Several years ago, Steve Carell was stealing scenes from an overpaid Jim Carrey in BRUCE ALMIGHTY.
Now it’s Carrey who migh be joining a Carell vehicle, the New Line comedy BURT WONDERSTONE. Carell is playing the titular magician, a fading old-school Vegas stage performer who finds his thunder stolen by a hotshot “street magician” — a role that would seem like a perfect match for Carrey’s animated antics.
(Although since his role is unspecified by Deadline, it’s conceivable that Carrey could be playing Carell’s partner, whom he loses to become a solo act.)
Interestingly, Carrey was previously circling the lead part of the aging magician, while a younger actor was being sought to play the David Blaine-style adversary.
The movie is being directed by TV regular Don Scardino (“30 Rock”), with a script that started with HORRIBLE BOSSES writers John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein before Jason Reitman (JUNO) took a crack at it.