Fletch Beats Kevin Smith Back With A Stick

Hey guys, it's Donnie...There have long been rumors that Kevin Smith would soon be bringing one of the greatest masters of disguise back to the big screen. No, not this guy. I'm speaking of none other than Fletch, possibly the greatest non-golfing role of Chevy Chase's career. Smith has long been working on a new script based upon the prequel book, Fletch Won, and before he decided to Go Back To The Well, it looked as if this might be his next project.

Well, so much for that.

Smith is officially off Fletch Won. Producer David List had this to say:

“It's not that Kevin isn't talented or funny. It's just that his comedic style, ultimately, proved not translate well for Fletch, at least as I and Harvey felt. Keep an open mind. There's lot's of very funny writers out there. You might be surprised.”

I think that Smith would have really done right by this movie, if only because he almost definitely would have brought Jason Lee onboard as Fletch. In my mind, Lee is on a very short list of people who would be right for this role. The only others that really jump out at me are Ryan Reynolds and possibly Zach Braff, who has also been floating around the project for a while and even met with Smith at one point. I actually wouldn't mind seeing Braff take the reins on this project as he did with Garden State, but honestly, I get really nervous when the producers start saying things like "Keep an open mind," and "You might be surprised." That's the kind of thinking that landed Brett Ratner on X3, which, by the way, I'm told is on it's 3rd director of photography. Gah....