We last heard about The Judge a year ago when David Seidler, basking in the glow of his Oscar win for The King’s Speech, signed on to rewrite the dramedy. David Dobkin (The Change-Up) is set to direct and produce alongside Robert Downey Jr. and Susan Downey. In a report on Bill Dubuque coming in to do another rewrite, Deadline mentions that The Judge is now planned as a starring vehicle for Downey. The story, originally scripted by Nick Schenk (Gran Torino), centers on an attorney who returns home for his mother’s funeral. He learns that his estranged father, a judge who suffers from Alzheimer’s, is suspected of murder.
Downey will film Iron Man 3 in a few weeks on the heels of the May 4 release of The Avengers. After that, there’s a long list of projects the actor is attached to, including Tim Burton’s Pinocchio, Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice, and the Perry Mason reboot. It seems unlikely The Judge will shoot to the top of the list, and Dobkin’s immediate focus is on Arthur & Lancelot. But it could be a nice change of pace if and when Downey seeks a smaller production among these giant superhero tentpoles. I’d nudge him toward Inherent Vice if I had a vote.
