Casting Call: Diplomats

In which we suggest who would star in the next big adaptation, remake, or historical film.

What does one do upon retirement from the NBA? If you’re Dennis Rodman, you take it upon yourself to dabble in diplomacy with one of the world’s most notorious totalitarian countries. It looks like Hollywood is hoping that Rodman’s self-appointed sojourns to North Korea will be the wellspring of comedic gold—20th Century Fox just bought the rights to the comedy pitch Diplomats. The film will be based on the ex-NBA player’s completely bewildering foray into “hoops diplomacy” with the infamous North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-un. Director Tim Story, coming off the success of Ride Along, is already set to helm the film, with Peter Chernin of The Heat attached to produce and Jonathon Abrams set to write the script.

Rodman’s “diplomatic” endeavors certainly offer endless comedic fodder. Now arguably better known for his off-the-wall antics than he ever was for his prowess on the basketball court, the man nicknamed “The Worm” has made four trips to North Korea and shows no sign of slowing down. It should be noted that these are not solitary, under-the-radar gestures of international camaraderie (or whatever you want to call it); this past January, Rodman traveled to Pyongyang with a slew of fellow ex-NBA players and an Irish journalist to boot.

In honor of Jong-un’s 31st birthday, Rodman arranged a celebratory game of ball for his guys against North Korean players, and topped the night off by serenading Jong-un with “Happy Birthday” in front of a packed stadium. Rodman has since publicly pledged eternal friendship to his “friend for life,” and dismissed Jon-un’s countless human rights violations with the less-than-satisfying rationale, “He has to do his job, but he’s a very good guy.” (It’ll be interesting to see how 20th Century navigates the touchier areas of this topic.) Rodman has in fact uttered so many quote-worthy one-liners about this whole experience that Jonathan Abrams should be able to whip out the script pretty quickly. In the meantime, we’ve come up with a cast more than capable of tackling these bizarrely entertaining “missions of diplomacy.”

Casting Call runs every Friday. For more, click here.