Justin Bieber and Ashton Kutcher may share more than headlines soon. Should negotiations pan out, the former will play the younger version of the latter in “What Would Kenny Do?”, a Sony buddy comedy with Kutcher’s Katalyst Entertainment and Overbrook Entertainment backing.
According to the L.A. Times, the scripted film was developed with Bieber specifically in mind, and it would be his first major scripted role for the silver screen. (The singer has already bowed on the small screen, in “CSI.”) The plot follows “a relationship between a 17-year-old and his thirtysomething self.”
“(500) Days of Summer” writers Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber apparently reworked Chris Baldi’s original script, to feature Kutcher’s character jumping back in time to help the teenaged version of himself through an awkward time in high school.
Awkward? Justin Bieber? Hmm.
And since it’s an Overbrook flick, Will Smith’s kin naturally has to be somehow involved: offspring Jaden, who collaborated with Bieber in the song “Never Say Never” for “The Karate Kid” remake, will play a friend of Bieber’s in the movie.
The companies are seeking a director to attach to the project, as well as a new writer to rework it again. They’ll have some time, too, considering Bieber’s extensive recording and touring schedule for the remainder of 2011. The “My World” star, 17, has wrapped promoting his “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never” concert film, which drops on DVD in May. He has only a handful of dates on slate for April, but more schedule announcements are pending.