It’s been quite some time since it was announced that Brewster’s Millions would be getting a new big screen adaptation. Planned at Warner Bros. six years ago, Variety reports today that the project is now moving forward through Final Girl producers Joseph and Jack Nasser. They’ve set Robert Towsend (The Five Heartbearts) to direct.
Originally a novel by George Barr McCutcheon, the 1902 text is described in Wildside Press recent edition as follows:
Montgomery Brewster is a man of great potential. Heir to his uncle’s fortune, he is a playboy, very much the American equivalent of P.G. Wodehouse’s Bertie Wooster. However, unlike Bertie, Monty Brewster has a shrewd intellect behind his shallow exterior. Following his uncle’s death, he discovers the old man has bequeathed one million dollars to him . . . or, if he is up to the challenge, he can win 7 million by spending the one million dollar inheritance within the space of a year. When Monty decides to go for the big jackpot, he has to keep his plans a secret from everyone — even though it may cost him his fiancee and his friends!
The text was subsequently adapted for the big screen twice: Once in 1945 with Allan Dwan directing and Dennis O’Keefe starring and once in 1985 with Walter Hill at the helm and Richard Pryor headlining opposite John Candy.
