Exclusive! Jason Bateman Confirms Arrested Development Movie Talks

By Kristin Dos Santos Feb 02, 2008 1:59 AMTags
Jason Bateman, Jeffrey Tambor, Arrested DevelopmentSam Urdank/FOX

This just might be the best news we Arrested fans have heard in a very long time.

Jason Bateman has just confirmed to me that the creative minds behind Arrested Development (Mitch Hurwitz and Ron Howard) have put the wheels in motion toward a major motion picture of the Fox TV comedy so many of us adore. I'm told by insiders that Jason and other Bluth family members have received calls from producers (Hurwitz and Howard) asking if they would be willing to shoot a movie.

"I can confirm that a round of sniffing has started," Bateman says. "Any talk is targeting a poststrike situation, of course. I think, as always, that it's a question of whether the people with the money are willing to give our leader, Mitch Hurwitz, what he deserves for his participation. And I can speak for the cast when I say our fingers are crossed."

Jeffrey Tambor also revealed on XM Radio's the Ron and Fez Show that he has been approached by Ron Howard to see if he's willing to do an Arrested film. (You can hear that interview below.)

For the record, both Jason and Jeffrey's answers were: Hells yeah. And I hear from other sources that other castmembers were called and that everyone seems to be very much on board and excited by the prospect.

Insiders also tell me that while creator Mitch Hurwitz does not yet have a script, he has a good, solid understanding of what he'd like to do for the movie, and Universal is very much interested.

And so it seems that a few good—wait, no, outrageously amazing—things just might come out of this unfortunate writers' strike, as the creative minds in this town have had time to pause, regroup and think about their dream projects.

And an Arrested movie is a pretty great dream, is it not?

So, let's join our crossed fingers with the rest of the cast, shall we? And how about a little support in the Comments section below?