Though news arrived in July that Owen Wilson and Jim Carrey would be combining their comedy forces for an untitled heist film once called Loomis Fargo, scheduling issues mean Carrey is now unable to take part. Wilson will still get recognizable laugh-grabbing assistance, however, because Zach Galifianakis is in final negotiations to take Carrey’s spot in the cast.
Jared Hess is also still aboard to direct the action comedy, which features a script originated by Emily Spivey and more recently re-written by Chris Bowman and Hubbel Palmer. Inspired by true events in 1997, the plot follows a disgruntled armoured car driver (Galifianakis) who teamed up with a pretty co-worker and a group of inexperienced criminals to steal nearly $20 million from a bank vault.
The thieves left a glaring trail of evidence in their wake as they went on excessive spending sprees and bought mansions, sports cars and boats. To make matters worse, the driver’s accomplices double-crossed him and left him on the run in Mexico while they lived the good life off the loot back in the States.
The cameras are set to roll next summer in North Carolina, and the film is still saddled with the name Untitled Armoured Car Project, which will change as soon as they think up something better. Or, indeed, anything.
Galifianakis, who was last seen in the third Hangover film, will crop up in Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s comedy Birdman and has a cameo in Muppets Most Wanted, which is out here on March 28.