Even with MGM frantically altering their Red Dawn remake so it's about North Korean, rather than Chinese, invading armies, another studio is ready to embrace the Eastern superpower with open arms and a true story about an American making it big there. No, it's not the Karate Kid sequel-- not yet, at least. At Monecito Pictures they're working on an adaptation of Big in China the memoir by journalist Alan Paul about the time he spent living in Beijing and joining a blues band that eventually wound up traveling the country.
According to THR the project is being set up as a directing and producing project for Monecito partner Ivan Reitman; they're currently on the hunt for writers to take a crack at the script. Given that Reitman's last film was the Gen Y-tilted rom-com No Strings Attached he may be aiming to make a film about someone closer to his own age-- Paul is the father of three children, and moved to China due to his wife's work assignment in Beijing. This kind of true-life story, about a man's personal rediscovery and adventures in a new place, is actually a departure from most everything Reitman has made before, usually in the realm of high-concept comedies like Ghostbusters or Junior, or whatever Evolution was about.
In short, this might be the movie for which Reitman finally grows up-- something you might have never wanted to see from the director of Stripes, but maybe a way to get back some of his creative strength. After all, he can't sit back and let his son Jason overshadow him forever, can he?
