‘Arrested Development’ Film Tracker: Two Contracts, Two Directors?

It’s time to haul out our favourite “musty old claptrap”: Defamer’s Arrested Development Film Tracker™! Today, THR says that two important AD contracts have finally been signed, locking down a studio (Fox Searchlight) and paving the way for an actual script to be written. Then, though, the trade throws out a bizarre curveball about just who exactly will be directing the movie:

The “Arrested Development” feature has moved closer to reality, with Mitch Hurwitz and Ron Howard reportedly closing deals for the long-gestating project from Imagine and Fox Searchlight. [...]

Hurwitz, who created and exec produced the Emmy-winning series, is on board to write the film as well as direct with help from Howard.

Will Howard’s “help” extend to a co-directing slot? We had always figured Hurwitz was a no-brainer to direct , but then we realised that he never actually helmed any episodes of his series (to be fair, he still show-ran the hell out of it). We’ll say one thing: Howard might seem a little too middlebrow to actually sit in a director’s chair for the Arrested Development movie, but a speedo-clad Tom Hanks feels a lot more in tune with the AD sensibility than it does with the Da Vinci Code sequel.

• ‘Arrested Development’ film gets closer [THR]