Warner Bros. has picked up the action-comedy package Mad Dogs, setting Jay Roach to direct. The project is loosely based on the novel of the same name by Three Days of the Condor author James Grady, with the studio planning an action-comedy update of the 1970s conspiracy thriller genre, with a tone that is described as a cross between One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and The Hangover. Wes Jones, whose screenplay Young Republicans topped the Black List in 2010, has been set to write the screenplay adaptation.

Mad Dogs will use the book as a "jumping off point," centering on three U.S. intelligence operatives who have been deemed crazy by their superiors, thanks to their dysfunctional lifestyles. They are sent to a secret government-run mental hospital for spies, where they become convinced that someone is trying to kill them. They try to hatch an escape plan, but when it becomes clear that they know too much, they must all figure out what it is they know in order to survive.

The Lego Movie's Dan Lin is attached to produce through his Lin Pictures company, with Mark Bauch serving as an executive producer. Jesse Ehrman and Nik Mavinkurve will oversee the project for Warner Bros., although no production schedule was given. Jay Roach and Wes Jones are currently working on the HBO political comedy series The Brink, starring Jack Black and Tim Robbins. Jay Roach is directing, with Wes Jones serving as story editor on the series, slated to debut later this year. Jay Roach is also in post-production on the biopic Trumbo, which stars Bryan Cranston and Helen Mirren.