"As Hollywood agents worry about the demise of the town's lowing cash cow, the multi-camera, staged sitcom, here to save the day is Arrested Development, a farce of such blazing wit and originality, that it must surely usher in a new era in comedy." – Alison Powell (The Guardian)
Arrested Development was a one-of-a kind marvel for American television, a perfectly realized sitcom about a hilariously dysfunctional family of offbeat, self-destructive 
characters presented in a fresh style of insider jokes and plot-dependent flashbacks that has come to define the show as the most sharply written sitcom ever to air on American television… and America missed it. Throughout its three years on Fox, Mitchell Hurwitz’s Arrested Development received very poor ratings, but garnered overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics. It won six Emmys and a Golden Globe Award, and yet America was so oblivious to the show’s very existence that it was finally cancelled in February 2006. But we faithful Arrested Development fans (one of the biggest ones among us being Keith Olbermann, by the way) have been desperately waiting for a film conception of the show to be developed since narrator/producer Ron Howard alluded to the prospects of Arrested Development: The Movie in the final line of the sitcom.
Click above to read more.
Here’s the status on the movie about our beloved Bluth family...
Despite countless rumors about cast holdouts and studio-exec apprehensions, creator Mitchell Hurwitz officially announced earlier this year that the film was being made. Hurwitz and producer Ron Howard have signed with Imagine and Fox Searchlight studios. Hurwitz is also set to direct, working with a studio-approved budget of $15 million. All of the cast members, most of whom partly owe their careers to the show (including Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Michael Cera), have made it clear that they would be willing to do the project. Even Cera, who was reported to be the only hesitant cast member, signed on in February 2009. But it would be far more interesting to know which actors will appear in cameos in the film. In the show’s three seasons there were numerous appearances by big-name actors such as Ben Stiller, Scott Baio, Carl Weathers, Liza Minnelli, Martin Short, Andy Richter, Charlize Theron, and Amy Poehler. There are no cameo details as of now.
Mitchell Hurwitz and co-executive producer James Vallely have been working on the script since the summer of 2009, and neither of them has given any indication when they plan to finish it. However, Hurwitz has offered a minute plot detail, mentioning in October that the movie will have a “heavy jail presence.” In light of the fact that the last episode featured the family being pursued on boat by the SEC, this makes perfect sense.
Bateman mentioned in a press interview for his recent film, “Extract,” “I think that, on an artistic level, putting his [Hurwitz] writing in a movie theater, where you are trapped and you are focused on one source of light in a dark room, allows you to appreciate all the complexities and the density of his writing and of his comedy.” Agreed. The show sometimes featured plotlines whose third act would only work if the audience heard a single utterance in Act I. Thus, Arrested Development required your full attention, and wasn’t very watchable in your living room, where people might be filtering in and out and the phone might be ringing.
That’s all I have to report for now. Once Hurwitz and Vallely finish the script, we can only hope that all the schedules of the many cast members will allow for immediate shooting. Until then, enjoy this trailer for the “Arrested Development Documentary Project,” which I think will give you a clear idea of just how awesome this show was.
To get the day's news and headlines in your inbox each morning, sign up for our email newsletters.
