Max Landis has had several screenplay pitches that went unnoticed and probably shouldn’t have. Last year, Landis was banking on his action stoner comedy American Ultra starring Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart to be successful, but we know how that turned out. Now Landis has a new project up his sleeve and it has to do with a pushy, chauvinistic, archaic stereotypical character from the golden age of cartoons.
According to Deadline, the prolific screenwriter (and WWE fan) has been asked by Warner Bros. to pen a screenplay about the famous Looney Tunes skunk, Pepe Le Pew. Landis confirmed the rumor on Twitter and also put out a YouTube video to talk briefly about the project. Little details were given, but Landis did mention that the character who “doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer” has been controversial. Landis states, “If you think I’m going to write some cartoon version of Irreversible you’re out of your goddamned mind!” Landis is talking about the 2002 French film that was described by Roger Ebert as “so violent and cruel that most people would find it unwatchable.” In the clip Landis also performs a spot on impression of Pepe in what we’re assuming is a scene that he wrote for the soon-to-be-film.
Pepe isn’t the only classic yet controversial Looney Tunes character possibly appearing on the big screen in the future. Back in April we announced that Warner Bros. has a Speedy Gonzales film in the works.
(Via Deadline)
