Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Tina Fey (30 Rock), and Ben Stiller (Tropic Thunder) may voice the leads in DreamWorks Animation's upcoming superhero comedy Master Mind.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Downey, Fey and Stiller are currently negotiating with the CGI animation studio in order to figure out how much each star will get paid to work on the film. It's likely that DreamWorks will have no problems accommodating Stiller's salary demands, since he's also producing Master Mind through his Red Hour production imprint.
It doesn't hurt that Stiller voiced one of the leads in DreamWorks Animation's other big hit of 2008, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.
What's Master Mind About?
According to various sources, the movie follows the titular character, a super-villain who suffers an existential crisis after accidentally killing off his nemesis, Uber Man, in the first act. THR also claims that the film's title is not set in stone, and may get a change during production.
Executive Alan J. Schoolcraft (O Brother Where Art Thou?) and Brent Simons (a member of TROOP! during Not So Silent Pictures) are writing the script. Red Hour's Lara Breay (who discovered the script) and DreamWork Animation's Chris Kuser are supervising the flick's development.
DreamWorks Animation's 2010: How to Train Your Dragon, Shrek Goes Fourth, Master Mind
Despite Stiller joking that DreamWorks Animation has "put the film on the fast track, which in animation terms means it will be coming out in the next 15 to 20 years,” the Glendale studio has in fact set the movie's theatrical release for November 5, 2010. This makes Master Mind the 3rd film DreamWorks Animation will release that year.
How to Train Your Dragon – adapted from the bestselling children's novel by Cressida Cowell – is first on deck with a March 26, 2010 release. Gerard Butler (Rock n' Rolla), America Ferrera (Ugly Betty), Jonah Hill (Horton Hears a Who!), Jay Baruchel (Tropic Thunder) and Christopher Mintz-Plasse (McLovin' from Superbad) are already in the cast.
Overshadowing both How to Train Your Dragon and Master Mind on the 2010 schedule is Shrek Goes Fourth, which dukes it out with Disney/Pixar's Toy Story 3 in the battle of the CGI Animated Franchises. Shrek Goes Fourth, starring Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and a cast of thousands, goes up on May 21st.
Jeffrey Katzenberg and the gang have already booted Kung Fu Panda 2 into production, and tentatively scheduled it for a 2011 release. Agents for Jack Black, Angelina Jolie and Dustin Hoffman are already toting up how much cash they can demand for the sequel.
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