Les Grossman movie confirmed

Well, that was quick. Just a day after we reported Tom Cruise's admission that a Les Grossman movie was moving forward (following his performance at the MTV Movie Awards), Paramount has formally announced the project.

Grossman was, of course, the character who Cruise played in his memorable Tropic Thunder cameo, a ruthless, scene-nicking film producer with a talent for, er, dancing. And Paramount - who still hasn't come close to saying yes to Anchorman 2 and Zoolander 2 due to the budget of both projects - has nodded its head in the direction of Les Grossman: The Movie.

The film is being developed with Ben Stiller, who we assume is likely to direct, given that he helmed Tropic Thunder. And Paramount has confirmed that it's hired Michael Bacall to pen the screenplay. Bacall's most recent project was Edgar Wright's upcoming movie of Scott Pilgrim Vs The World.

Here's the thing, though. Les Grossman worked a treat because he was a supporting character, one who could breeze in, take all the laughs and promptly disappear to YouTube glory. Writing a film with the character at the heart of it? That's going to be hard to make work. It's not impossible, but comedy side characters rarely make classic movies when they themselves take centre stage.

Grossman, to be fair, was some creation, and it's great to see Tom Cruise taking centre stage in a comedy. Here's hoping it all works out, though. Because there's potential for something quite brilliant here if they can make it hang together...