Sony Fast Track Driverless Car Film That Doesn’t Star The Hoff

Sony get KITT’ed up with Gore Verbinski.

By Nicholas Staniforth /

Deadline, reports are in that the the studio is heading onto the tarmac with writer Steve Conrad and director Gore Verbinski for a new comedy with no one behind the wheel. Steering into It€™s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World-like territory the currently €˜Driverless Car Pic€™ (working title, naturally) sees two leading companies in the automotive world go head to head with vehicles that don€™t need any human input. Keen to show the other up, said parties set up a transcontinental trip that eventually sees the cars go a bit out of control and off the route, with passengers inside each vehicle keen to take control. Laughs are had, cars are dented and someone nearly drives into a cow, probably. There€™s currently no cast confirmed just yet but Verbinski told the trade that €œessentially, we are going to take the funniest comedic actors of this generation and slowly unleash them as we examine every notion of €˜passengers€™ who fundamentally cannot remain passive.€ Conrad added, €œwe want to invert the whole premise of a road trip where the promise has always been, €˜anything can happen€™, and say, €˜what if anything can€™t happen€™? What does that do to the test subject? What are the breaking points.?€ Clearly he€™s not been on that many road trips when the radio doesn€™t work, or no one knows how to play the alphabet game. Expect this to start flying through the development stages now that Verbinski and Conrad have free time following their North-Korea based-film, Pyongyang, getting canned. So far, it€™s sounding not too dissimilar from a National Lampoon€™s Vacation or any other road-trip movie, if it weren€™t for Verbinski€™s input. Considering this man is a dab hand at working stunning set pieces (even though the story surrounding it might be lacking), it€™ll be interesting to see what he can deliver when he€™s on the road. Just leave Johnny Depp on the pavement will you, please? There€™s a good lad.

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