Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Longtime friends and producers Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are determined to bring their film The Trade to the big screen. Even if it means neither of them will be starring in or directing the picture. The baseball fans have lined up comedy director Jay Roach to helm the project.
Based on the 1970s scandal involving New York Yankees pitchers Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich, who admitted to swapping wives with one another, Damon and Affleck were originally set to star in the picture with Damon also set to direct at one point. David Mandel penned the script, and Affleck and his brother Casey Affleck, it seems, have fine-tuned the script to their liking. Due to their busy schedules, Damon and Affleck have scrapped plans to appear in the front of the camera, but they will stay on as producers under their Pearl Street Films banner. Determined to get the film made, they’ve placed their passion project in Roach’s hands.
Roach is perhaps most famously known for directing the comedy Meet The Parents and its sequel Meet The Fockers, as well as the Austin Powers films. Roach’s most recent film to release was the 2012 political comedy The Campaign, starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis. Roach is an interesting choice to helm sport drama The Trade, as all of his films are comedies. It seems Roach may be taking an interest in the drama genre, however, as he is also set to direct serious drama and biopic Trumbo, about successful screenwriter Donald Trumbo whose career came to a halt when he was blacklisted in the 1940s. We’ll let the results speak for themselves. Casting announcements should follow in the coming months.
Roach is currently putting the finishing touches on his comedy TV series The Brink. Affleck is currently in pre-production for Batman Vs. Superman for Warner Bros. His next appearance will be later this year in David Fincher’s Gone Girl. Damon just appeared in the release of George Clooney’s The Monuments Men.
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