By Borys Kit
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Adam Sandler and Kevin
James are in negotiations to play firefighters who pretend to
be a gay couple in an upcoming film comedy “I Now Pronounce You
Chuck and Larry,”
“Wedding Crashers” director David Dobkin is attached to
take the helm of the long-gestating project at Universal
Pictures.
The firefighters in “Chuck and Larry” pose as a married gay
couple in order to receive domestic partner benefits. Alexander
Payne and James Taylor, the Oscar-winning team behind
“Sideways” and “About Schmidt,” have written the current draft
of the screenplay based on a treatment by Lew Gallo.
The coming together of Sandler and James finally puts the
project, which has been at the studio since the late 1990s, on
the runway.
A parade of writers has hammered out drafts over the years,
and various combinations of actors, such as Will Smith and
Nicolas Cage, Smith and James Gandolfini and Vince Vaughn and
Owen Wilson have flirted with the movie.
Sandler is set to start production on the Mike
Binder-directed drama “Reign O’er Me” in the spring and will
next be seen star in the comedy “Click,” which is due to open
June 30.
James is best known for starring in CBS’s long-running
comedy “The King of Queens.” His most recent big-screen
appearance was with Will Smith in 2005’s “Hitch,” where he was
cited for scene stealing. He also is doing voice work in
“Monster House” and “Barnyard.”
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
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