The Los Angeles Times reports that Bruce Willis will play an intimidating principal in Assassination of a High School President, an original script written by first-time screenwriters Tim Calpin and Kevin Jakubowski.
A comedic homage to Chinatown set in a Catholic high school, “Assassination” is replete with surprising twists, duplicitous characters and a wry, hard-boiled voice-over delivered by Bobby Funke, a bullied sophomore investigating the theft of the school’s SAT exams for St. Dominick’s newspaper.
Yari Film Group optioned Jakubowski and Calpin’s screenplay last fall, and Willis has signed a pay-or-play deal to shoot the film in July for video and commercial director Brett Simon, making his feature film debut.
Willis will play principal John T. Kirkpatrick, a Desert Storm veteran fond of recounting pungent anecdotes from his time liberating Kuwait.
The hipness of the screenplay’s concept and tone echo the high school environs of John Hughes movies. That, and the popularity of Simon’s music videos, have prompted many of the industry’s hottest young actors Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan, among others to show interest in Francesca, the femme fatale. (Willis’ 18-year-old daughter, Rumer, last seen in Hostage, will appear in a supporting role.)
