There comes a time in every man’s life when he realizes he’s reached an age where he can no longer insert toy cars in his rectum like he used to, and so it is that the Jackass crew approaches its “lion in winter” phase by opting for safer, scripted fare. Paramount is currently readying two projects around Johnny Knoxville and his cohorts, including First Man, which will star Knoxville as a rowdy, rambunctious hellraiser whose wife is elected president, leaving him to transform the White House into a non-stop fraternity party.
Oddly, a very similar premise—with the exact same title—was floating around in 2005 (back when Hillary Clinton still seemed like a lock) under the direction of Diane English, with Robert De Niro attached to play a “Ted Turner-like mogul” who feels somewhat emasculated when his wife, played by Meryl Streep, wins the presidency. This new First Man, written by Max Spicer and Matt Winkler, will no doubt go in a slightly different direction. Knoxville is also attached to star in a dusted-off comedy pitch from ’08 called Mustache Riders, co-starring with Jackass crew members Bam Margera and Ryan Dunn as three petty criminals in search of buried treasure with the aid of a grizzled outlaw played by Willie Nelson. As far as we know, Meryl Streep was never attached to this one.