Comedy Filmmaker To Direct Ben Mezrich’s NASA-Based Non-Fiction Heist Novel
Without question, one of the comedy filmmakers flying under the radar this past year is Will Gluck, director of last year’s effortlessly charming “Easy A,” starring breakout actress Emma Stone, who nabbed the female lead in “Spider-Man” role not long after that picture did super-strong box-office business.
Gluck’s finishing up his follow-up “Friends with Benefits” with Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis for a summer release date of July 22, and the LA Times reports that his next project will likely be a film adaptation of Ben Mezrich‘s book “Sex On The Moon” for, once again, Sony Pictures and its “The Social Network” team. Scott Rudin, Michael DeLuca, Dana Brunetti and executive producer Kevin Spacey all have a hand in producing the project. Mezrich is also the author of “The Accidental Billionaires,” the book Aaron Sorkin used to create the Facebook world in David Fincher‘s 2010 film.
Gluck has cemented his relationship with Sony, after “Easy A” made a stellar $74 million profit off of its $8 million budget. Sony is also releasing “Friends with Benefits,” another film about friends becoming lovers; hopefully, this one will be better than “No Strings Attached.” This newest project, “Sex On The Moon,” a non-fiction story, centers on the wild escapades of 25-year-old NASA intern Thad Roberts. Roberts plotted to steal lunar rocks in order to impress a girl and then make money by selling them on the Internet. Not yet released to the public, the book will hit shelves on July 12. Sony’s confidence in the project is apparent, as they bought the rights in January, a full six months before most of us plebs will even see it.
What do you think about Gluck’s departure from comedy? Does he have the chops for a big project like “Sex on the Moon?” Is Sony putting too much faith in an as-yet-to-be released book, or is it a brilliant risk? It’s a fascinating experiment, and certainly one to keep an eye on. Surely some interesting talent will be circling this picture shortly.
