The It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia origin story has Rob McElhenney and his cohorts Glenn Howerton and Charlie Day creating an extremely clever pitch video on the cheap that won the hearts of executives at FX. He's now used similar techniques to land his directorial debut, a family adventure about fear and overcoming it.

Rob McElhenney went to Legendary Pictures with a 4-minute test reel and a passionate 20-minute pitch. He was awarded a 7-figure deal for Figment, which he will also write and produce.

The movie follows a very imaginative boy whose family get thrown for a loop when their biggest fears spring to life. It fits the larger scale template that Legendary likes to utilize it its films, and it has a ticking clock incentive that put it on the fast track into development.

Legendary will produce alongside 3 Arts' Nicholas Frenkel and Rob McElhenney. While these deals are usually hard to come by, especially for first time directors, Rob accredits his proof of concept to winning Legendary over. He only went to Legendary with the idea, and showed what amounted to two scenes. The video had a nostalgic feel, and brought forth wonder and imagination that conveyed the bond between the central character and his 'figment'. The movie is being compared to Goonies and E.T.