Segal
Stoller
The “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” team of Jason Segel and helmer Nicholas Stoller may reunite for Sony’s “Sex Tape,” a high-concept comedy written by Kate Angelo that is set up at Escape Artists. Stoller has emerged from a pool of top-shelf comedy directors as the studio’s choice, beating out more experienced helmers such as Pete Segal (“Get Smart”) and Mark Waters (“Mean Girls”). Stoller will receive an offer today and negotiations are expected to begin shortly, as there is mutual interest in the project.
Segel is also expected to receive an offer to star as half of a young, happily married couple who get a night off from their parental duties and decide to spice up their life by making a sex tape. When they wake up the following morning, they discover the tape has gone missing, prompting them to find out who took and how to get it back.Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal and Steve Tisch will produce for Escape Artists.
Should Stoller and Segel’s deals close, the latter could be paired with one of his previous co-stars such as Amy Adams (“The Muppets”) or Emily Blunt, who toplines Stoller’s upcoming Universal comedy “The Five-Year Engagement” with Segel. Stoller’s “Get Him to the Greek” star Rose Byrne and Jennifer Garner are also in the mix along with Reese Witherspoon.”Sex Tape” is a high priority project at Sony, which paid low seven-figures for Angelo’s spec script in June.
Sony execs Andrea Giannetti and Adam Milano will oversee the project for the studio.Segel, who recently starred in Sony’s hit comedy “Bad Teacher,” next toplines Disney’s “The Muppets,” which he and Stoller co-wrote for director James Bobin. Thesp recently wrapped Judd Apatow’s next film and also stars in the Duplass brothers’ comedy “Jeff Who Lives At Home.”Segel is repped by WME and Abrams Entertainment, while UTA reps Stoller.