Mike Lowery
After the catastrophic misfire of “The Fanatic”- a terrible film with a top performance – floorboard twirler John Travolta seems to be working the gang at Artists First a little harder.
It’s been a rough road for JT in recent times, with films like “The Poison Rose”, “Trading Paint”, “Speed Kills” and “Gotti”, doing very little but fill empty spaces on an Apple iTunes grid. Seemingly as sick of dredging through muck as the rest of us, the ’70s superstar is ostensibly picking smarter and more interesting projects going forward.
Travolta, who hasn’t had a hit in about a decade (was it “Hairspray”!?), recently signed to star opposite Kevin Hart in a new Quibi comedy series called “Die Hart” – this one sounds a trip!The promising small-screen venture, which will also star Nathalie Emmauel and Josh Hartnett, sees Hart play a fictionalized version of himself who is tired of being the comedic sidekick. He gets his wish when a famous director offers him his dream – to be a leading man action star – but there’s a catch: Hart must first train at the world’s greatest action star school, run by a lunatic (Travolta). Pushed to his limits by this action school coach and a tough-minded rival student, Hart must survive a series of hilarious, over-the-top action sequences and face his fears if he wants to achieve his dream and land the role of a lifetime.
With word today that Quibi is branching out to TV – something they didn’t plan on doing – instead of just targeting mobile phones, there’ll be a bigger audience for Travolta’s comedy comeback too.
And speaking of, the “Welcome Back Kotter” star is also circling a plum role in the highly-anticipated “MacGruber” sequel series.
Travolta would step in for Val Kilmer on the NBCUniversal show, playing Commander Enos Queeth, a “diabolical villain intent on winning any challenge he faces. He’s smart, cunning, doesn’t have time for bullshit and lives to embarrass MacGruber at every opportunity available.”
How slick would that be, fans!?
The Illuminerdi say Travolta would star alongside returning cast members Will Forte, Kristen Wiig and Ryan Phillippe in the series.
Have Quentin Tarantino cast Travolta in his next, please!?
