Fox has acquired rights to bring the comedy stage musical F***ing Identical Twins to the silver screen for producers Chernin Entertainment, according to Deadline. Conceived by Upright Citizens Brigade members Josh Sharp and Aaron Jackson, the musical is a subversive take on the classic film The Parent Trap.
The stage production first spawned at the popular improv destination Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) Theatre – New York where it ran for a year before moving to UCB – Los Angeles as well as the Piccolo Fringe Festival in Charleston, South Carolina. Sharp and Jackson also starred in the production which follows two business adversaries who, upon finding out they are long lost twin brothers, plan a scheme to reunite their divorced parents and become a family again. Aside from penning the script, it is unclear how much more involved Sharp and Jackson will be in the film adaptation.
Aside from live improv and sketch comedy, Sharp is the co-writer and co-star of the IFC web series How Shit Works while Jackson will be appearing in the comedy The Big Sick which stars Holly Hunter (Thirteen), Ray Romano (Ice Age series) and Zoe Kazan (What If).
This is an intriguing acquisition for a big studio like Fox. Although most up-and-coming as well as already globally famous comedians have come out of improv comedy at places like UCB or Second City, these organizations have still stayed under the radar for quite some time. Fox is clearly thinking outside of the box on this one, and it seems to be a step in the right direction in finding new comedic talent to put in the spotlight.
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