'Police Academy' Remake to Be Directed by Scott Zabielski

5:05 PM PST 1/9/2012 by Borys Kit

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Zabielski has helmed episodes of Comedy Central's "Tosh.0" and is a reserve police officer in West Hollywood.

New Line Cinema is entrusting its Police Academy franchise to first-time director Scott Zabielski.

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Zabielski has helmed episodes of Comedy Central's Tosh.0 and is a reserve police officer in West Hollywood. Original producer Paul Maslansky is back for the new iteration, which aims to reboot the seven-film comedy series about a ragtag group of police recruits who repeatedly are called to help save the city.

The first film, released in 1984 by Warner Bros., starred Steve Guttenberg as Mahoney, the group's leader. The last film in the series was 1994's Mission to Moscow. The series grossed a combined $242 million worldwide and spawned a pair of TV series.

When The Hollywood Reporter first reported on the attempt to reboot the franchise in 2010, Maslansky said he aims to completely recast the film with up-and-comers.

"It's going to be very worthwhile to the people who remember it and to those who saw it on TV," Maslansky told THR. "It's going to be a new class. We hope to discover new talent and season it with great comedians. It'll be anything but another movie with a numeral next to it. And we'll most probably retain the wonderful musical theme."

David Diamond and David Weissman (When In Rome) wrote the most recent draft of the script.

Email: Borys.Kit@thr.com

Twitter: @Borys_Kit