Ted Melfi's first film since HIDDEN FIGURES is taking shape as Deadline reports that Woody Harrelson is in talks to star in FRUIT LOOPS, a drama said to be in the same vein as ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST. Melfi will write and direct the film for Fox 2000 and Chernin Entertainment and it's said that the story will center on a group of mental patients who are forced to band together when their hospital is suddenly sold.
Should he sign on, Woody Harrelson would play Colonel Leonard F. Cubby, a Vietnam vet who suffers from severe PTSD. Jeff Sneider over at Collider has a few more details regarding the other characters who will be filling out the ensemble, which will include a young heroin addict who just so happens to be the son of a wealthy politician, a female hippie with multiple personalities, a female paranoid schizophrenic with religious delusions who records a daily vlog, and a mildly autistic and bipolar gentle giant of few words. It's been said that Ted Melfi could begin production on FRUIT LOOPS as early as May, but THR recently reported that the director has also lined up a project to follow-up FRUIT LOOPS as he's in final negotiations to helm HARRY'S ALL NIGHT HAMBURGERS, a time-travel adventure based on the Hugo Award-winning short story by Lawrence Watt-Evans which has been described as being reminiscent of BACK TO THE FUTURE and HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY. The film will center on a "down-on-his-luck high school senior who discovers that the roadside diner where he works nights is actually the hangout of a parallel universe of travelers. Ignoring the advice of the diner's irascible owner Harry, he sets off on an adventure through the multiverse in search of his own perfect life, only to learn that happiness doesn't come as easy as pressing a button."
As for Woody Harrelson, the actor remains as busy as ever as he recently began filming ZOMBIELAND: DOUBLE TAP, the long-awaited sequel to the original film by Ruben Fleischer. The sequel is set for an October 11, 2019 release. In addition to the ZOMBIELAND sequel, Harrelson is also set to appear in THE HIGHWAYMEN alongside Kevin Costner which hits Netflix on March 29, 2019, Roland Emmerich's World War II epic MIDWAY on November 8, 2019, and will also reprise his role of Cletus Kasady for the VENOM sequel.