Two years on from his screenplay making the none-more-hip blacklist, Ted Melfi's St Vincent De Van Nuys is well on its way into production, building an ever more impressive cast as it goes. Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy and Chris O'Dowd are already aboard, and Naomi Watts is now the latest arrival.
The premise is that hardworking single mother McCarthy has seen fit to foist the care of her young son on cantankerous neighbour Murray. But if you think that sounds like Up without the flying house, consider the extra trouble that Watts will be bringing to that scenario, as a Russian prositute with whom Murray has some sort of ongoing dalliance. He must appreciate her Eastern Promise, ho ho.
O'Dowd's role, meanwhile, is that of a Catholic priest exasperated, but, by the sound of it, eventually won over by Murray. We might surmise will learn some life lessons along the way, but as long as there's plenty of skulduggery on that journey, we won't too much mind a bit of pathos later on. Melfi is directing his own script, and shooting starts in July.