adaptations

Steve Carell and Charlie Kaufman Team Up for I.Q. 83

CULVER CITY, CA - APRIL 14: Actor Steve Carell arrives at the 2013 MTV Movie Awards at Sony Pictures Studios on April 14, 2013 in Culver City, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 23: Actors Kristen Wiig and Steve Carell speak onstage during Nickelodeon’s 26th Annual Kids’ Choice Awards at USC Galen Center on March 23, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images for KCA) Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images

Deadline reports that Steve Carell is in talks to star in the long-gestating film adaptation of Arthur Herzog’s 1978 science-fiction novel I.Q. 83, with Charlie Kaufman rewriting the script. The book chronicles the outbreak of an airborne virus that causes the I.Q. level to gradually decrease in the afflicted. While the novel was written as serious sci-fi, the film is being envisioned as a satire in the vein of Dr. Strangelove. So ideally we’re looking at an Eternal Sunshine–esque Kaufman head trip with Brick Tamland as protagonist? Great.

Steve Carell & Charlie Kaufman Team Up for IQ 83