Although we had our slight qualms about the big screen adaptation of the U.K. comedy series The Inbetweeners — which hit theaters in the U.K. last summer — that hasn’t stopped Paramount from ordering a U.S. adaptation of the hit series before the movie even hits U.S. theaters. According to THR, the studio has hired the actual co-creators of the show, Iain Morris and Damon Beesley, to pen the new version of the film, with Morris also acting as director.
The original series followed “the lives of a quartet of suburban teens who fall somewhere in the middle of the cool-to-geek spectrum.” The film adaptation ended up being a huge sleeper hit, grossing over $70 million dollars, which is pretty good considering the budget was just $5.5 million.
I’m pretty surprised Paramount is taking the plunge into this big screen adaptation, only because the U.S. version of the show won’t premiere on MTV until August 20th. For all they know, they could have another Skins situation on their hands — a U.S. adaptation of the hugely successful British show flopped when it had its run on MTV last year, for those who aren’t up on their MTV news. But, since this particular show is a comedy and not a whinny melodrama with really annoying and unlikable characters, it could translate better to the American audiences and end up being more successful than Skins.
In more Inbetweeners-related news, Paramount has also given the green light to the coming-of-age tale from Beesley and Morris. According to Deadline, the project will be in the same raunchy vein as the hit TV show, with an upgraded budget of $15 million.
The project “revolves around four boys just out of high school who go on a road trip to an exotic locale.” Although the plot is similar to The Inbetweeners Movie, the characters are different and will end up being Americanized. Beesley and Morris will also be producing the film through their Bwark Productions, along with Aaron Kaplan and his Kapital Entertainment.
How does all this Inbetweeners news sit with you? Are you a fan?