If you enjoyed Jon Hamm’s turn as wisecracking investigative reporter Irwin Maurice “Fletch” Fletcher in the recently released Confess Fletch, you may be in luck as writer/director Greg Mottola is already working on a follow-up film.
In an interview with Uproxx, Mottola stated that the executive at Mirzmax who spearheaded getting Confess Fletch into production now has him working on a screenplay for a second film to feature Hamm as the “investigative reporter of some repute.”
“He’s actually hired me to write a sequel,” states Mottola. “Will it ever get made? I’m not sure.”
The doubt about a Fletch sequel stems from the rather underwhelming release and marketing strategy the film received. Although the film received strong critical reviews (we liked it), it has had a hybrid release which saw it premiering in just over 500 theaters last weekend, while simultaneously debuting on Premium Video On Demand. With virtually no marketing push, Confess Fletch only earned a dismal $266,744 over those three days. This weekend, the number of screens that the film will be in drops by half to about 250.
It also speaks to the difficulties in today’s blockbuster-driven marketplace a small film – Confess Fletch had only a $20 million budget – faces when trying to get into theaters. Mottola notes, “I really feel like this is a product of: nobody knows what works at the moment and they’re trying stuff out, but it is very weird for me.”
Still, if Miramax is somewhat bullish on the film’s overall financial success, that optimism could be coming from strong VOD sales as well as what they received from cable outlet Showtime to have the movie premier there in a month’s time.
As to what story the Fletch followup could be telling, Mottola states that he will once again be adapting another one of author Gregory Mcdonald’s eleven Fletch novels – Fletch’s Fortune.
“Fletch’s Fortune all takes place at a journalism conference,” Mottola says. “So I’ve got lots of ideas how to bring that into all the insane worlds of today.”
Here’s hoping we get to see it.
