Ivan Reitman is responsible for directing some of the greatest comedies of all time, from Ghostbusters to Stripes to Dave, but in recent years he has lost his touch a little. Both of his last two films, My Super Ex-Girlfriend and No Strings Attached were dreadful and its hard to come up with a lot of positive adjectives for the two that preceded those, Evolution and Six Days, Seven Nights (not to mention clunkers like Father's Day and Junior). The slide has lasted so long that it's hard not to wonder if he will ever get back to greatness, but he keeps plugging away and now the 65-year-old filmmaker has attached himself to a brand new project.
Deadline reports that Reitman is now attached to direct Draft Day, a new football comedy based on a spec script from Rajiv Joseph and Scott Rothman. Joseph's previous writing credits include two episodes of the Showtime series Nurse Jackie while Rothman is a newcomer to the game. The story centers on the general manager of the Buffalo Bills (a team that hasn't made it to the playoffs in over a decade) and his frantic work to try and get the number one pick of the draft. Reitman also plans to produce the movie under his Montecito Picture Company.
Provided the script is solid and they get the right actor for the lead, this could actually be great. It sounds like the movie will be something like Jerry Maguire but set in a 24-hour period and minus the romantic stuff. Reitman just has to be sure not to make one particular mistake: don't hire Ashton Kutcher.
