Julia Roberts and Jennifer Aniston will switch bodies in a new comedy from Palm Springs filmmaker Max Barbakow.
Amazon landed the film after a bidding war between several studios and streamers, according to Deadline, who were first to report the news of the project. Barbakow will write and direct the film, which is being supported by Margot Robbie’s production company, LuckyChap Entertainment. CAA brokered the sale to Amazon.
Aside from its outstanding talent and financiers, little to nothing is known about the film — including a title or logline. But the recent surprise hits of “Ticket to Paradise,” starring Roberts and George Clooney, and “The Lost City,” starring Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum, have proven that at a time when the genre is different, there’s real demand for star-driven movies Comedies are commercially fought. “Ticket to Paradise” and “The Lost City” each grossed more than $150 million at the box office worldwide.
Amazon’s upcoming film listing includes the documentary Judy Blume Forever and Somebody I Used to Know, a romantic comedy directed by Dave Franco and starring Alison Brie and Jay Ellis. The former will be released on April 21, while the latter will debut on the streamer on February 10, in time for Valentine’s Day.
Barbakow is best known for Palm Springs, which he directed in his feature film debut. The high-concept comedy, which sees Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti stuck in a time warp as wedding guests, premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, where it sold to Neon and Hulu for a then-record $17.5 million. Palm Springs was intended to be played in theaters, but since it was released during the pandemic, it was primarily shown online and at select drive-thru locations.
In Variety’s review of “Palm Springs,” senior film critic Peter Debruge described the story as “ironic, irreverent, and at times demented” and praised the film for “doing something new with a genre that audiences have experienced a million times.” .