Joss Whedon gets a ton of deserved credit for creating strong, independent female characters, but looking at Paul Feig's record you realize that he actually deserves very similar credit. Freaks and Geeks, which launched his career as a filmmaker back in 1999, was an amazing ensemble show, but it was undeniably anchored by Linda Cardellini's angst-ridden Lindsay Weir, and his career since has included some great woman-driven material, from directing Bridesmaids to his work on the Showtime series Nurse Jackie. Next week Feig will be back at it again with his latest directorial effort, The Heat -which pairs Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy as polar opposite law enforcers who have to learn to like each other when they become partners - but thinking towards the future he is already planning his next girl power presentation.
The Wrap is reporting that Feig is now getting set to write, direct and produce Susan Cooper, a James Bond-inspired spy comedy. While details about the plot are extremely limited at this time, apparently the film is not a parody, but instead actually described as "realistic" and is greatly inspired by Martin Campbell's Casino Royale. The story centers on two lead characters - which is somewhat strange given the title - and is being set up as a potential franchise. 20th Century Fox, which worked with the filmmaker on The Heat, is set to produce the film.
While Feig is probably best known for being the creative head and showrunner on Freaks and Geeks, his screenwriting credits are actually fairly limited. His last came in 2003 when we adapted the Anne Holm novel I Am David - a drama that he also directed and starred Jim Caviezel. The filmmaker's efforts have instead been more focused on the directing and producing side of things, primarily on television. In addition to the titles mentioned above, shows he has worked on include The Office, Arrested Development, 30 Rock, Bored To Death, Parks and Recreation, Weeds and Mad Men. Basically, if it was on TV in the last 10 years and you loved it, chances are that Feig had something to do with it.
In addition to Susan Cooper, The Wrap also points out that Feig and his Feigco Entertainment production label have also been developing a mother-daughter comedy written by Katie Dippold (who wrote the director's latest movie). Unfortunately the site doesn't mention which project he is planning to tackle first. It's also worth mentioning that back in April Fox started developing a sequel to The Heat, though that film's future is likely entirely dependent on the box office success of the original (plus it's entirely possible he wouldn't come back to direct no matter what).
In the meantime, let's perhaps have some fun with speculation. Which comedienne out there do you think they should cast as Susan Cooper? Could Feig reunite with Kristen Wiig (who voices an agent in the upcoming Despicable Me 2) or Sandra Bullock? Or would you rather see him work with someone totally new? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
