Paramount has decided to roll the 20-sided die on John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein.
The studio has signed the Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves filmmakers to a multiyear first-look deal.
The duo will write, direct and produce feature films via their newly launched production company, GoldDay. The banner’s mission statement is to tell unique stories that defy easy genre classification. Per Paramount’s announcement on Tuesday, “In a world where audiences have seen every permutation of the action-comedy, the thriller, the period drama, GoldDay seeks to create entertainment that takes viewers on a journey they haven’t been on before. As Hitchcock put it, films that play the audience like a piano.”
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Paramount CEO Brian Robbins adds, “John and Jonathan have a proven track record for drawing in a broad range of audiences with storytelling that is equally big in scale and scope as it is full of heart and humor, and we are thrilled they have decided to make Paramount their home.”
The duo’s Dungeons & Dragons, which Paramount made in partnership with eOne, is an adaptation of the popular role-playing game that became a nerd touchstone in the 1980s. They wrote, directed and executive produced the movie, which has an ensemble cast that includes Chris Pine, Hugh Grant, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith and Sofia Lillis and has been generating positive buzz inside the agency and studio loop ahead of its March 31 theatrical release.
“Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is the perfect movie to kick off our partnership with John and Jonathan,” Paramount motion picture group co-presidents Michael Ireland and Daria Cercek say in a joint statement. “Its ambitious vision, clever storytelling and distinctive tone make it a great showcase for their talent, and we can’t wait for what’s to come!”
The deal puts Daley and Goldstein at the studio that is home to Don Corleone of The Godfather and Ferris Bueller of the eponymous Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, which tickles the film aficionados. “We look forward to many years of continued collaboration on stories that subvert expectations and cross genres in unique ways,” they say.
Daley and Goldstein previously helmed New Line’s well-regarded 2018 hit comedy Game Night, starring Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams, which grossed over $117 million worldwide. Prior to that, they wrote and directed New Line’s 2015 Vacation reboot, starring Ed Helms, Christina Applegate and Leslie Mann.
The duo first made their mark screenwriting, notching credits on Spider-Man: Homecoming, Vacation Friends, both Horrible Bosses films, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 and The Incredible Burt Wonderstone.
