HOLLYWOOD, CA — Luke Wilson, James Caan, Giovanni Ribisi, Gabriel Macht, Peter Stormare and Rachael Taylor have signed on to star in an independent film that plays comic homage to the birth of the online porn industry.George Gallo (Bad Boys, Midnight Run) will direct Middle Men from a screenplay he co-wrote with Andy Weiss (Punk’d). Shooting is expected to begin in Phoenix, Arizona, later this month.
Reportedly based on a true story, Middle Men focuses on a straight-arrow businessman (Wilson) who establishes the first internet billing company to deal exclusively with adult content sales. As he struggles to hold the company and his family together, he must contend with porn stars, Russian mobsters, conmen, federal agents and international terrorists.
The film has a legitimate adult-industry tie: It’s the first to be financed by Oxymoron Entertainment, a company founded in 2007 by former Paycom Chief Executive Officer Christopher Mallick. Mallick will produce along with Blue Star Entertainment’s William Sherak and Jason Shuman (Bangkok Dangerous, The Messengers) and Michael Weiss, according to Variety.
Mallick left Paycom in February 2005 when the company split into third-party processor Epoch and payment system ePassporte, which he continues to helm.
Mallick has described Middle Men as Boogie Nights meets Wall Street meets Thank You for Smoking. There has been no word about whether the film is based on his life.
Middle Men is expected to debut in May 2009 at the Cannes Film Festival.
