It's not what you do, it's how you do it. And Warner Bros is looking to reboot the Cannonball Run franchise.
The studio, which released the 1984 Cannonball Run sequel, but not the 1981 original, is in negotiations to get it off and running. Deadline Hollywood reports that the studio is talking to Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant to write the script.
Lennon has written some iconic car movies, like 2004's Taxi, Herbie: Fully Loaded, and Monster Trucks. Ok, maybe that's being a little too loose with the word iconic. But you'll probably know Lennon and Garant best from their roles in Reno 911! They're also the co-creators of that show.
Cannonball Run is the ensemble road race comedy that starred Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Farrah Fawcett, Jackie Chan, and just about everybody who was anybody in comedy in 1980. Written by Brock Yates and directed by Hal Needham, the movie was based on the actual Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash cross-country illegal races that took place in the 1970s. The stars raced from New York City to Long Beach CA, with sabotage and zany antics along the way.
The original was a protest about the 55 mph (88.5 km/h) speed limit that slowed down the US from 1973 to 1995. With some states now having 80 mph (129 km/h) or higher limits, we're not sure what the movie will focus on. But hopefully it doesn't trade the zany comedy of the originals for whatever it was the Need for Speed movie became.
At this point, it could be a few years before it hits the screen, but as long as it has the most distinguished group of highway scofflaws and degenerates ever gathered together in one place again, we're looking forward to it.
