I’m a big fan of Rainn Wilson’s character Dwight on the office, and I loved the film Thank You for Smoking directed by Jason Reitman. So it was a pleasure this morning when I got the news from yahoo.com about their pairing up for a new ninja comedy, here’s the word on the street:
Rainn Wilson, who plays the sycophantic Dwight on “The Office,” is making his screenwriting debut on a project in which he will star as a once-great ninja who is now living a life of mediocrity. Fox Searchlight has picked up the dark comedy, “Bonzai Shadowhands,” which Jason Reitman (“Thank You For Smoking”) will direct.
While “Bonzai” will be a comedy, the tone will be somewhat serious, said Reitman. “It’s ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ meets ‘Midnight Cowboy’ … We wanted to do something that was more than a light comedy. We feel it could be a movie that had something to say.”
Apparently Reitman found Wilson in a Starbucks in Vaccouver where his father, Ivan Reitman was filming My Super Ex-Girlfriend (which for the few that saw the film had Wilson in it), they talked ninja’s and the rest, as they say is history.
For some reason I could see this working. True the ninja movie has been done to death, Chris Farely did it in Beverly Hills Ninja almost ten years ago now and there have been many others. But all of those have been either extreme comedy, pure drama, or action. I can’t think of many ninja dramadies.
I’d be interested in seeing Reitman’s take on this, especially if he really intends to have a Midnight Cowboy meets Crouching tiger Hidden Dragon concept.
Both of these men are talented, both have had success with what they’ve done so far. I think how this movie fairs will have a lot to do with whether or not they still feel they have to prove themselves. Because there is nothing worse than a ninja with an ego.
