'Arrested Development' movie is nowhere near happening

It's been over a year since buzz about an "Arrested Development" film first began circulating. And when cast members confirmed shortly thereafter that a big screen version of the FOX series was indeed in development, fan excitement was legitimized.

In January, executive producer Mitch Hurwitz even told the press that a distribution deal with Fox Searchlight was more or less in place.

However, when I spoke with Hurwitz one-on-one that month, he also said that the "Arrested" movie was far from actually shooting, since he couldn't come up with a story until he knew exactly which cast members were on board.

Of course, at that time, the lone hold out was the series' break out star Michael Cera (George Michael), so waiting to know whether or not he'd be involved, before starting to write, made sense. 

But Cera signed on to do the film in late February.

And it is now August and sources say Hurwitz has not yet begun writing.

"I don't think Mitch is gonna do it," an insider told me. "It seems like he's moving off the idea. So much time has passed."

Of course Hurwitz has been busy with pilot project upon pilot project this year, not to mention FOX's "Sit Down, Shut Up," and his work load doesn't seem to be dwindling, having just announced a new TV venture with "Arrested" alum Will Arnett earlier this week.

So, yeah, don't think this "Arrested" movie thing is happening... though passionate commentary from the diehard "Arrested" fan base could make a difference.

Any thoughts?

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