Jack Black is set to star in Michel Gondry's eccentric comedy "Be Kind Rewind," playing a junkyard worker whose brain is magnetized, destroying every tape in his friend's video store and forcing the pair to remake the lost films.
Focus Features International has nabbed international sales rights to the under-$20 million Partizan production, which begins a two-month shoot Sept. 6 in New York.
In the film, Black plays Jerry, a man whose headaches lead him to believe his brain is melting. His brain is magnetized, leading to the unintentional destruction of movies in his friend's store. In order to keep the store's one loyal customer, an elderly lady with signs of dementia, the pair re-creates a long line of films including "The Lion King," "Rush Hour," "Back to the Future" and "Robocop."
Producer Georges Bermann of Partizan said Gondry, who has partnered with Partizan since 1989, came to him in November with several ideas. "Michel is a super-fast writer," Bermann said. "He handed in a draft in three weeks. Focus was interested the second they heard the pitch and made the deal within a week."
"We are thrilled to be working with Michel Gondry again," FFI president of sales and distribution Alison Thompson said. "We are especially excited that Jack Black, whose comic genius is perfectly placed within this imaginative script, has been brought into the fold."
Focus released the Gondry films "Dave Chappelle's Block Party" and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind."
No domestic or international distribution deals have been lined up for the film, which FFI plans to launch into the international marketplace this month at the Festival de Cannes.
Black is represented by UTA and attorney Warren Dern. Gondry is represented by CAA and attorney Robert Offer. Both attorneys are with Sloane Offer Weber Dern.
CAA also is overseeing North American rights.
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