Columbia Pictures and Adam Sandler's Happy Madison production company are in final negotiations with scribe Phil Wen to pen the comedy remake Kopps. Columbia and Happy Madison won a heated bidding war for the remake rights to the Swedish comedy in April. The original film centers on a small-town police force that is on the verge of being shut down because of a lack of crime in the area. Happy Madison's Sandler, Jack Giarraputo and Tom McNulty are producing along with Primal Pictures' Amanda Klein and Michael Nash. Lars Jonsson and Anna Anthony, who produced the original, are executive producing. At Columbia, the project is being overseen by co-president Doug Belgrad. Wen, a veteran TV writer-producer who has worked on such series as ABC's Spin City, Fox's Oliver Beene and ABC's 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, made his first feature sale in April when Dimension acquired his comedy spec The Von Doozers, with Todd Phillips attached to produce. Wen is repped by UTA and Benderspink.
Dimension Films has paid mid-six figures against $1 million for the Phil Wen comedy spec The Von Doozers, with Todd Phillips attached to produce. The script, which marks the feature debut for television scribe Wen, is being closely guarded but is described as a cross between The Partridge Family and National Lampoon's Vacation. A veteran TV writer-producer, Wen -- along with his partner Bill Callahan -- has worked on such series as ABC's Spin City, Fox's Oliver Beene and ABC's 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter. He is repped by Benderspink and UTA. Phillips, best known as the writer-director of the comedy hits Old School and Road Trip, is also attached to produce the comedy The Golden Tux for Dimension and is directing the Starsky & Hutch remake for Warner Bros. Pictures. He is repped by WMA.
- 4/14/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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