News Roundup: Segel, Hill Board New Films; Helms out of ‘Daddy’?

Jason Segel

A lot of casting news has hit in the past couple days. Pals Jonah Hill and Jason Segel were set to film The Adventurer’s Handbook this Spring, but now it appears they will take on new separate projects. Meanwhile, the rumored Ed Helms/Will Ferrell project may be on the rocks.

Jason Segel will spend his How I Met Your Mother hiatus filming Bad Teacher, co-starring Cameron Diaz and John Michael Higgins (The Break-Up, Evan Almighty). The script, written by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky of The Office, centers on “a foul-mouthed, gold-digging seventh-grade teacher who, after being dumped by her current boyfriend, sets her sights on a colleague who is dating the school’s model teacher.” Segel will play the school’s gym teacher, Higgins as the principal, Diaz set as the seventh grade teacher and the colleague will be played by Lucy Punch (who co-stars in this summer’s Dinner for Schmucks). The model teacher has not yet been cast. Jake Kasdan (Walk Hard) will direct, with Jimmy Miller (producer of virtually every Will Ferrell film) will produce.

Jonah Hill

Jonah Hill has signed on to headline The Sitter, for director David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express, the upcoming Your Highness.) The film, which shoots this fall, will star Hill as “a college student, suspended for the semester and living at home with his single mom, who has a night to remember when he gets talked into baby-sitting the eccentric kids next door: two boys and a wild 8-year-old girl.”  The project is described as a modern take on Adventures in Babysitting. Both Zac Efron and Zach Galifiianakis had previous been attached. While the role sounds like familiar ground for Jonah Hill, it should be interesting to see what drew the attention of director Green. Prior to Pineapple Express, Green made a career in independent film but now seems locked into the Team Apatow stable (also directing episodes of Eastbound and Down.) The involvement of both Hill and Green should suggest a foul-mouthed raunchy comedy that the film’s premise might not make obvious.

Ed Helms

The Los Angeles Times is suggesting that like Steve Carell, Ed Helms just might be too busy for Will Ferrell. Though two weeks ago, it appeared Paramount was fast-tracking Etan Cohen to direct Daddy’s Home which would star Helms and Ferrell, it now looks like Helms’ year is locked down. The Times reports that Helms will headline Central Intelligence for Universal during his hiatus from The Office. The film, which does not have a director yet, will star Helms as “an accountant who inadvertently gets involved in an espionage plot.” Helms will then jump into The Hangover 2 this Fall during his 2nd Office hiatus.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 at 9:52 am and is filed under Casting, Daddy's Home, Ed Helms, Jason Segel, Jonah Hill, Rumor, The Adventurer's Handbook. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.