| |
By MICHAEL FLEMING
MGM is near a deal to transform "Malcolm
in the Middle" star Frankie Muniz into a teenage equivalent of James Bond.
After a weeklong bidding battle, MGM is in final negotiations
for "Agent Cody Banks," a Jeffrey Jurgensen-scripted adventure film, which
Muniz will topline during his "Malcolm" hiatus. Production will start June
1.
Muniz will be paid at least $2 million, making him the best compensated
child movie star since the "Home Alone" heyday of Macaulay Culkin.
|
|
Size of his salary is the result of his "Malcolm" following
coupled with the strong performance of the $14 million Universal comedy "Big
Fat Liar," which is headed toward a $50 million gross.
MGM emerged with
 exclusive negotiation rights after an auction that involved five studios,
with MGM and New Line battling into the weekend.
Film will be produced by Dylan Prods. and Maverick
Films for Splendid Pictures, the upstart company run by Andreas Klein and
David Glasser that recently announced its first project, Jan De
|
|
Bont-directed pic "The Courier."
"Agent Cody Banks" concerns a teen drafted by the US. government
for covert missions requiring youth sized participants.
MGM topper Michael
Nathanson and production president Alex Gartner lobbied hard to make the film
a linchpin of an effort to move into family-oriented fare and committed to
greenlight a film with a budget around $20 million. Pic's viewed as having
marketing potential akin to that of MGM's hit "Legally Blonde," which the
studio is trying to sequelize.
Muniz is repped by 3 Arts' Jeff Golenberg and agented by Wendy
Green.
|
|
