It’s been a hell of a year for “Bridesmaids” breakout star Melissa McCarthy — she landed an Oscar nod for the Kristen Wiig-penned comedy and an Emmy for your parents’ favorite CBS sitcom “Mike & Molly” — and she’s set to lead her first film with Jason Bateman in “Identity Thief.” With a dearth of comedies in the next few months, Universal has already started the ball rolling for comedy with two character one-sheets hitting the web yesterday.
Written by “The Hangover Part II” scribe Craig Mazan and directed by Seth Gordon, the film will follow Bateman as a straight-laced businessman who has his identity stolen by McCarthy and attempts to undo the mess she has caused. The comic potential here is ripe with Jon Favreau, Amanda Peet, John Cho, Robert Patrick and “Modern Family” actor (and newly minted Emmy winner) Eric Stonestreet, filling out supporting roles. However, Gordon's previous effort "Horrible Bosses" was something of a missed opportunity so we'll see how this turns out.
“Identity Thief” hits theaters on February 8, 2013. Check out the character posters of McCarthy and Bateman below. [Huffington Post/Moviefone]
It's Craig *Mazin*.