We’ve all heard of coming-of-age comedies, but a “knowing-your-age” comedy is a new one on us. That’s how the Hollywood Reporter describes Stay Cool, the latest project from the Polish brothers (Northfork). Hilary Duff has joined the cast that already includes Winona Ryder and Chevy Chase (!) in the story of “a successful author (Mark Polish) who is forced to confront an unrequited high school crush (Ryder) when he returns home to deliver a commencement address to graduating seniors. Duff will portray Shasta O'Neil, a sexy high school senior who flirts with the visiting author and invites him to the prom.” Great, now Hollywood is stealing ideas from my dreams.
Let’s head on over to Salvation Boulevard, an adaptation of an upcoming mystery novel by Larry Beinhart (author of American Hero, which became Wag the Dog). Per Variety, the story “revolves around a private detective who investigates the killing of a professor. The exercise proves to be a clash of faiths: The detective is a born-again Christian, the dead man an atheist, the accused killer an Islamic foreign student and the D.A. is Jewish.” Sounds like the setup to a George Carlin routine, but the most intriguing element of the project is the director, George Ratliff. Ratliff is probably best known for his fire-and-brimstone documentary Hell House, but the real gem in his filmography is the now ultra-rare Plutonium Circus, about the Pantex nuclear weapons plant in Amarillo, TX. Track down a copy if you can.
Finally, isn’t it about time for a comedy about the dawn of the Internet porn era? Oxymoron Entertainment agrees, so their first feature will be Middle Men, co-written and directed by George Gallo (Midnight Run). The script concerns “a straight-and-narrow businessman brought into a world that would eventually turn into a multibillion-dollar industry,” according to Variety.
Related:
Home Is Where The Porn Is