Steve Pink's filmography has shades of the ridiculous. His directorial debut was the goofy DIY college comedy Accepted. His follow-up was the preposterously titled Hot Tub Time Machine. Then he took on a remake of the acerbic 1980s rom-com About Last Night. While their setups may have earned some initial sneers, each of these hysterical comedies was able to do solid work at the box office. And now Disney is getting in the Pink business, hiring him to helm their upcoming family adventure Overnight.
THR has gotten word that Steve Pink has signed on to direct Overnight, which is being described as Home Alone set in an FAO Schwarz-esque toy store. My first thought on hearing this news was, "Wait, wasn't that the plot of Home Alone 2?" But while that much-loved sequel did involve a toy store (Duncan's Toy Chest to be precise), that setting was not where Kevin battered those maniac Wet Bandits. That he managed in an abandoned townhouse.
Anyhow, Overnight has been penned by Oren Uziel, who contributed to the screenplay for 22 Jump Street and wrote the upcoming horror-comedy Kitchen Sink. The plot for Overnight is said to center on an absent-minded dad who is struggling to preserve his relationship with his son after divorce. Also stuffed in there, he has to defuse a hostage situation, presumably at a toy store.
How does this relate to Home Alone? Our best guess is that either the father and son have to work together, turning the toy store into a labyrinth of booby-traps to trip up the movie's hostage taking villains. Or perhaps Overnight will take a cue from White House Down, meaning father and son will have to divide and conquer, leaving the boy more to his own devices. Still, we suspect snares and pitfalls made of toys will factor in. Why else cite Home Alone? Plus, the opportunity to market new sweet toys to kids at Christmas is just how Disney rolls. There's plenty of opportunity of that here.
Not so long ago, Sony Pictures was producing this family-friendly romp. But after Overnight went into turnaround, Disney scooped it up. Earlier this year, the studio approached Ruben Fleischer, of Zombieland fame and Gangster Squad infamy, to direct. But THR said they never made it past early talks with the would-be helmer.
In an earlier incarnation, Overnight was called Overnight at 42nd Street. This title plus the allusion to FAO Schwarz suggests the film will be set in New York City. Whether or not it will shoot there is currently unknown. Steve Pink has recently wrapped on Hot Tub Time Machine 2, but has two other features in the works. The first is a a possible Will Ferrell vehicle called The Yank, while the other is Vacation Friends, a comedy that has real-life husband and wife Chris Pratt and Anna Faris attached. We don't yet know where Overnight might fit into Pink and Disney's busy schedules.
