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Hand us that chicken wire… now that pipe… Yes, the movie based on Saturday Night Live skit MacGruber, starring Will Forte, is officially about to shoot and now it has a director.
Jorma Taccone – one of SNL’s writers, is stepping up to direct the film, which, according to Production Weekly, starts shooting in New Mexico next month.
MacGruber – which sees Forte as a shaggy-haired version of ‘80s action/spy staple MacGyver is known for its regular explosions (as the lead dithers about personal issues as a bomb counts down) and occasional guest star, including former SNL hosts such as Shia LaBeouf.
MacGyver himself, Richard Dean Anderson, cropped up earlier in the year, starring in a short series of the sketch, which aired as a Pepsi ad.
Taccone is a former member of The Lonely Island comedy troupe that also spawned SNL writer/performer Andy Samberg and, while he hasn’t directed a movie before, has some experience at the helm of the team’s videos and shorts (including most of the MacGruber appearances), and their TV pilot Awesometown.
Forte is obviously signed up to star, and Kristin Wiig will apparently be playing his assistant, Vicki. And guest stars? Val Kilmer and Ryan Philippe are apparently considering roles, according to Variety .
Phillpe would play an army officer forced to team up with the bungling specialist when MacGruber is pulled out of retirement (he's been living as a monk, natch) to thwart the evil nuclear plans of Cunth (Kilmer).
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MacGruber has a special grudge to bear against Cunth - the villain killed his bride.
Is this the film to avoid the SNL sketch-to-movie curse? Looks like we’ll get to find out.
James White is a freelance journalist who has been covering film and TV for over two decades. In that time, James has written for a wide variety of publications including Total Film and SFX. He has also worked for BAFTA and on ODEON's in-cinema magazine.
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