"Project X" star Thomas Mann is in final negotiations to star in "King Dork," a co-production between Will Ferrell and Adam McKay's Gary Sanchez Prods. banner and NALA Films.
Matt Piedmont ("Casa de Mi Padre") will direct from a script by D.V. DeVincentis, who adapted Frank Portman's 2006 novel.
Story follows best friends Tom and Sam, two outsiders who bond over their shared love of classic rock and roll, which helps them cope with the agony of getting through high school in 1987.
Mann is in talks to play Tom, while his "It's Kind of a Funny Story" co-star Keir Gilchrist is being eyed for the role of Sam. "Parks and Recreation" star Nick Offerman, who appears in Piedmont's "Padre," is circling the role of Tom's stepdad.
Ferrell and McKay will produce with fellow Gary Sanchez execs Kevin Messick and Chris Henchy, while NALA's Emilio Diez Barroso and Darlene Caamano Loquet will also produce. NALA is financing the pic, which starts production in June.
"King Dork" was the first project Gary Sanchez bought when the company launched in 2006. It previously bounced from Paramount Vantage to Sony, which put the project in turnaround.
With the low-budget teen party pic "Project X" grossing $50 million stateside, Mann's career has as much heat as any young actor in Hollywood [praise Jebus]. Thesp, who co-stars in a pair of upcoming Paramount pics -- "Fun Size" and "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters" -- just landed one of the lead roles in Alcon Entertainment's adaptation of the popular young adult novel "Beautiful Creatures." He'll next be seen alongside Claire Danes and James Marsden in the indie "As Cool as I Am."
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