Kevin James will star in “The True Memoirs of an International Assassin,” which Jeff Wadlow will direct from an original Black List script by Jeff Morris, it was announced Wednesday by Merced Media principal and PalmStar Media CEO Kevin Frakes.
James will play a mild-mannered accountant and would-be author who is mistaken for a killer-for-hire when his fictional novel about an international assassin is published as a true story. Trying to escape his sudden fame and celebrity, he heads to Belize but is immediately entangled in an assassination plot. Thrown into a world of real danger, he must find a way to channel his lead character Colt Rodgers and save the day.
PalmStar Media and Global Film Group will produce the picture, which is set to begin production in September. Merced Media and PalmStar will finance the film, and Good Universe will launch international sales at the upcoming Cannes market. WME is handling U.S. rights.
Todd Garner (“Paul Blart: Mall Cop”) and Frakes will produce alongside Raja Collins and Justin Begnaud (“A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night”) of Global Film Group and Raj Brinder Singh (“American Ultra”) of Merced Media. Hey Eddie’s Jeff Sussman (“Zookeeper”) and PalmStar Media’s Mark Fasano and Buddy Patrick will executive produce.
“Kevin and I are very excited to team up with PalmStar and Merced on ‘True Memoirs.’ This is going to be a fun, action-packed ride and will definitely show a side to Kevin that nobody has ever seen,” said Garner.
“We can’t wait to drop Kevin in these crazy and intense situations and let the world see the bad-ass he truly is,” added Frakes.
“We are ecstatic to be working with Kevin James on this project, and believe the film will resonate with audiences on a world-wide scale,” said Global Film Group partner Raja Collins.
James recently starred in “Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2,” which has surpassed $75 million worldwide in its third week. Prior to that he co-starred in “Grown Ups 2,” which brought in more than $200 million worldwide for Sony.
James is represented by WME, Jeff Sussman and Schreck, Rose. Wadlow is represented by WME, Allen Fischer and Hirsch Wallerstein. PalmStar and Merced are represented by Cohen Gardner and Loeb & Loeb, respectively.