Jonah Hill Talks "21 Jump Street"

By our guest blogger, Matt Jussim

"Superbad" and "Funny People" actor Jonah Hill tells Coming Soon that they hope to shoot the film adaptation of classic '80s TV series "21 Jump Street" this year.

According to Coming Soon: In a chat with Hill at a special Dreamworks Animation presentation of their animation slate, the star revealed details about his upcoming film adaptation of the popular television show, "21 Jump Street."

Said Hill: "We're going to shoot it this year, I think. We hired directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who directed 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs' and are friends of mine. They are incredible. Their take on the movie is incredible... It's about cops who go back to high school. Young rookie cops who go back to high school. I think that's a real interesting idea as opposed to saying, that's not what happened in the show so it can't happen in the movie'.”

Though the film will keep the same basic premise as the series, rookie cops who go undercover as students in a high school suggests that the tone will not be the parody many are expecting.

Hill added: "It's a comedy with really cool action. We're not doing something serious like 'Miami Vice.' But it's not a parody. It's a funny movie with a lot of great action and a real story. I've been saying that it's like a John Hughes movie with 'Bad Boys' style action."

Outside of Hill, who will play one of the police officers, there is no cast currently lined up. When asked if the characters would be the same characters as on the series, Hill said, "There might be a couple of surprises in there... [T]he Chapel's there. There will be stuff from the show."

This project sounds like it will be awesome. I am a big fan of Hill’s humor and I thought he was great in his supporting roles in both “Knocked Up” and “Funny People.” We’ll see how he fits into the role of a cop, but since it’s a cop playing a high school student, it won’t be that much of a stretch for Hill.

The film hopes to shoot later this year.