PAIN AND GAIN (Cast News)

• THE OTHER GUYS PAIN AND GAIN

Mark Wahlberg & Dwanye Johnson

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson iscurrently in talks to star in Michael Bay's upcoming comedy Pain and Gain.Johnson's fellow The Other Guys co-star Mark Wahlberg is also up for headliningthe low-budget (for Bay anyway) feature.

Variety claims that both actors have satdown with Bay to discuss the film. Johnson's involvement is said to be furtheralong than Wahlberg's, but sources add that the project is still in the earlystages of casting.

Based on a 1999 article from the Miami NewTimes, Pain and Gain follows a pair of bodybuilders who get mixed up in anextortion ring and a kidnapping that goes horribly awry. Captain Americawriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely have already penned the script.The project has been described to have a similar tone to the Coen Brothers'Fargo.

The modest $20 million picture will beproduced by Bay and Donald De Line.