Jonah Hill Starring in True Crime Comedy ‘Arms and the Dudes’ for Todd Phillips

After being nominated for two Academy Awards, Jonah Hill could do just about anything. As it turns out, what he plans to do next is star in ‘Arms and the Dudes,’ the new film from ‘Hangover’ director Todd Phillips, based on the true-crime story of a couple of stoner guys who get in over their heads and wind up becoming arms dealers. Who will play the role of the other stoner guy? ‘Whiplash’ star Miles Teller is in talks to star opposite Hill, which would make for quite the talented pairing.

According to The Wrap, Hill was just locked down in one of the roles after being in talks to star for some time. As for the other leading role, Miles Teller has been given an offer to co-star opposite Hill. Both actors are enjoying a rather successful run of films, with Hill having been nominated for an Oscar in 2014 for his supporting performance in ‘The Wolf of Wall Street,’ and appearing next in the Coen Brothers' ‘Hail, Caesar!’ Teller is garnering acclaim for his performance in the indie hit ‘Whiplash,’ and appears next in ‘The Fantastic Four.’

As for the film itself, perhaps a true crime comedy is just what Todd Phillips needs to freshen up after the ‘Hangover’ franchise, where each film was less amusing than its predecessor. And ‘Arms and the Dudes’ sounds like it could be Phillips’ version of Michael Bay’s ‘Pain and Gain.’ Like Bay’s film, ‘Arms and the Dudes’ is also based on an article chronicling a sensational true crime story—this one a Rolling Stone article by Guy Lawson, which details two stoners from Miami Beach who became involved in selling arms for the U.S. government.