Jack Black hits the mat in wrestling pic

NEW YORK - Jack Black has signed on to star in a new film co-written with longtime collaborator Mike White and Jared Hess, the latter of whom wrote and directed the 2004 hit comedy "Napoleon Dynamite."

Inspired by a true story, the film will star Black as a Mexican priest who lives a double life as a masked wrestler to raise funds for an orphanage in financial need. "I can't think of two people I'd rather party with than Mike White and Jared Hess," Black says. "I can't wait to get down to Mexico."

The as-yet-untitled movie will be co-produced by Black and White's Black & White Productions in tandem with Nickelodeon Movies, with distribution by Paramount Pictures.

Black and White previously have teamed behind the scenes and on-camera for "School of Rock" and "Orange County." Black recently wrapped work on the Peter Jackson-directed remake of "King Kong," and is expected shortly to begin shooting the film "Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny," the first feature for musical act Tenacious D, Black's spoof-metal project with Kyle Gass.

In related news, Black and White will co-produce a film with Warner Bros. Pictures based on the upcoming memoir "Yes Man," penned by British author Danny Wallace.

- REUTERS/BILLBOARD