New ‘Nutty Professor’ Movie in the Works

A new take on Jerry Lewis‘ The Nutty Professor is reportedly in the works from James Vanderbilt, whose production company is now working on a fifth Scream movie. The Nutty Professor was originally released in 1963 and is considered a classic comedy, holding a spot on the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry. Eddie Murphy starred in a 1996 remake and a 2000 sequel, Nutty Professor II: The Klumps.

Vanderbilt and his Project X Entertainment partners William Sherak and Paul Neinstein won the rights to the remake The Nutty Professor, reports Deadline. No studio is attached to the project, and Vanderbilt is not planning on writing the remake. Vanderbilt is best known for writing Zodiac, White House Down, and The Amazing Spider-Man.

The Nutty Professor was directed by Lewis, who also starred as Professor Julius Kelp, who creates a serum that transforms him into the suave girl-chaser, Buddy Love. Lewis co-wrote the film with Bill Richmond and it was one of the biggest hits of his career. In 1996, Murphy starred in the remake, which won an Oscar for Best Makeup. Murphy starred in the 2000 sequel, which was a big hit with audiences as well.

This is not the only major reboot Project X is working on this year. The company is also working on Scream 5, which will be directed by Ready Or Not filmmakers Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. They also courted Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette to return, and Paramount signed on as a distributor. Vanderbilt co-wrote Scream 5 with Guy Busick. Cox confirmed she joined Scream 5 on July 31 when she posted an Instagram video of the franchise’s famous Ghostface mask. When Arquette joined, he said he was “thrilled” to play Dewey again. “Scream has been such a big part of my life, and for both the fans and myself, I look forward to honoring Wes Craven’s legacy,” Arquette said, referring to the late horror filmmaker.

Campbell has confirmed she is in talks with the producers but has not signed on yet. “It’s a little hard at the moment because of COVID to know when that’ll happen and hopefully we can see eye to eye on all the elements that have to come into place for it to happen,” she said in a recent YouTube interview. “I originally had been really apprehensive about doing another Scream without Wes because he was such a genius and he is the reason they are what they are but the directors have come to me with such a great appreciation for Wes’s work and they really want to honor it and that meant a lot to me.”