The other day I told you that Ben Stiller was taking over the Eddie Murphy role in Tower Heist, once called Trump Heist, once known as ‘The Black Ocean’s 11.’ In that article I said there would be rewrites. Now it looks like those rewrites will be coming from none other than Noah Baumbach.
Stiller and Baumbach have Greenberg coming out (which I hear is very good, although I don’t see it until tomorrow), so it makes sense that Ben would bring his buddy on to rewrite Ted Griffin’s script. And Baumbach is changing it all up – instead of a group of black con men heisting Trump Tower, this will be a multiracial group of guys trying to steal back money from a Bernie Madoff type who swindled old ladies and stuff. I don’t know – I don’t need my heist guys to have altruistic motives.
Stiller will be the leader and director Brett Ratner wants James Caan to play the Madoff character, according to Showbiz 411. I just wonder how much longer Ratner has on this project, now that Stiller is essentially taking over and staffing it with his people.