Bill Chartoff, one of the producers of the Sylvester Stallone vehicle Rocky Balboa, has announced he will make his feature directorial debut with the comic drama Asleep at the Wheel, set to begin shooting later this year.
Penned by Robin Greenspan and Lacie Harmon, Asleep centers on four parallel stories of what Chartoff calls “obsession, epiphany and cure…with a little help from the loving metaphysical powers of the universe.” Production is set for either Louisiana or Ontario, Canada, with the cast to include Burt Young, Pamela Reed and Melanie Chartoff, with additional casting still to be set.
The son of Bob Chatoff, who produced the Rocky series and Raging Bull, Bill Chartoff most recently produced The Mechanic, an action drama starring Jason Statham, Ben Foster and Donald Sutherland, based on the 1972 film of the same name originally produced by his father.
Chartoff also directed the short drama, Colored Balloons, while a student at the American Film Institute in 1992. He is based in Santa Monica, CA.