The Hollywood Reporter broke the news last night that former SNL castmember and charming everyman Jason Sudeikis is in talks to star in Fletch Won, an attempt to revive the comedy franchise (sort of?) popularized by former SNL castmember and charming everyman (publicly, anyway) Chevy Chase. The story is already generating huge buzz among people who mis-typed their Google search for “feltch.”
The Fletch movies are based on the Gregory McDonald mystery novels featuring an investigative reporter named I. M. Fletcher. The first book was written in 1974, before spawning 11 more. Chase made an indelible impact when he portrayed the character in the 1985 classic feature, which was followed by a sequel.
The project has long been in development as a remake or re-imagining. Warners picked up the rights in February 2011 and even then had a tough time cracking the code. After several writers didn’t work out, David List, who reps the McDonald estate and is producing the project with Anonymous Content’s Steve Golin and Michael Sugar, stepped in to take crack at it. The draft passed muster with the studio and the producers, attracting Sudeikis, who is now in talks.
A popular comedic actor taking on a role popularized by another comedic actor? That oughta work out well, oughtn’ it? I mean it worked for… (*starts making mental list*) Steve Martin in Pink Panther… Russell Brand in Arthur… Steve Carell in Get Smart… Will Sasso in Three Stooges… OH GOD HE’S DOOMED, SOMEONE STOP HIM!
Oh well, at least they didn’t use some horrible buzz word to describe it, like “gritty,” or “origin story,” or say that it was actually just a re-adaptation of the original source material…
Fletch Won is an origin story, described as a gritty action comedy with heart and more tonally in line with McDonald’s novels than the Chase movies.
Son of a bitch. The bad idea slot machine just pulled triple sevens. I can’t wait to see the version of Fletch that’s more like Knight and Day or This Means War than those Chevy Chase snoozers. PLUS an origin story?! Finally, some much-needed background on the Fletch persona. I hope he doesn’t learn to be glib and charming until the third act. And the whole first two is just him struggling with daddy issues and drawing equations on windows.
