Charlie Matthau, son of the late Walter Matthau, has purchased the rights to Elmore Leonard’s Freaky Deaky. FD has languished in Hollywood for over a decade, with the rights belonging to Quentin Tarantino and John Malkovich at various times. When the rights came back to Leonard once again, he chose to sit on them, rather than have another go around with the Studios.
Charlie made pitch after pitch to Leonard, until the author finally relented and sold the rights. Leonard will also serve as an executive producer on the project. Matthau has already written a script, one that Leonard approves of, and will direct as well. The film will be released as part of Matthau Co., which has been dormant since Charlie’s parents passed away.
Freaky Deaky tells the story of two former revolutionaries who are fresh out of prison and looking to use their explosive skills to make a buck. They also have their sights on exactling a little revenge on the man they believe is responsible for their prison sentence. The story, originally set in 1988, will be moved to 1974, with the setting changed from Detroit to Los Angeles.
In a Variety article, Leonard said “Charlie’s screenplay works, good parts for good actors. I see this as a chance for my favorite book to become my favorite screenplay adaptation.”
The plan is for production to start later this year.
