Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: After weeks of talks, it is looking like Vince Vaughn and director David O. Russell are likely to team on Old St. Louis, a script written by Russell. The discussions have the film landing at Universal, which would co-finance and distribute. The film will be produced by Vaughn and sister Victoria Vaughn through their Universal-based Wild West Picture Show Productions.

Old St. Louis is the story of a traveling salesman who has been an absentee father, and how his life changes when his daughter becomes part of his life. Vaughn would play the salesman, and actresses including Kick-Ass star Chloe Moretz have been mentioned as possibles to play the daughter. I’m told Russell would like to make the film his followup to The Fighter, the film that stars Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale and Amy Adams, with Paramount distributing the Relativity Media/Mandeville co-production.

CAA, which reps both Vaughn and Russell, continue to work to tie down the rights, but I hear it’s going to happen. Vaughn has been starring with Kevin James in What You Don’t Know, an Allan Loeb-scripted comedy about infidelity that Ron Howard is directing for Universal. Vaughn is producing with Imagine’s Brian Grazer.