EXCLUSIVE: Ted Melfi, who made his feature debut directing Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy, Naomi Watts and Chris O’Dowd in St. Vincent De Van Nuys for The Weinstein Company, is in talks to helm Going In Style, the New Line remake of the 1979 bank heist comedy. Melfi wrote the script and Donald De Line is producing with Tony Bill exec producing. The offer to Melfi was made today and they are negotiating.
The original film was directed by Martin Brest and it starred George Burns, Art Carney and Lee Strasberg as three retirees who decide to rob a bank. That basic premise is being used in the sequel, but the back stories of the characters are different. A lot of golden age stars are circling this one, and a strong cast should be set soon.
For Melfi, this comes after he made a deal to develop for Sony Pictures and Chernin Entertainment an adaptation of the J.R. Moehringer memoir The Tender Bar, with Melfi to write the script and direct and Chernin Entertainment’s Peter Chernin and Jenno Topping will produce. Melfi is repped by UTA and Infinity Management International.
So happy for all of Ted’s success…couldn’t happen to a more deserving and talented guy.
Heard St. Vincent turned out great. See you at the Oscars Ted in 2015…your in good hands with Harvey and company!
Yay for Ted! There is literally no one more deserving. I’ve been an admirer of his since ‘Winding Roads’, glad to see his talent is finally being appreciated.
Yay Ted!! Best guy. Wish huge success for him.
Lucky enough to be one set for the first one with the great original cast. George Burns sez to Carney and Strasberg: “So I had Carol Channing for dinner last night. (beat) I don’t meat ate Carol Channing…she came over to my hotel”. Probably wasnt’ first time he used that but was first time my 18yo ears heard and never forgot it. Great great story tellers they all were.
Just adding to the long list of praise for Ted Melfi. Such a stand-up guy. It’s always great to see wonderful things happen to fantastic people in this industry. Keep killing it, Ted!
Ted’s success is proof that good things happen to great people. So damn happy for him.
This guy is the real deal. I worked on St. Vincent and watched Ted in action. Seeing how he worked with the actors and the performances he was able to get out of them was truly amazing. Not to mention he is the nicest, classiest and most generous guy I know…don’t go changing Ted!
Raymond Shaw is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I’ve ever known in my life.
Tony Bill is a class act so it’s great to read his name in this article and see that this talented good guy is still making movies when not carving out the skyline.
St. Vincent was one of the best scripts I had read in years. Then I read Going In Style and loved it just as much. If Ted turns out to be as good a director as he is a writer, then his representatives will have a major double threat on their hands!