Ben Stiller has signed on to direct Help Me Spread Goodness, a film that is essentially ‘Nigerian Prince Email Scam: The Movie’. But the official title is much better.
The movie will revolve around a Chicago banker who falls foul of one of those infamous internet scams involving a beleaguered Nigerian prince who only needs your bank details in order to give you LOTS OF CASH.
Quite frankly, Empire is still amazed by the number of people who fall for this extremely well-publicised con job. We cottoned on to the scheme somewhere around the fourth or fifth time someone tried it on us. OK, maybe it was the sixth.
But it’s still a very famous con, and it was probably only a matter of time before a movie appeared. However, don’t be fooled by Stiller’s commitment to direct – the movie will be a drama, albeit with some comedic overtones, and will spend quite a bit of time highlighting the plight of people in countries such as Nigeria.
That way, the movie will fulfil the remit of Participant Media, the company which is funding the movie, without recourse to deposed princes, and which has vowed only to make movies that touch on relevant and modern issues.
Along with The Trial Of The Chicago 7, to which he's also attached, Help Me Spread Goodness signals a determination on Stiller’s part to move into more serious fare as a director, and perhaps a return to the likes of his early film, Reality Bites.
As a star, he’s still paying the bills with comedy juggernauts like Night At The Museum: Battle Of The Smithsonian and the in-prep** Little Fockers**, but as a director he’s taking chances again, which is good to see.
Mark Friedman wrote the script for Help Me Spread Goodness. A production schedule is dependent upon the status of The Trial Of The Chicago 7.