Jim Rash and Nat Faxon‘s Black List script The Way Back, now titled The Way, Way Back to presumably avoid confusion with Peter Weir’s epic, is finally making some headway. After getting tangled up in the 2007 WGA strike, producer Kevin Walsh has since obtained the rights to the project, with the aforementioned scribes making their directorial debut. According to Variety, Steve Carell and Toni Collette will be reuniting for the indie project.
The Little Miss Sunshine actors will be joining Sam Rockwell, Allison Janney and Annasophia Robb for a story that “follows a teen boy who struggles to find himself as he comes to terms with his unattentive mother and cheating stepfather during summer vacation.” Collette will be playing the mother, with Carell playing the horrid stepfather, who runs on the wild side in terms of drugs, alcohol and being promiscuous. Sounds a little out of his element, but a fun change, nonetheless.
Judging by this news and the synopsis, I’m assuming that Jake Gyllenhaal — who was in contention for a role back in November — is out of the picture, since he would have likely played the stepfather. I’m aware that they weren’t married in Little Miss Sunshine, but I thought Carell and Collette had strong chemistry on screen, so I’m very intrigued at their not-so-holy reunion. Plus, considering Faxon and Rash are coming off their Oscar win for The Descendants, this is a project that isn’t hard to get behind.
Are you interested in a Carell and Collette reunion for The Way, Way Back?