Jon Lucas

ROLE MODELS Scribe Timothy Dowling to Rewrite New DreamWorks Office Comedy

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: January 11th, 2012 at 4:34 pm

DreamWorks may not have a title for its upcoming office comedy, but they now have a writer. The studio tapped Timothy Dowling (Role Models) to draft up a fresh script for the project, doing a full rewrite on a submission originally turned in by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore of The Hangover fame. The original premise of the comedy carries a bit of The Hangover-meets-The Office as it centered on a company Christmas party going awry. There is no word yet as to whether or not the new interpretation will take place during the holidays. Also, though there is no official cast in place, several top comedic actors have apparently expressed interest in the project, which will be helmed by Blades of Glory directors, Will Speck and Josh Gordon. Hit the jump for more on Dowling.

THE CHANGE-UP Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: August 4th, 2011 at 2:47 pm

The body-switching comedy is a silly concept which is why it’s been resigned to family films.  Two people who don’t understand each other’s lives switch bodies through magical means and are given new appreciation for what the other does.  The Change-Up turns that concept on its head by re-setting it into a raunchy, gross-out R-rated film and making the characters look inward at to what they’re missing in their own lives rather than appreciating the person whose form they’ve taken.  The result is a film that’s painfully funny, quickly forgettable, and a little bit mean.

Co-Writer JON LUCAS On Set Interview THE CHANGE-UP

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: June 2nd, 2011 at 8:53 am

With the smashing success of The Hangover, screenwriters Jon Lucas and Scott Moore have become a couple of Hollywood’s go-to guys for R-rated comedy.  The Change-Up will be their first R-rated follow-up to The Hangover, and expectations are high, but it looks like the duo have delivered yet again.  This time they’ve spun the family-friendly concept of a body-switching comedy into a R-rated comedy and they could very well have another hit on their hands.

On our visit to the set, we spoke with Lucas (unfortunately, Moore was unable to be there that day) about his R-rated take on traditionally PG material, the process of developing the script, what the cast brings to the table, and more.  Hit the jump to check out the interview.  The Change-Up opens August 5th.

Collider Goes to the Set of THE CHANGE-UP

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 31st, 2011 at 10:00 am

Several years ago, Georgia passed legislation promoting generous tax incentives to studios and producers, and as a result the filmmaking industry in the state has been booming.  Films shot here include Zombieland, The Crazies, Fast Five, Hall Pass, and the upcoming R-rated comedy The Change-Up.  This past January, I traveled to Powder Springs, GA with some fellow movie bloggers to visit the set of the film.  While director David Dobkin made a slight detour in 2007 with the family film Fred Claus, what I saw on the set convinced me that The Change-Up is going to be the worthy successor to Dobkin’s smash 2005 comedy Wedding Crashers.  The movie is an R-rated take on the classic body-switching premise that was best used in Freaky Friday. The interplay between stars Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds looked terrific, we saw some great jokes that had us struggling to suppress laughter so we could be quiet on the set, and as someone who has spent most of his life in Atlanta, I was pleased to learn that my hometown will actually be in the film as Atlanta.

Hit the jump for to read about my visit to the set of the film (and don’t worry—I’m not going to spoil any of the jokes).  The Change-Up opens August 5th.

Miles Teller in Talks for R-Rated Comedy 21 AND OVER

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: May 12th, 2011 at 5:05 pm

Up and coming actor Miles Teller is in negotiations to star in Relativity’s upcoming R-rated comedy 21 and Over. The film, which is described as The Hangover and Animal House-esque in style, will mark the directorial debut of Hangover scribes Scott Moore and Jon Lucas (though exactly how much of their initial script for The Hangover ended up in the actual film is a matter of debate). THR reports that the story centers on two guys who get their friend trashed for his 21^st birthday, and then must find his house in time for his med school interview the next morning during a night that “involves being hunted by a mean sorority and a juiced up male cheerleader.”

Teller is in talks to play one of the two friends, the wilder one of the bunch who instigates pretty much all the terrible things that end up happening. The actor recently starred in Rabbit Hole, and wrapped work on the Footloose remake as well as the Todd Phillips-produced top secret comedy Project X.

