Commercial Director Fredrik Bond To Make Feature Film Debut With Romantic Action Comedy Starring Zac Efron
Thefirst timewe heard aboutThe Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman, it was set to star Shia LaBeouf with commercial director Dante Ariola helming. Since then, fellow Disney alumZac Efronhas taken over LaBeouf’s role, and a different commercial director,Fredrik Bond, has stepped in for Ariola. Also, it’s not calledThe Necessary Death of Charlie Countrymananymore. A lot can change in a year. Read more after the jump.
Efron first set preteen girls' hearts aflutter as the singing, basketball-playing star of Disney’s enormously popularHigh School Musical. Since leaving the franchise, however, he hasn’t had much luck staking his claim as a serious actor. Though some of his films —Hairsprayand17 Again— have done well at the box office, Efron has yet to make a strong impression outside his big Disney role. His last movie,Charlie St. Cloud, was considered a commercial and critical disappointment. His next films will be this year’sNew Year’s Eve(brought to you by the same people who madeValentine’s Day), due out later this year, and the Nicholas Sparks adaptationThe Lucky One(not to be confused with 2008’sThe Lucky Ones), due out next year. While it’s too early to say how either of those films will turn out, the results ofValentine’s Dayand every Nicholas Sparks adaptation that isn’tThe Notebookaren’t exactly inspiring optimism.
As for the new project: The as-yet-untitled romantic action comedy revolves around a young American man (Efron) who travels to Eastern Europe and falls in love with a local woman who happens to have a criminal ex-boyfriend. Said ex subjects Efron’s character to a succession of beatings before Efron can win his lady’s heart. Asother peoplehave pointed out, it sounds a little bit like last year’s box office flopScott Pilgrim vs. The World— but for the sake of Bond and Efron, I’m hoping this one will be a litle more financially successful.
Discuss:Are you looking forward to the untitled Bond-Efron project? Is going from LaBeouf to Efron a step up, or a step down?
