Back in 2007 director Shawn Levy was set to direct Ben Stiller and Tom Cruise in “The Hardy Men”, a remake of the popular “Hardy Boys” series.
The film would have the Hardy Boys all grown up, and not getting along, reunite to solve a new crime old-school style. Simon Kinberg was going to do a rewrite on the project, but since then there has been no movement regarding the film. Director Levy has talked to Starpulse and explained why it's taking so long to get to the screen.
According to Levy: "Developing a movie for a movie star is hard. Developing a movie for two movie stars is a very, very challenging enterprise. The bull's eye is small and the tone has to be exactly right. So we are still working on it. I saw how well Ben and Tom got along with “Tropic Thunder” and that's what gave me the idea of wait a second, I've got to do a movie with them together. Wait a second, let's do The Hardy Men with them together. That brainchild came about because I saw their chemistry as friends."
Levy also said that part of the development process is also figuring out what mystery grown-up Hardy’s would solve. "We have tried several. We have not locked in on one." It seems that the biggest hiccup is that Levy can’t find a script that fits the vision he has the project.
Stiller obviously is a comedic giant, but Cruise also has a knack for laughs including his work in “Risky Business”, “Cocktail” and “Jerry Maguire.” If you’ll notice I purposely left out “Tropic Thunder”; I know many people found him hilarious in that film, but I was not one of those people.
I’m hoping that Levy can figure things out, because the prospect of Stiller and Cruise teaming up is a rare combination of star power.
