'Arrested Development' Movie "Will Be Small"

Antsy. That's how I am about all things Arrested Development. I want more of it, but I recognize how bad movie spin-offs can be, especially years after the fact and especially after there was already a logical if not terribly impressive conclusion. But a movie is the only way we'll get more of the Bluths and, of course, Dr. Tobias Funke, analrapist. So my fix will be filled by the upcoming spin-off, which everyone swears is happening...someday. Because he's in the public eye most often, a lot of the answers come from Jason Bateman, who for the first time really lays a foundation for what we can expect from the new movie. "[Series creator Mitchell Hurwitz] is half-way through writing the script now, and once he's done and if he's happy with it, we'll start to schedule it and then shoot it. And then be done," Bateman tells IGN. Noting that it won't be made at "big Fox" but rather Fox Searchlight, Bateman adds, "it will be a small film. It will be simple. We'll shoot it in probably six weeks. It will get a little release. It will be in and out, done." But if you're not expecting this to be a big summer comedy, I'd ask you to remember that Searchlight has done very, very well with similar late summer pushes before. (500) Days of Summer is a hit on its terms, pushing toward $30 million on a tiny little budget, Napoleon Dynamite did over $40 million, Garden State fits that model, and then there's Little Miss Sunshine, which hit $100 million worldwide back in 2006. But it's good to hear, as Bateman says, that no one will be "overreaching" on this movie, meaning we won't get an $80 million budget and a bunch of guest stars. It sounds like three episodes, and I'll gladly take three more episodes.

Comments

[Jonny]

That is probably the best way to make it. Honestly, even with the show gaining more popularity through hulu and dvd sales, I don't think that this movie will have much more of an audience than of something from fox searchlight. I would be surprised if the movie grossed more than $35-45 million. And on the plus side, as you said, fox searchlight has delivered a number of movies that have done respectfully well. I can't hardly wait for this movie.