Kevin Hart to headline 'Les Intouchables' remake
The actor who toplined the box-office hit "Ride Along" will co-star with Colin Firth in the US remake of the French comedy, according to "Les Intouchables" co-director Olivier Nakache.
Released in 2011, "Les Intouchables" depicts an unlikely friendship that develops when a man who would rather live off unemployment benefits (Omar Sy) is forced to take a job as a live-in caregiver to a wealthy quadriplegic (François Cluzet). The Weinstein Company acquired the rights to a US adaptation of the film in 2012.
According to Nakache, speaking to the French radio program Radio Shalom, Kevin Hart has been cast in a role based on Omar Sy's. The actor will share the billing with Colin Firth, who is set to follow in François Cluzet's footsteps in the role of the wheelchair-bound employer.
Tom Shadyac, known for helming over-the-top comedies including "Bruce Almighty" and "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective," is attached to helm the remake, though no production or release dates have been announced.
In the meantime, Colin Firth, who is currently in theaters in Woody Allen's "Magic in the Moonlight," will return in "Before I Go to Sleep" in late October and in "Kingsman: The Secret Service" in February 2015.
