Payne may direct the romantic comedy…
TheWrap has learned that ‘Nebraska’ and ‘The Descendants’ helmer Alexander Payne is eyeing the director’s chair for ‘Septillion to One,’ a romantic comedy scripted by Adam R. Perlman (‘The Newsroom’) and Graham Sack (‘The Morgan Principle’).
Described as a cross between ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ and ‘Ocean’s 11,’ the film focuses on an overzealous former FBI agent who has been relegated to the fraud unit of the Texas State Lottery. He realizes the odds are over one in a billion for this to happen, creating a game of cat and mouse with the suspect whom he ultimately falls head over heels in love.
The film is inspired by the true story of Joan Ginther, who won the Texas State Lottery four times, partly to a PhD in statistics from Stanford.
‘Septillion to One’ is set up over at OddLot Enterainment with Gigi Pritzker producing alongside Marquee Entertainment’s Linda McDonough, and Tom McNulty and his Mc2 banner.
“Linda and Tom brought us this contemporary romantic comedy that kept us riveted and entertained until the end,” said Pritzker in a statement. “This is a smart script, based on a true story out of Texas, has commercial viability with a slew of A-list talent and directors already interested.”