"Development" in development

E! is reporting that an “Arrested Development” movie may be in the works.

The former Fox comedy, which won an Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy but never got much traction in the ratings, featured one of TV’s funniest casts – Jason Bateman, Jeffrey Tambor, Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Jessica Walter, David Cross, Tony Hale; I could go on – focused on a monumentally spoiled and dysfunctional family whose lone sane sibling (Bateman) tries to save the family business and reunite the family in general. The series was created by Mitch Hurwitz, a genial and funny guy; after it was cancelled by Fox, Showtime expressed interest in producing additional episodes, but Hurwitz was reportedly too bummed out by how Fox handled the show to rededicate his efforts to another network.

"I can confirm that a round of sniffing has started," Bateman told E! "Any talk is targeting a poststrike situation, of course. I think, as always, that it's a question of whether the people with the money are willing to give our leader, Mitch Hurwitz, what he deserves for his participation. And I can speak for the cast when I say our fingers are crossed."

It’s an interesting and heartening idea. But I don’t remember the show’s plotting featuring the sort of tight coherence that movies generally require. Its randomness and silliness and unpredictability was what made it a good TV show, but might make it an iffy proposition as a film. What made “AD” so much fun was the surreal and inspired character interaction and hilarious dialogue. Movies tend to need something of a plot to keep you sitting there for a couple of hours, but I imagine Hurwitz can hunker down and come up with something.

Movies based on feverishly beloved cult TV shows, alas, don’t tend to result in boffo box office (see “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me,” “Serenity”). So don’t expect any big-budget extravaganza.

But what to call it? “Arrested Development: Fire Walk With Me?” “Arrested Development 2: The Quickening?” “Arrested Development: Here’s a Movie We Found on CraigsList?”