Even as he finishes up work on his latest blend of comedy and drama, the Diablo Cody-scripted Young Adult, director Jason Reitman is already setting things in motion for his next project. And he's scored a hefty brace of talent, with Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin both on board for Labor Day.
From the sounds of it, this one will be a little darker and heavier than the likes of Juno or even Up in the Air. Reitman has adapted Joyce Maynard’s 2009 novel about a divorced, depressed single mother (Winslet) who, while out shopping with 13-year-old son Henry, encounters a big, dangerous bloke (Brolin) who is also bleeding from a nasty wound. Against their better judgement, they agree to help him. Which, as the police start closing in and they learn more about their new houseguest across the titular US holiday weekend, is not necessarly the best idea in the world.
Entertainment Weekly is describing the script as part love story, part coming-of-age tale and part thriller, which shows that Reitman’s once again pushing himself to change. He’s aiming to have the cameras rolling in New England in 2012.
Young Adult, meanwhile, with Charlize Theron and Patrick Wilson, should be in cinemas later this year or early next.
And if that wasn’t enough work for one man, Reitman has also just signed on to play script doctor for Burt Wonderstone, the comedy about rival Las Vegas magicians that has Steve Carell attached to star.
30 Rock’s Don Scardino is directing, and the script, which was originally scribbled by Chad Kultgen, has been through the hands of Horrible Bosses writers John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein as the movie travelled slowly towards screens. There’s no word on how much work Reitman will do, but he’s been hired for a few weeks’ writing, which suggest he’s not just polishing a few scenes.