Corona | Coming Attractions

Variety is reporting that Todd Phillips's next directing gig will be for the comedy Due Date and then will follow the sequel to The Hangover. Zack Galifianakis will star in Due Date and play the weirdo travel buddy who accompanies an expectant father across the country as the dad-to-be tries to get home in time to witness the birth of his first child.

Due Date will start filming in early October and then be out in less than a year, June 2010 to be precise. While Phillips is busy making Due Date the script for The Hangover 2 will be worked on by himself and writing partner Scot Armstrong. Then, in October of 2010 Phillips will start directing that sequel for a Memorial Day 2011 release.

For both Due Date and The Hangover Phillips will be getting a lot more upfront than he did with The Hangover. Even though he had made Old School a success for DreamWorks, Warner Bros. didn't want to pay more than $35 million dollars total on a comedy with three unproven leading men (Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms). But Phillips believed that The Hangover needed new comedic blood in it and so took base pay for the job and gambled on a percentage deal if The Hangover broke even. With the movie expected to become the highest-grossing comedy of all-time sometime next week Phillips looks like a financial genius as well as a creative one. Now that he's proven himself Phillips' payday for Due Date and Hangover 2 will be big and paid in advance.