Penelope Cruz, Michael Fassbender, Owen Wilson Circling New Nancy Meyers Netflix Movie

Penélope Cruz, Michael Fassbender, and Owen Wilson are in talks to star in the big-budget Netflix comedy marking Nancy Meyers’ return to directing.

Meyers will write direct and produce the comedy, which is currently known as Paris Paramount, although it is not clear if that’s the actual title, a working title, or a code name.

Sources say the plot centers on a talented young writer-director who falls in love with a producer, with the pair making several successful movies before calling it quits romantically and professionally. The two are forced back together, however, when a great new project arises, and they find themselves teamed up again and having to deal with high stakes and volatile stars.

There are several parallels with Meyers’ own life. She had a longtime romantic and professional relationship with Charles Shyer, a fellow writer-director-producer after they met while working in Hollywood. 

The pair married and had an enviable output that included movies such as "Private Benjamin", "Baby Boom", "The Parent Trap", and "Father of the Bride". After Meyers and Shyer split, Meyers went on to write and direct movies such as Something’s Gotta Give and The Holiday.

The project is currently eying a budget in the $130 million to $150 million range — meaning it could be the most expensive romantic comedy to come out of Hollywood — with the studio and filmmakers going back and forth over costs, as first reported by Puck. It has been in the works for some time, with the studio first announcing the feature in April of last year. A previous incarnation circling late last year had Jennifer Lawrence eyed for the lead before the Oscar winner fell out for unspecified reasons.

Meyers last directed the 2015 comedy movie "The Intern", starring Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro.

“I am taking a break,” said Meyers in a 2019 conversation with Mindy Kaling at the annual Produced By conference. 

She also discussed the disappearance of midbudget comedies like hers from the theatrical marketplace: “The business has changed in a way that is somewhat unrecognizable to me.” 

The Meyers canon also includes It’s Complicated and What Women Want.