Fletch Won (film)

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Fletch Won
Directed by	Bill Lawrence
Produced by	David List
Written by	Bill Lawrence (screenplay) Gregory Mcdonald (novel)
Starring	Zach Braff (in talks)
Distributed by	The Weinstein Company
Release date(s)	2007
Country	USA
Language	English
Preceded by	Fletch Lives (1989)
IMDb profile

Fletch Won is a film currently in pre-production, based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Gregory Mcdonald. It will be the third motion picture to feature the character of wisecracking reporter Fletch, after Fletch (1985) and Fletch Lives (1989), both of which starred Chevy Chase. Fletch Won is being directed by Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence, with Scrubs actor Zach Braff in talks to star. The film is set to start shooting in April 2007, during Scrubs's hiatus.^[1]

[edit] History

A follow-up to Fletch Lives had been discussed in the nineties, but never came to fruition. In June 2000, however, Variety announced that Kevin Smith was set to write and direct a Fletch film at Miramax Films, after the rights to the books, which Universal Studios had owned, reverted.^[2] At the time, Miramax co-head Harvey Weinstein gushed, "With [Smith] at the helm, we have the chance to make Fletch Miramax Films' first-ever franchise."

Smith spent some time deciding which Fletch novel to adapt for the screen before settling on Fletch Won, which follows Fletch in his early years as newspaper junior reporter. Smith, an avowed fan of the books, intended to follow the novel's plot and characters much more closely than earlier Fletch films had. Around this time, Smith mentioned Jason Lee and Ben Affleck as possible choices to play Fletch.^[3]

In August 2003, Entertainment Weekly reported that the film was set to start shooting in January, with Smith still at the helm. The role of Fletch remained uncast, with Smith considering a list ranging from Affleck to actors like Brad Pitt, Will Smith, and Jimmy Fallon.^[3] Filming was delayed, however, and Smith eventually left the project in October 2005, stating on The Howard Stern Show that a studio executive told him that they "weren't in the 'Chevy Chase' business any more."^{[citation needed]}

Smith was replaced as writer/director by Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence, and Scrubs star Zach Braff was rumored to be in talks for the lead role.^[1] In January 2007, Braff posted on his web site that "Bill Lawrence is writing and directing Fletch in the spring and he wants me to play young Fletch, but no firm plans are in place yet. He is still writing the script."^[4]

The film will be Lawrence's directorial debut. He has enthused, "Not only can I recite the original Fletch movie line for line, I actually read all the Greg Mcdonald books as a kid. Consider me obsessed--I'm going to try as hard as I can not to screw this up."^[1] Lawrence is signed to direct both Fletch Won and a sequel.^[1]