Louis C.K.‘s talents as a stand-up have been recognized for years, decades even. It wasn’t until his FX series “Louie“, however, when his skills as a writer and director were equally applauded. His filmmaking career, however, goes almost as far as his comedy, yet his 2001 misfire Pootie Tang restricted him from much activity in the director’s chair, beyond stand-up specials and eventually his acclaimed series.
Now that his show is a massive critical darling, however, it looks as though C.K. will get another chance to make a feature. He teams up with producer Scott Rudin, and also returns to work with “Louie” producers Dave Becky and Blair Breard, to write, direct and star in the indie film I’m a Cop.
The feature centers on a middle-aged, depressed man (C.K.) who volunteers as a police officer and lives in his mother’s shadow in the midst of her retired but celebrated officer career. When she passes away, he is forced to join as a real police officer under her continued influence, even though it’s a career he never wanted to do.
There’s a good chance there’s something of a spiritual, “Sopranos“-esque storyline involved with the main character and her mother following her passing, based on that description and C.K.’s love for surreal storytelling. Though details beyond this are slim, and it’s unclear where this film lies in terms of production or even script-wise.
It’s also uncertain if this film affects C.K.’s upcoming schedule on “Louie” and when audiences will see a sixth season. The multi-hyphenate is known for taking a hiatus when he wants, just like he did between seasons three and four. So it’s not hard to believe he’d want to focus solely on a new film creatively and not multi-task with the show and his ever-popular stand-up career to boot.
Also, while C.K. has carte blanche on his FX show, it looks as though he’ll take some notes from his producers on I’m a Cop. The actor/filmmaker doesn’t seem discouraged by this, though, as he told The Hollywood Reporter last month:
I don’t feel like I need anyone to tell me anything with a TV show because I know exactly what I’m doing, but I’d be arrogant to think that I can take someone’s $8 million and just turn in a movie. Movies are different. There’s a permanency to them. I was dealing with people every day whose pressures I didn’t understand, and I wasn’t very nice about how I said no to them. I put myself in a position I didn’t have to be in. A lot of what makes this kind of stuff work is empathy.
Based on Rudin’s success last year with C.K.’s good friend Chris Rock‘s return to film writing/directing/starring, Blue Jasmine. It’s also great to see C.K. still working under his own terms, while open to others’ opinions.
It’s interesting C.K. goes towards this subject matter based on his recent look at New York cops a few episodes back in “Cop Story,” which featured an excellent guest turn from Michael Rapaport as an unstable, low-level police officer. That episode proved the comedian could handle tonal shifts gracefully in telling the story of a down-on-his-luck police officer, but can he bring that same power to a feature? One should hope.
C.K. also recently headlined and directed his new stand-up special Louis C.K. Live From the Comedy Store, which is available to purchase on the comedian’s website for 5 bucks. [THR]
