Warner Bros. emerges victorious after a week-long bidding war, as the studio is in talks to secure the rights to the action comedy “Calamity Hustle” starring Ryan Reynolds and Channing Tatum.
Adam and Aaron Nee wrote the screenplay, and the pair will direct the project. Although plot details are being kept under wraps, the project centers on a diamond heist gone wrong, which forces an ex-cop turned private investigator to hunt down his estranged brother for a vicious mob boss.
Amazon, Netflix and Warner Brothers. Discovery circled the package shortly after it went out after Thanksgiving. According to the Hollywood Reporter, “the actors were asking for a minimum of $20 million apiece while the Nees were seeing paydays in the $6 million to $8 million range.”
Kevin J. Walsh (“Napoleon”) will produce “Calamity Hustle” with Tatum and Reynolds’ banners (Free Association and Maximum Effort), and the Nee brothers’ Persons Attempting. Reid Carolin and Peter Kiernan from Free Association also produce.
The Nee brothers previously worked with Tatum on “The Lost City.” Reynolds is currently shooting “Deadpool 3” for Marvel Studios.
The Nee brothers are repped by CAA, LBI and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole. Reynolds is repped by WME and Sloan Offer. Tatum is repped by CAA and Hansen Jacobson.
Deadline first reported the news.
Reps for Warner Bros. did not respond to request for comment.
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