"Grown Ups" stars Adam Sandler and Kevin James are taking their talents to South Beach.
The duo are at the center of "Valet Guys," a comedic pitch from Nick Bakay that Sony Pictures Entertainment has acquired in a preemptive deal worth mid-six against seven-figures, the studio has confirmed to TheWrap.
The pitch concerns two veteran valet parking attendants at a South Beach hotel who witness a murder and find themselves running for their lives. Bakay and James are co-writing the script, which is being developed as a potential vehicle for Sandler and James, who are producing the project through their respective production companies (Happy Madison and Hey Eddie), along with Todd Garner's Broken Road.
"Valet Guys" sounds like "Pineapple Express" without the marijuana-driven plot, which should help the likely PG-13 comedy get higher at the box office than the latter's $101 million worldwide cume. The last time two major comedy stars tackled murder in Miami, it led to Sony's successful "Bad Boys" franchise starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence.
Bakay, who is best known for voicing the cat on "Sabrina the Teenage Witch," is a longtime collaborator of James', having produced "The King of Queens." Additionally, Bakay co-wrote "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" and Sony's upcoming comedy "Zookeeper," which was also a co-production between Happy Madison, Hey Eddie and Broken Road.
Bakay is in demand at the moment, as Sony TV and Happy Madison are also producing his Fox pilot about a charismatic Hungarian father who moves in with his adult son's family and challenges their status quo.
Sandler and James are represented by WME, while Bakay is repped by Verve.
The "Valet Guys" deal was first reported by Deadline.
