Chris Rock is set to star in "I Think I Love My Wife,"
a remake of the French film "Chloe in the Afternoon," for Fox Searchlight Pictures. Charles Stone, who directed 2002's "Drumline," is in final negotiations to direct.
Rock wrote the script with longtime collaborator Louis C.K., adapting Eric Rohmer's 1972 film, whose French title is "L'amour l'apres-midi." "Chloe" depicted the life of a happily married office worker who daydreams about other women until he encounters the mistress of an old friend who tries to seduce him. "Wife" is set in present-day New York rather than Rohmer's Paris in the swinging '70s.
"I'm a big fan of Charles Stone, who I've been trying to work with ever since I saw 'Drumline,' " Rock said. "In the past year, I have made it a point to reach out to a lot of filmmakers whose work I enjoyed, and one person's name that kept coming up as someone I needed to work with was (Fox Searchlight Pictures president) Peter Rice. I can't wait to make a sophisticated comedy with all the good people at Fox Searchlight."
Said Rice: " 'I Think I Love My Wife' is a modern look at contemporary relationships to which Chris Rock lends his acerbic and distinctive point of view. We look forward to working with Chris as he brings bitingly witty characters to life."
Searchlight is hoping to put the picture into production in the spring in New York.
Claudia Lewis, president of production, and Zola Mashariki, director of production, will oversee the project for Searchlight.
Rock, whose comedy regularly sends up the highs and lows of married life, is the creator and executive producer of UPN's "Everybody Hates Chris," produced by Paramount Network TV. The series garnered UPN its first Golden Globe nomination for best comedy series.
Rock and C.K. worked together on HBO's Emmy-winning "The Chris Rock Show" and 2001's "Pootie Tang," which was co-written by the duo and directed by C.K., who also has a new HBO series debuting in June called "Lucky Louie."
In addition to helming "Drumline," Stone's directing credits include "Paid in Full" and "Mr. 3000."
Rock is repped by Endeavor and Mosaic Media. Stone and C.K. are repped by UTA. Stone is additionally repped by attorney Craig Emanuel. C.K. is additionally repped by 3 Arts Entertainment and attorney John Sloss.