“50 First Dates” helmer to direct romantic comedy “Holidates”

PanARMENIAN.Net - Comedy specialist Peter Segal, the director of “50 First Dates”, has signed on to helm the independent romantic comedy “Holidates”, Variety reports.

The script is written by Laura Sandler and based on a real-life personal Craigslist ad in which two strangers link up via Craigslist and agree to be fake girlfriend and boyfriend for the duration of the holiday season. Neither the leads nor production date have been announced.

Mosaic and Lotus Entertainment are producing along with Segal’s Callahan Filmworks. President of Production Ara Keshishian and Sarah Gabriel are overseeing the project for Lotus Entertainment alongside Langley Perer and Matt Riley for Mosaic. Callahan’s Michael Ewing and Segal are executive producing.

Lotus will finance and handle worldwide sales.

Segal is also attached to directe science-fiction saga “Inversion,” which Samuel L. Jackson joined last week with Facing East on board to produce. Shooting is expected to begin Feb. 27 at Babelsberg Studios in Berlin. Foresight Unlimited was handling sales during the American Film Market.

Segal’s credits include “50 First Dates,” “Anger Management,” “The Longest Yard,” “My Fellow Americans,” “Tommy Boy” and “The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps.” Segal made his feature film directorial debut in 1994 with “Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult.” In 1995, he formed his production company, Callahan Filmworks, along with longtime producing partner Michael Ewing.

Laura Sandler’s credits include “Bottle Girls,” which is set up at Lionsgate with Vertigo producing; “Sorta Like a Rockstar” for Fox Searchlight and Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey of Temple Hill; and co-wrote “Face It,” a CBS Films comedy that has McG’s Wonderland Sound and Vision producing. She is repped by Gersh, Mosaic and Felker, Toczek.

Lotus recently wrapped production with Keanu Reeves vehicle “Replicas.” Upcoming films include Halle Berry’s “Kipnap” and “November Criminals” with Ansel Elgort and Chloe Moretz starring and Sasha Gervase directing.

Mosaic is currently in pre-production on “Holmes & Watson” at Sony with Will Ferrell and John C Reilly and in post-production on Olivia Milch’s “Dude,” a coming-of-age film about four high school girls.