I don't know where
Justin Bieber came from or why a certain female demographic find such an ordinary kid so appealing but it sure looks like movie audiences are going to be lumped with him, for the time being at least.
Deadline are reporting that the tweenage sensation who sold a near $100 million concert movie this year on his image alone, is being courted by Paramount to star alongside
Mark Wahlberg in a currently untitled but fastly developing movie about street basketball. In what would be his first leading dramatic role, Bieber has entered talks with the studio for the movie described as a cross between
The Color of Money and
The Karate Kid, which I guess means Wahlberg is the coach who sees talent in the horizontally challenged Bieber and wants to groom him into a star. Typical sports drama stuff where the kid who is the least likely to succeed, succeeds, etc. The idea for the movie came about when well known basketball fan Wahlberg and producer
Stephen Levinson watched Bieber show off his impressive basketball skills during an NBA Charity & Professionals All-Star Game in February, a match where he was named MVP. Very quickly Wahlberg saw dollar signs in his eyes (the recent Karate Kid remake about a teenage protagonist fighting against the odds in the sports genre made $176 million domestic, more money than Tron Legacy!!) and with the Bieber fanbase rabidly wanting him to make a high profile feature film, you can see how this one has quickly come together. Smart business move all around and as Wahlberg likes to shoot hoops (he has his own full size court at his home where he regularly plays full-sized games with his mates, one of which being Leonardo DiCaprio who he co-starred in the The Basketball Diaries in 1995), a great excuse for him to tackle a movie about a hobby he loves. Writing the script is
Ian Edelman, creator of the HBO series How To Make It In America, a show exec produced by Wahlberg and this one could shoot this year if all the pieces fall in the right place. Though Warner Bros might have something to say on that matter as they are currently trying to develop their own starring vehicle for Bieber, along with fellow Twitter sensation
Ashton Kutcher in the comedy
What Would Kenny Do?