UPDATE: Well, it seems as though we were close but no cigar on this one, folks. An EXTREMELY CLOSE source to the production said: “Ramis is not attached to direct Jonah’s script, Pure Imagination. We are in the early stage of development and haven’t gotten that far yet. We love Ramis, but haven’t started begging him yet.” So there you go. It’s still not there. Sorry about that.
A while back I mentioned that Jonah Hill was developing a starring vehicle for himself called PURE IMAGINATION, about a guy who starts dating a girl who may or may not exist. A friend of mine recently pointed me towards a set visit AICN did for FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL, which Hill is acting in. In his report, Moriarty mentions that none other than Harold Ramis (GROUNDHOG DAY) has signed on to direct IMAGINATION. Apparently nobody in the talkbacks picked up on this and the news was lost in the breeze. Moriarty himself thought the news broke, but claims nevertheless to have heard it from several confirmed sources.
This makes perfect sense in light of the recent news that Ramis is directing the Judd Apatow production YEAR ONE, with Jack Black, Owen Wilson, and Michael Cera (Hill’s costar in SUPERBAD). It’s no wonder Ramis is jumping on the Apatow bandwagon. He hasn’t had a recent hit (his role in KNOCKED UP doesn’t count) and Apatow’s crew is white hot (they’re about to explode on Friday). Ramis is a talented comedic director. He just needs some good material, and he’ll probably have it with this, but all these comedy connections are starting to melt my mind. Thanks to Taylor for the heads up.
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