The Spanish-language pic Casa de mi Padre starring Will Ferrell is looking like it’ll be one of the more ridiculous comedies to come our way in quite some time, and now director Matt Piedmont is lining up his next project. Piedmont is teaming back up with Gary Sanchez and NALA Films to direct an adaptation of Frank Portman’s novel King Dork (in English). The story is set in 1987 and centers on two high school outsiders who bond over their love of classic rock. The protagonist finds his dead father’s copy of The Catcher in the Rye and his life changes forever. The book is described as “part mystery, part coming-of-age tale, and part critique on teenage popular culture.” Hit the jump for more.
king-dork-book-coverKing Dork was the first project bought when Adam McKay (Anchorman, Step Brothers), Chris Henchy, and Ferrell started the production company Gary Sanchez six years ago. Development stalled over the years, but McKay tells Deadline that he’s confident Piedmont is the guy to finally bring it to the screen:
“The movie is about that moment when you go from the confines of your room with your music, to venturing out in the world with fantasies of rock stardom. They stumble through in a scary, hilarious way and actually in a strange way become rock stars. We all remember the days when you’d ride a bike to meet a girl, or obsess over album covers and look at bands like they were on a different planet. The movies that capture that feeling and the pain of high school are some of my favorites, from My Bodyguard to Over the Edge.”
McKay said that they’re just beginning casting, but there are a couple of good roles that Ferrell could play. The script was written by D.V. DeVincentis, who’s no stranger to music-centric pics as he co-wrote High Fidelity and Grosse Point Blank. This project sounds incredibly layered and I’m interested to see it brought to the screen, especially with a script by DeVincentis. Read the book’s synopsis below.
Tom Henderson (a.k.a. King Dork, Chi-mo, Hender-fag, and Sheepie) is a typical American high school loser until he discovers the book, The Catcher in the Rye, that will change the world as he knows it. When Tom discovers his deceased father’s copy of the Salinger classic, he finds himself in the middle of several interlocking conspiracies and at least half a dozen mysteries involving dead people, naked people, fake people, ESP, blood, a secret code, guitars, monks, witchcraft, the Bible, girls, the Crusades, a devil head, and rock and roll. And it all looks like it’s just the tip of a very odd iceberg of clues that may very well unravel the puzzle of his father’s death and–oddly–reveal the secret to attracting semihot girls. Being in a band could possibly be the secret to the girl thing–but good luck finding a drummer who can count to four
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