Two fixtures of the indie world, “Little Miss Sunshine” producers Big Beach Films and Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Cooper’s Town Prods., are paddling together.
The companies are teaming up to develop “Jack Goes Boating,” a quirky romantic drama about two stoners in love, with Hoffman eyeing the project as a potential directing vehicle.
Based on the off-Broadway play written by Bob Glaudini and produced by Hoffman’s LAByrinth Theater Company, “Boating” centers on the titular character, a stoner limo driver who embarks on such quixotic missions as cooking and swimming lessons, and his unlikely relationship with another lovable loser.
The play earned stellar reviews when it opened last year and in fact drew a comparison to “Little Miss Sunshine” from the New York Times.
Hoffman, who starred in the theatrical production, has never helmed a film before, though he has directed a number of plays, most recently signing on for a West End production of the aging-rocker tale “Riflemind.”
Big Beach is in production on the Sam Mendes’ couples comedy “This Must Be the Place” and will shop the Michael Caine intergenerational drama “Is There Anybody There?” Cooper’s Town, which recently inked a first-look deal with Overture, most notably produced “Capote,” which earned Hoffman a lead actor Oscar.
Glaudini is a playwright who also has had acting roles in series such as “NYPD Blue.”
