"Hangover" star Galifianakis considers next move
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Zach Galifianakis is in one of the biggest hits of the summer, "The Hangover." Now he's being very careful before he orders his next drink.
The actor's name has surfaced in connection with at least three projects, those familiar with the situation have said: Todd Phillips' pregnancy-themed comedy "Due Date"; the laugher "Say Uncle"; and another Phillips project, the supernatural comedy "Man-Witch." All three are set up at Warner Bros.
In addition, there's a Warners-ballyhooed sequel to the Phillips-directed "Hangover," which could put the same cast of characters in newly outrageous situations -- and could bring back Galifianakis.
Of the two Phillips projects, one is reminiscent of "Hangover," while the other would take him in a different direction.
"Due Date" centers on a slacker who hits the road with an uptight businessman; like "Hangover," it features a road trip and a baby among its plot lines.
But "Man-Witch," a project to which Jack Black once was attached, is an entirely different animal: It centers on a man who finds he has supernatural talents -- a discovery that leads him to attend an all-girls witch school.
The three movies have been presented in Hollywood circles as Galifianakis projects (in order to attract other cast members), but the actor has yet to commit to any of them.
Typically, an actor will make a new deal just before his new movie comes out, or -- in the case of a film that's expected to be a hit -- not long after.
The success of "Hangover," which has earned $204 million in five weeks of domestic release, was expected to prompt a flurry of deals. And indeed, one of the film's other stars, Bradley Cooper, signed on for a plum role in 20th Century Fox's reboot of "The A-Team" shortly after "Hangover" became a hit.
Galifianakis, though, has been far more deliberate.
Many moviegoers discovered him at multiplexes this summer, but he's hardly a newcomer. The 39-year-old North Carolina native is well known on the stand-up circuit for his offbeat brand of humor, and he has done a number of Comedy Central specials.
But it was his role as a dazed slacker in "Hangover," in which he famously walks through part of the movie with a baby strapped to his chest, that vaulted him to stardom.
(Editing by Sheri Linden at Reuters)
