Johnny Knoxville turns 40 next week, so it’s only fitting that the Jackass impresario take on some age-appropriate scripted work for a change, sparing his battered body at least some of the usual abuse. And with his Jackass films having netted Paramount a stunning amount of money on a shoestring budget, it only makes sense that the studio would be eager to maintain their relationship with Knoxville and his Dickhouse Entertainment production company. Especially if a fourth Jackass blockbuster could be in store for the future.
With that in mind, Paramount has secured the rights to two comedies for Knoxville and a few of his Jackass buddies, one a new scripted comedy called First Man, from writing duo Matt Spicer and Max Winkler, the other an older pitch called Mustache Riders that the studio bought back in 2008 and is only now resurrecting.
For First Man, Knoxville will play a “natural hell-raiser” who finds himself in the White House when his wife is elected President. While on the campaign trail he manages to behave himself, but after the election he is prompted to “return to rowdy form.”
Paramount is also “reconfiguring” Mustache Riders with some help from the Broken Lizard crew. The scripted comedy centers on “three small-time crooks who set off on an adventure to find a buried treasure with a grizzled old outlaw.” Knoxville would star alongside fellow Jackass alums Bam Margera and Ryan Dunn, with country singer and famed marijuana legalization advocate Willie Nelson playing the outlaw. Despite the opportunity to begin aging gracefully, the script is being rewritten at Knoxville’s behest so that he, Margera and Dunn can perform all their own stunts.
Source: Deadline
