Marky Mark and Justin? On a basketball court?
According to reports at Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter, Paramount is in negotiations with Mark Walhberg and Justin Bieber for an untitled drama that will revolve around street basketball.
Both Wahlberg and Bieber are closet basketball players -- Wahlberg regularly has his friends over for full-court action and Bieber has some hoops chops.
Apparently Wahlberg saw Bieber play ball in February during a celebrity game held during NBA All-Star Game weekend in which Bieber showed off his court skills. Wahlberg -- who now juggles acting with producing -- subsequently pitched an idea to Paramount executives, who are talking it through in more detail with Bieber's camp, a source told THR.
The tone of the project is described as 'The Color of Money' meets 'The Karate Kid,' according to Deadline.
Paramount is more than happy to be in business with Bieber. His 'Justin Bieber: Never Say Never' concert film was made on a $13 million budget and grossed $97 million worldwide.
This will be the 17-year-old singing sensation's dramatic debut but have no doubts about this kid. We'll bet he'll do quite well as a big screen star. After all, Wahlberg started out as a rapper (remember Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch?), segued to Calvin Klein ads, and eventually caught the critics' eyes with his role in 'The Basketball Diaries' alongside Leonardo DiCaprio. Deja vu, anyone?
According to Wahlberg, neither he nor Bieber would sing or dance in the project. Darn. That would be a trip.
