Mike Myers to star in 'Mitty' remake

Actor in on Fox, Goldwyn's 'Secret'

By MICHAEL FLEMING

Myers

Mike Myers is attached to star in "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," a remake of the Danny Kaye comedy classic that producer Samuel Goldwyn Jr. has moved from Paramount to 20th Century Fox.

Jay Kogen, a writer and producer on "The Simpsons," "Frasier" and, most recently, CBS' "The Class," is penning the script. Samuel Goldwyn Jr. and John Goldwyn will produce.

Jim Carrey had once been attached to play the daydreamer first brought to life in 1947 by Kaye in a pic based on a short story by James Thurber. Directors attached to the project on and off during the past few years include Steven Spielberg and Ron Howard. When those efforts didn't pan out, Goldwyn moved the film to Par, where "Mean Girls" director Mark Waters tried to do it with Owen Wilson.

Fox and Goldwyn are starting from scratch with a version that will be specifically tailored for Myers.

The long-gestating "Mitty" is one of several projects in the works for Myers, whose green alter ego is cleaning up at the box office in "Shrek the Third." His next live-action vehicle, Paramount comedy "The Love Guru," is on track to begin production in September in Toronto, with Marco Schnabel directing. Myers will play Pitka, a self-help guru character he created and honed in comedy clubs while writing the script with Graham Gordy.

"Mitty" will compete for Myers' next live-action slot with "See Me, Feel Me: Keith Moon Naked for Your Pleasure," the Spitfire Pictures/Gerber Pictures drama in which Myers will play the hard-living drummer for the British rock group the Who. Playwright Donald Margulies ("Brooklyn Boy") has completed a first draft and will do a rewrite. The Who lead singer Roger Daltrey is aboard as a producer.

The CAA-repped Myers has several projects looming in the future. He is attached to star in "How to Survive a Robot Uprising," an adaptation of a humorous survival guide written by Daniel H. Wilson that is "Reno 911!" duo Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant are scripting for Par. Myers also has begun early discussions with New Line and director Jay Roach for a fourth installment of the "Austin Powers" series. While no writer has yet been assigned, Myers is eyeing a sequel that tells the story from the viewpoint of Dr. Evil.