Vulture has learned that the offer went out yesterday to Jack Nicholson to star in LASt VEGAS, a Grumpy Old Men meets The Hangover project from CBS Films (which is currently suffering a hangover from the online leak of its Friday release, The Back-Up Plan). The script comes from red-hot screenwriter Dan Fogelman (Cars, Bolt), who also penned Warner Bros.’ still-untitled Steve Carell–Ryan Gosling comedy that begins filming next month. VEGAS follows four estranged male childhood friends from the fifties who reunite in Vegas to finally marry off Billy, the lifelong unmarried playboy of the group, who — fittingly — might be played by Nicholson.
There will be no aged-up equivalent cameo to Mike Tyson in this geriatric Hangover soundalike (sorry, Joe Frazier, no tiger for you). The conflict instead comes when both Billy the bachelor and Paddy, the widower of the group, begin vying for the affections of the same lounge singer. Vulture got a copy of the script, and here’s Billy’s introduction. It’s even more Nicholsonian if you waggle your eyebrows while reading it.
These eyes have a spark in them. They belong to BILLY GERSON (70’s), every bit the mischievous imp he was as a young boy, a stark contrast to the others.
CHYRON: MALIBU, CA.
Billy speaks into a MIC, roasting someone, mid-story …
… and you remember what I said, Ronnie? I said: “Ronnie, I know you’re down in the dumps. But as a fellow bachelor, let me assure you - you’ll bounce back. Because you may not be very smart, and you may not be very rich, but Pal: you sure are fucking ugly.”
LAUGHTER. We PAN to RONNIE who sits in …
A COFFIN. Dead. Oh, Billy is giving a eulogy.
No other cast is set, but when you’re casting an AARP Pack comedy, the names are easy to imagine: probably Morgan Freeman, Richard Jenkins, maybe see if you can get Gene Hackman out of retirement … Who are we missing, and what onscreen moments are inevitable? You just know we’ll be seeing at least one of these guys running bare-assed down a hotel hallway.
