THR Louis C.K. - H 2015
Meredith JenksLouis C.K., the comedian who has conquered the small screen with his low-key, angst-ridden FX show Louie, is returning to the land of movies.
And mirroring Louie, C.K. will perform triple-duties for the film — writing, directing and starring in the indie I’m a Cop, which is being produced by heavyweight producer Scott Rudin.
Rudin is producing with Dave Becky and Blair Breard, the latter an exec producer on C.K.’s Louie as well as a couple of the comedian’s specials, including the upcoming Louis C.K. Live From the Comedy Store.
The script tells of a depressed middle-aged man who is a volunteer police officer living in the shadow of his mother, a highly decorated retired officer. When she dies, her continued influence forces him to become a real police officer, which is something he never wanted to be.
C.K. last directed 2001’s Pooty Tang, a Chris Rock comedy that he also wrote. The experience did not end well — Paramount removed him from the movie during postproduction — but in April he told The Hollywood Reporter that he had learned much in the intervening years and considered it a challenge he was ready to tackle.
“I don’t feel like I need anyone to tell me anything with a TV show because I know exactly what I’m doing, but I’d be arrogant to think that I can take someone’s $8 million and just turn in a movie,” he said. “Movies are different. There’s a permanency to them.
“I was dealing with people every day whose pressures I didn’t understand, and I wasn’t very nice about how I said no to them. I put myself in a position I didn’t have to be in. A lot of what makes this kind of stuff work is empathy.”
Rudin is coming off working with C.K.’s pal Rock, having been a producer on the comedian’s own return to directing and writing a feature with the well-reviewed Top Five.
FX’s Louie, for which C.K. has won two of his three Emmys, returned for its fifth season in April.
Updated 4:20 PM, May 4, 2015 to reflect that Pooty Tang was not C.K.’s directorial debut.
