Bill Murray Presses His Luck

August 18, 2000 -- Bill Murray! Comedy! Games shows! Scams! We're there.

The dry-witted master of the withering gaze will star in the game-show comedy Press Your Luck, with writer-director Howard Franklin (who co-wrote the Murray starrer The Man Who Knew Too Much) at the helm. The flick is set to start shooting by year's end, reports Variety.

The script is based on the true story of Michael Larsen, who, after becoming a victim of the corporate downsizing of the early '80s and losing his job as an ice cream truck driver in Lebanon, Ohio, got hooked on watching the daytime game show Press Your Luck.Turns out that Larsen got lucky indeed. Not only did he get to play on his favorite show, he became the top winning contestant of a daytime show, racking up more than $100,000.

How did he do it? He memorized the 1,300 patterns on a prize board that determine whether contestants rake in the dough or are eliminated by drawing a "whammy."

Nicolas Cage will produce the film — perhaps a cameo as a too-neurotic guest? An oily game-show host?