‘Bridesmaids’ Actors Could Appear, Director Also Says He’s Circling Another Project That’s Contingent On Actor’s Schedules
Exclusive: There might be some major announcements coming around the corner for director Paul Feig, the brainchild creator of “Freaks & Geeks,” director behind several key episodes of “The Office” and “Arrested Development,” plus the filmmaker who steered the upcoming Kristen Wiig-starring, Judd Apatow-produced raunchy, but sweet female comedy, “Bridesmaids.”
Unfortunately, we don’t have much details and we suspect the moneymakers and studio people are going to play a game of wait-and-see in terms of how well audiences respond to “Bridesmaids.” Frankly, some of us think it could be a game-changer for female-driven comedies that tend to never do that well with mass audiences, but it could also play extremely niche, it’s hard to say. But reviews, including ours, have been through the roof.
So, what’s Feig working on? While he wouldn’t spill many details, Playlist writer Drew Taylor spoke to the director yesterday and he said he had two current projects on the table: one of them being an original screenplay he wrote that Judd Apatow will again produce and the other being what sounds like more of a gun-for-hire project that’s contingent on some acting schedules. The latter project, like many of them, sounds like a delicate house of cards, so Feig was reluctant to reveal too much. Again, “Bridesmaids” could do-or-die at the box-office this weekend and it will likely be the deciding factor in how both of these projects take shape.
“There’s an original [project] that I’m going to do for a couple of the members in our cast,” Feig said of his ‘Bridesmaids’ crew and reteaming with Apatow. “The [new project] I’m working on would be for [Judd And I] to work together on again. I just love working with him, I think we work really well together, our voices mesh in a nice way.”
In a separate “Bridesmaids” interview with the cast a few weeks ago, Feig detailed the nurturing aspect that Apatow brings to his film sets, plus his uncanny ability to zone in on a script or scene and pinpoint any issues that are nagging his filmmakers. “What I like about working with Judd is first of all he’s the ultimate protector,” he said. “He provides a safe environment for us where we can just do our thing and not have to worry about the extraneous…whether it’s the studio or concerns about production, anything, he just protects you from that, but also he has this amazing ability to be able to cut to the core of what is the problem in a scene, in the script, just in a way that I’ve always admired, he just figures it out.”
“God I wish I had that power,” Feig added about Apatow’s producing prowess, “To be able to say ‘Why is this not working?’ and then that allows us to go off and figure it out and play with it. He just has one of the greatest minds for that that I’ve seen.”
The other project Feig wouldn’t talk much about either, but he did discuss it in vague terms. “It’s a pretty big thing that we’re just working out the actors’ schedules but that would be exciting,” he said. “So yeah one I’m literally about to sell, the other I’m just waiting on word from the agents on whether it’s going to time out, but there’s definitely some great opportunities developing that weren’t there for me, which is nice.”
So two options for go-to projects for Feig that sound like they’re just waiting for audiences to give a thumbs up to “Bridesmaids” this weekend to push them forward. So, you know what to do this weekend when you head to your local multiplex. Believe us, “Bridesmaids” is the real deal and it helps power even more smart comedy from the crew of very talented folks in the film, the future comedy landscape is looking very, very promising.
