Alex Robinson's comic "Too Cool to be Forgotten" won the 2009 Harvey Award for Best Original Graphic Novel. With that kind of prestige, it was only a matter of time before it was plucked from the comic book shelves and adapted into a feature film and, according to Variety, Likely Story and Red Crown Productions are planning to do just that. As part of Likely Story's first look deal with Top Shelf Comix, the independent production companies have hired the screenwriting pair of Rocky Russo and Jeremy Sosenko to bring the celebrated graphic novel to the big screen.
Robinson's comic tells the story of a forty-something smoker with a couple of kids named Andy Wicks who, by the magic of hypnotherapy, is transported back to 1985 in order to relive his high school triumphs and failures, and possibly rewrite the latter. So the premise isn't exactly that original. It seems like every few years we get a comedy that sends our protagonist either forward or backward in time. Whether it's Zoltar in Big, a mysterious janitor in 17 Again or even a hot tub time machine in, uh, Hot Tub Time Machine, the time switch tale is as old as time. However, when your comic book dust jacket includes praise from Jeff Smith ("Bone") and Brian K. Vaughan ("Y: The Last Man"), it's safe to say even if the premise seems familiar, I bet the story is anything but. Plus, it's nice to hear that critically acclaimed comics that don't involve superheroes or superpowers are still getting optioned for adaptation.
This will mark only the second film for Rocky Russo and Jeremy Sosenko, part of a large group of writers who worked on the upcoming sketch comedy film Movie 43. That film is made up of several comedy vignettes and features a crazy number of big stars, including Kate Winslet, Hugh Jackman, Emma Stone, Elizabeth Banks, Justin Long and many, many more. 43 is due out in April so we should get to see a trailer soon and perhaps a sense of the writers' style. And while Russo and Sosenko have been confirmed to write the project, no word yet on who might direct - however, when you google image search the comic book, David Wain's face is all over the place, probably because the director of Wet Hot American Summer and Role Models would be the perfect fit.
Here is the official synopsis from the Top Shelf Comix site,
Andy Wicks is a forty-something father of two who’s tried everything to quit smoking -- from going cold turkey, to the latest patches and nicotine chewing gums -- so he figures he'll give this hypnosis thing a try. What's the worst that could happen? Unfortunately, Andy gets dealt a fate worse than death -- high school! Transported back to 1985, Andy returns to his formative years as a gangly, awkward teenager. Is he doomed to relive the mistakes of his past, or has he been given a second chance to get things right? One thing's for sure: this time he’s going to ask out that girl from math class...
