Tom Cruise hinted that it might be happening after his dance-tastic performance at the MTV Movie Awards, and now it’s a reality. Les Grossman, Cruise’s bald, hairy, foul-mouthed, studio executive character from Tropic Thunder will get his own movie.
Paramount announced Grossman’s impending arrival just moments ago and it’s impossible to believe that Cruise’s spectacularly successful MTV performance didn’t have at least some hand in fast tracking the project. According to Paramount’s press release, “Tom Cruise, along with Ben Stiller and Stuart Cornfeld of Red Hour Films will produce and have secured the life rights to Grossman.” Hilarious.
No word yet on who will direct but Michael Bacall will write it. Here’s the complete, unusually funny press release from Paramount:
Paramount Pictures and MTV Films announced today that they are set to develop a movie around mega-producer Les Grossman. The announcement comes on the heels of Grossman’s groundbreaking and visionary production of the soon-to-be Emmy® award-winning 2010 MTV Movie Awards Sunday night. Tom Cruise, along with Ben Stiller and Stuart Cornfeld of Red Hour Films will produce and have secured the life rights to Grossman.Grossman, best known as a mega producer, has most recently mentored talents such as Rob Pattinson and Taylor Lautner. In 2008, Grossman was introduced to the masses by Stiller in the comedy “Tropic Thunder” where the famed producer had a cameo playing himself.Said Ben Stiller: “Les Grossman's life story is an inspiring tale of the classic human struggle to achieve greatness against all odds. He has assured me he plans to quote, ‘F**king kill the sh*t out of this movie and make Citizen f**king Kane look like a piece of crap home movie by the time we are done.’ I am honored to be working with him.”When asked what the screenplay was about Grossman responded: “To quote my great friend Kirk Lazarus, ‘I don’t read the script, the script reads me.’”Adam Goodman, Paramount Film Group President said, "Everything I learned in this business, I've learned from Les. I started out as his assistant, and from the first day he threw his desk at me when I got his lunch order wrong, I have loved him like a father. I am forever grateful to Ben and Stuart Cornfeld and their ability to secure his highly-coveted life rights,"Tom Cruise is said to be in talks to portray Grossman in the film.Michael Bacall (“Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”) will write the script.
