Zak Penn’s Grand Experiment in Comedy
In-demand screenwriter steps behind the camera for The Grand
By James L. Menzies
URL: http://www.moviemaker.com/directing/article/zak_penn_the_grand_20080204/
Sure Zak Penn can write you a surefire blockbuster. He has proven that time and again with X-Men, Electra, Fantastic Four, etc. But that's not all he can do. The Grand, an improvisational comedy set in the world of competitive poker that he wrote and directed, contains neither a superhero nor a highfalutin special effect. But what the film lacks in terms of big-budget luxuries it makes up for with those erstwhile and less marketable traits: Intelligence, wit and originality.