Paranormal Activity 4 directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman are attached to direct an untitled new project for Paramount Players and Matt Kaplan's ACE Entertainment that is being described as Home Alone meets Catch Me If You Can. That's the kind of irresistible combination that will hopefully inspire you to keep reading this article, and maybe even prompt you to see the movie!

Brendan O'Brien (Neighbors) wrote the script, which is based on the true story of a 12-year-old Australian boy who tricked his family, stole his mom's credit card, and took off on a whirlwind vacation to Bali. The wild tale was covered by The Guardian, The Independent and The Washington Post. 

While the boy's identity was never revealed -- reports merely referred to him as Drew -- Kaplan recently acquired the boy's life story and set up the project at Paramount Players, where he has a first-look deal. Joost and Schulman will produce via their Supermarché banner along with Kaplan, while O'Brien will serve as an executive producer. Max Siemers and Robyn Marshall will oversee the project for ACE Entertainment, while Orlee-Rose Strauss will oversee on behalf of Supermarché.

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Image via DreamWorks

While "Home Alone meets Catch Me If You Can" sounds pretty damn irresistible on paper, this 'Drew' character seems a bit more rebellious than Kevin McAllister, who was a pretty good kid when it came down to it -- he only became violent in self-defense. No, Drew sounds a bit like the kid from Problem Child to me, and the idea of using Mom's credit card to party in Bali sounds like something that Junior might've done had he been the lead in Disney's Blank Check, which was essential viewing for a '90s kid such as myself. So what kind of trouble does a 12-year-old boy get into in Bali? If he doesn't use that credit card to rent a jetpack and fly around like a mini-Iron Man, I will be shocked.

Joost and Schulman started out directing the hit documentary Catfish, which inspired the MTV series of the same name. They made their narrative debut with the Dave Franco-Emma Roberts thriller Nerve, and recently wrapped an untitled Netflix movie starring Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. They also directed Paranormal Activity 3.

O’Brien co-wrote the Neighbors movies, the Will Ferrell-Amy Poehler comedy The House, and Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates with his longtime collaborator Andrew Jay Cohen. He's repped by UTA, while CAA reps Joost and Schulman.

ACE Entertainment is the production company behind the hit Netflix movie To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before and its upcoming sequel, The Perfect Date, which stars Noah Centineo. The company is also producing the upcoming TV reboot of Are You Afraid of the Dark, which is based on the Nickelodeon series from the '90s.

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Image via Lionsgate
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Image via Universal Pictures