Bad Words, the feature directorial debut from Jason Bateman that opens in theaters on March 14th, is a hilarious dark comedy from the twisted mind of screenwriter Andrew Dodge. The film follows Guy Trilby (Jason Bateman), a 40-year-old who finds a loophole in the rules of The Golden Quill national spelling bee and decides to hijack the competition.
At the film’s press day, talk turned to what Andrew Dodge was working on now, which is a black comedy in which Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones) will be playing a leprechaun. When his manager called to tell him about the project, he fought to get his idea heard and says the film will be “fucking fantastic,” and that the first draft is pretty much done. Check out what he had to say after the jump.
Question: What are you working on now?
ANDREW DODGE: Right now, I’m working on a project with Peter Dinklage. He wants to play a leprechaun.
Did he come to you with that?
DODGE: I got word through the production company that we’re working with. I got a call and said, “Hello,” and my manager didn’t say, “Hey, this is Jeff,” or anything. He just said, “Peter Dinklage wants to play a leprechaun.” And I said, “What do I have to do?! Get me in the room!” I fought so hard to make sure they liked my idea because I just think that Dinklage is amazing. The fact that he wants to play a leprechaun, matched with my voice and writing style is just going to be fucking fantastic.
What’s the tone going to be? Is it going to be horror, or is it going to be a fairy tale, or is it going to be a comedy?
DODGE: It’s a black comedy.
Will it be like Elf?
DODGE: Yeah, possibly. When it was announced in the trades, they described it as Bad Santa, but it’s a little more than Bad Santa. I love Bad Santa, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not exactly Bad Santa. It does have those black elements to it, though. I’m so excited. I’m so fired up. Every time I dig into it, I can’t believe I’m writing it.
Where is the script at, at this point?
DODGE: Right now, we’re working on it with a production company, as well as a studio. The first draft is pretty much done.