HANGOVER Writers Jon Lucas and Scott Moore to Pen 21 AND OVER and Untitled Christmas Comedy

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: August 17th, 2010 at 9:17 am

Being credited with writing the highest-grossing R-rated comedy of all-time will seriously help your career.  The Hangover screenwriters Jon Lucas and Scott Moore have added two more projects to their slate.  First up, 24 Frames reports that the pair will write an untitled Christmas comedy for Blades of Glory filmmakers Will Speck and Josh Gordon.  The Christmas comedy isn’t a new genre for Lucas and Moore as they previously penned Four Christmases.

Lucas and Moore will also write the college comedy 21 and Over, which, per Variety, is about “two college seniors who get their best friend drunk on his 21st birthday and then must race to get him to his medical school exam the next morning.”  The duo also wrote the script for the upcoming body-switching comedy The Change-Up starring Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman (who stars in Speck and Gordon’s The Switch, which opens on Friday) and the indie heist comedy Flypaper starring Patrick Dempsey and Ashley Judd.

Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman Throw a Body-Switching Comedy CHANGE-UP

by Max Steven Miller    Posted: March 11th, 2010 at 4:19 pm

Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman have signed on to star in the Universal comedy, The Change-Up.  According to Variety, the story “centers on a responsible family man (Bateman) who switches bodies with his best friend, a lazy man-child (Reynolds).

This was a popular theme when Dudley Moore and Kirk Cameron exchanged bodies in Like Father, Like Son way back in 1987.  And then again, when Judge Reinhold and Fred Savage did the same a year later in Vice Versa.  Women helped to lead the body-switching way with the 1976 comedy Freaky Friday starring Barbara Harris and Jodie Foster.  This concept about complete opposites switching bodies is nothing new to Hollywood. However, I think this particular film will be worth your time and money.  Hit the jump to find out why.

HANGOVER Writers Stick-Up Patrick Dempsey for Their Next Comedy

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: November 4th, 2009 at 10:21 am

“Hey!  The Hangover writers are writing a new movie!  And with ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ heart-throb, Patrick Dempsey?   It’s even got a wacky premise where Dempsey caught between two robberies that take place at the same bank at the same time who secretly plots to win the heart of a feisty bank teller! She’s feisty?  I’m going to stand in line for tickets TODAY!”

Slow down.  While Dempsey’s recent movies seem like an attempt to position him as American-Hugh Grant, my major concern is with “Hangover” “screenwriters” Jon Lucas and Scott Moore.  There’s been some controversy as to whether or not they were actually responsible for the film that ended up making over $450 million worldwide.  While the two did write the foundation of the story, director Todd Phillips and un-credited screenwriter Jeremy Garelick (“The Break-Up”), made substantial changes adding, according to Deadline, “the baby, the tiger, Mike Tyson, the gangster, the cop car, and more.”  But hey, maybe Lucas and Moore are funny on their own.  And they have American-Hugh Grant!  When the film starts shooting in April of next year, it’ll be like printing money. [ScreenDaily]

Audio Interviews from THE HANGOVER Junket

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: June 1st, 2009 at 8:38 pm

Opening this Friday is director Todd Phillip’s new comedy “The Hangover”. As I’ve said many times, the film is laugh out loud funny and absolutely worth a full price ticket this weekend. So to help promote the film, I was recently in Las Vegas for the press junket. In the coming days I’ll be posting some transcripts and exclusive interviews, but until then, I’m offering some of the roundtable interviews as audio files.

With the new design of Collider, I’m going to experiment with the way I offer content. While we’ll always have transcripts of selected interviews, I’m going to try and post the audio files of my interviews on the day they happen. At least that’s the dream.

Anyway, if you’re looking forward to “The Hangover”, or just want to hear some of the cast talk, just click on the links. And if you missed the movie clips from “The Hangover”, click here. They’re great.

Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis

Heather Graham

Justin Bartha

Director Todd Phillips

Screenwriters Jon Lucas and Scott Moore

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