The Movie In Which Jon Hamm and Melissa McCarthy Fall in Love Is Dead

We say this so much it’s almost getting boring, but here we go again: Paul Feig is awesome. In an interview with Grantland, he talks about how teen couples making out are yucky, passing the Bechdel test, and the fate of the film in which Jon Hamm and Melissa McCarthy would play romantic interests.

Last year, Feig was working on a script called Dumb Jock. Hamm and McCarthy were the rumored leads. At the time, Feig said: “I’m writing with them in mind, and it’s just a love story that I’ve always wanted to write, that I think will be really funny, but will play much more real than most quote-unquote romantic comedies. Fingers crossed, I get them to do it.”

Speaking with Grantland, Feig says:

“Yeah, I wrote it, and the studio loved it, but Jon and Melissa didn’t want to do it… It’s one of my favorite things I’ve ever written. Maybe we’ll relaunch it. I love funny Hamm.”

Sniffle. “Maybe we’ll relaunch it” is hopeful, but it sounds like the project is not moving forward.

The good news is that The Heat: 2 is a go, and Paul Feig remains awesome. More great stuff from the interview…

On The Heat:

I was attracted to the idea of a film about two women who hadn’t chosen the usual path of marriage and children, and how do you find support in that kind of situation.

And:

It’s this feeling in Hollywood that women want romance. And obviously people do. But for me it was, “Can I do something different? Because this is boring.”

Then writer/editor Mary Kaye Schilling says: “I think there’s enough blood and violence to save you. But you have once again aced the Bechdel test.” And Feig replies: “I’m so happy!” When she points out that he may be the only male director who knows what the Bechdel test is; Feig asserts:

I think every film should have men and women working on it, to keep it from tipping too far in any direction. Each sex needs to call the other one on their bullshit. If my movies feel accurate, it’s because I vet all the women on the set. And they’re not shy about letting me know if something is not real. They often make it funnier. I don’t know, I just love hanging out with women. I laugh more than I do with my male friends.

The entire thing is worth your while; he touches on Freaks and Geeks, Arrested Development, The Office and Mad Men.