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Posted in: Fox, Netflix, TV | Tagged: arrested development, jason bateman, matt damon
Arrested Development: Bateman on Damon Pitching to Play Him in Film
Arrested Development star Jason Bateman revealed Matt Damon's pitch for him to play his character Michael Bluth for the film version.
Article Summary
- Jason Bateman reminisces about Matt Damon's pitch to play Michael Bluth in Arrested Development's film version.
- Matt Damon expressed interest in embodying Bateman's role during a Golden Globes encounter.
- Series creator Hurwitz considered a meta plot with Hollywood actors playing the Bluth family.
- Bateman discusses the potential film's dynamics and reflects on future prospects for the series.
Jason Bateman will always treasure his memories of the Fox/Netflix sitcom Arrested Development as Michael Bluth, a man who's trying to manage not only his family's company, but their dysfunction too while his father is imprisoned. As far as what if scenarios, one was pitched by Oscar-winner Matt Damon to play his character Michael for the film version of the Mitchell Hurwitz-created series. Bateman appeared on Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend podcast to share the story.
Bateman on How Arrested Development Film Could Have Panned Out
"I remember Matt Damon coming up to me at — I think it was like a Golden Globes or something — and I was so excited to meet him and, and he was a huge fan of Arrested Development," Bateman recalled. "And he was saying, 'You know, I really think I could play because I hear you guys are doing the movie; I think I could… can I play you?'" When O'Brien pressed further on why Damon was that specific in the pitch, Bateman responded that Hurwitz "was thinking the story of the 'Arrested Development' movie would be that in the show, Hollywood wanted to make a movie about [the Bluth family], and we certainly couldn't play ourselves, because we're not actors."
Bateman said that his Bluth would be on set watching Damon play him in the film while "David Cross would play Tobias in the film as well because he was an actor" in the series. Cross's Tobias Fünke is Michael's brother-in-law, a psychiatrist-turned-actor with zero self-awareness. The series has had plenty of high-profile guest stars from Charlize Theron, Ben Stiller, Carl Weathers, Liza Minnelli, Mo Collins, Judy Greer, and others. Arrested Development ran on Fox from 2003-2006 before it was revived by Netflix from 2013-2019 for two additional seasons. As far as any hope for any future revivals, which won't include Jessica Walter, who passed in 2021, Bateman left little to the imagination in his tongue-in-cheek response, "I don't think anybody gives a shit. I think it's done." The series, which also stars Michael Cera, Portia de Rossi, Will Arnett, Alia Shawkat, Tony Hale, Ron Howard, and Jeffrey Tambor is available on Netflix. For more, you can check out the podcast.
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