Michelle Pfeiffer, or Nicole Kidman… so many actors. I’d love to work with all of them, but with the freedom. I would like maybe to make a French production like Taken, from Luc Besson, with an American actor. I’m thinking about that. I need to find the right subject. I also want to change the way I shoot: very fast. My DP said it was too early, though, but when I saw Slumdog Millionaire I was very pissed off. I would have wanted to use that style of camera-work for Micmacs. And 3D also… Micmacs could be in 3D. Why not? So, I want to change things a little.

Q. Have you given up completely on Life of Pi? Or will you come back to it later on?
Jean-Pierre Jeunet: I know they’re supposed to make the film with Ang Lee but I know they don’t have the solutions. You have the three worst elements: a tiger, a kid and the sea. The tiger loves kids, they are very good swimmers, and there’s a lot of sequences in the sea. It’s completely impossible. We’d have to do everything in visual effects. We researched the cost ourselves and we came out less expensive than the studio – we were 59 million euros instead of $85 million. But when you converted euros into dollars it came out exactly the same! In Hollywood, they want to cut budgets now. So, I don’t know how they’re going to make that film right now, I really don’t.

I think it’s the type of project we’ll speak about in 10 years. One day the technology will be good enough to make a fake tiger and you won’t see the difference. In [The Chronicles of] Narnia they use a fake lion. But it looks fake. You don’t care because it’s a fantasy movie. In Life of Pi, you have believe and it has to look real. We’ll have the technology to do that.

Q. You use CGI now in your films but they also still have a very real feel and a hand-made quality. Is that important to you?
Jean-Pierre Jeunet: Of course! In Micmacs, you don’t see but there are about 50 shots using visual effects. It’s a tool, though, and I love to use every tool. I love to play with everything. For me, a film is like Meccano and I want to use everything in the box: the costumes, the casting, the dialogue, everything… I don’t want to keep something in the bottom of the box.

Vue Cinemas agree to screen Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland

Story by Jack Foley

THE Vue cinema chain has agreed to book Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland despite its shortened theatrical release window.

After weeks of negotiations over plans by Disney to release the film early on DVD, Vue issued a statement late on Tuesday confirming that it supports Disney’s plan for Alice but also a shortened release window on at least two more of their titles this year.

The news comes as a relief for Disney, which is keen to combat piracy by releasing the film on DVD three months after its March 5 global bow, as opposed to the more standard four months.

It arrives less than 24 hours after the Odeon confirmed that it would be boycotting the film – although US trade publication Variety revealed that the UK’s largest cinema chain may yet reconsider its stance.

Vue’s statement said that giving studios more flexibility with their release schedule will ultimately provide more choice for moviegoers.

Vue CEO Tim Richards commented: “This is a win-win for everyone in the entertainment business and in particular for our customers by offering greater film choice. This agreement is also likely to grow the business for all the key stakeholders.”

Read more on this story

Next story: Freida Pinto to star in War of The Gods

Freida Pinto joins War of The Gods

Slumdog Millionaire

Story by Jack Foley

FREIDA Pinto has joined the cast of new Greek mythological epic, War Of The Gods.

The film will follow the Greek legend of Theseus, who must lead his men into battle against the immortal Greek gods to save mankind.

Henry Cavill (of TV’s The Tudors fame) will play Theseus, while Pinto will play Phaedra, an oracle priestess who joins him on his quest.

Tarsem Singh is due to start shooting the film in April, according to Variety.

Next story: Jason Segel joins Cameron Diaz for Bad Teacher

Jason Segel joins Cameron Diaz for Bad Teacher

Jason Segel in I Love You, Man

Story by Jack Foley

JASON Segel is to join the cast of new Cameron Diaz comedy Bad Teacher.

The film, which is being directed by Jake Kasdan, follows a “foul-mouthed, gold-digging seventh-grade teacher” who vows revenge after being dumped by her boyfriend.

To do so, she targets a colleague (played by Lucy Punch) who is dating the school’s model teacher.

John Michael Higgins is also in negotiations to join the comedy, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

If successful, Segel would play the school’s gym teacher, while Higgins is being lined up for the principal.

Jimmy Miller is producing the feature, which starts filming next month in Los Angeles.

Segel, one of the stars of popular TV sitcom How I Met Your Mother, was last seen in bro-mance comedy I Love You, Man alongside Paul Rudd and next appears in Gulliver’s Travels with Jack Black.

Higgins has provided scene-stealing support in comedies such as Couples Retreat, The Ugly Truth, Fred Claus and The Break-Up.

Next story: Jonah Hill joins The Sitter

Jonah Hill joins The Sitter

Superbad

Story by Jack Foley

JONAH Hill is to star in The Sitter, a new comedy in the style of 1987 cult classic Adventures in Babysitting.

The film, which David Gordon Green is in talks to direct, will follow a college student who is suspended for the semester and living at home with his single mum, who endures a torrid night of adventure after being talked into baby-sitting the kids next door – two boys and a girl.

The script for The Sitter has been around for some time, according to the Hollywood Reporter, with Jonathan Levine once attached to direct and stars like Zac Efron and The Hangover‘s Zach Galifianakis linked to star.

Hill recently starred in the ensemble comedy Funny People and will next be seen opposite Russell Brand in Get Him To The Greek. He’s also provided one of the voices for forthcoming animated movie, How To Train Your Dragon.

Green directed The Pineapple Express and has recently wrapped on Your Highness, which stars Danny McBride, James Franco and Natalie Portman.

Next story: Hailee Steinfeld lands coveted True Grit role