Deadline originally had the headline “[Sony Pictures Entertainment] Puts Chokehold On Kevin James Mixed Martial Arts Pic” and to be totally honest I was really excited about this for the first six words but then I kept reading and became severely depressed. But then they went and changed the headline and my joke was ruined.
Anyway, this looks about as by the numbers as you can get. Kevin James playing a physics teacher at a school facing cutbacks in *gasp* the arts? Check. Kevin James suddenly taking up MMA and making it to the UFC where the prize money happens to be enough to keep the program alive? Double check. Most of the humor involving an overweight guy getting hit really hard? You better believe it. We’ve seen this all before.
And yet the movie will make more money than any of you will ever see. I see it on a regular basis because Hollywood.com writers are paid by the mega yacht (we then sell them on Ebay for tax purposes), but that’s beside the point. Sony Pictures is fast tracking the project and shooting begins next year.
Source: Deadline
