The rise of Justin Theroux continues with the news that the **Iron Man **2 screenwriter has signed on to direct Universal and Imagine’s comedy, Chief Ron.
Vaguely based on the true-life story of Chief Ron Roberts, a blond-haired, blue-eyed American who claimed Native American ancestry in a successful attempt to open a casino in upstate New York (gaming laws in the US are relaxed for several Native American tribes), Chief Ron will focus on a conman who claims Mohegan ancestry in an attempt to do the same.
First things first: let’s point out that the real Chief Ron isn’t a conman, and won his battle in court. Secondly: this has decent potential. It’ll be interesting to see what Theroux can do with it.
Until last year, Theroux was a jobbing actor whose most memorable turns had come in Mulholland Dr., and **Charlie’s Angels **(complete with horrific Irish accent), and who was best-known for being Louis Theroux’s cousin (and the nephew of the writer, Paul Theroux).
But then Theroux co-wrote the screenplay for Tropic Thunder, along with Ben Stiller and Etan Cohen, and that set the ball in motion for the **Iron Man 2 **gig. And, it seems, that has begat Chief Ron, which is written by Jordan Roberts.
We wish Theroux well with it, but a word of caution: he might want to do something about the title – it’s too reminiscent of the godawful Captain Ron, which remains the only movie rental Empire’s ever walked out on. Yes, that bad...