FILM: Alias' Vartan vs. Arrested Development's Cross

I'm sure when Michael Vartan ("Alias") and David Cross ("Arrested Development") were on their respective networks and series they never thought that their careers would collide. Vartan is usually cast as charming and debonaire, while Cross is pegged for quirky and awkwardly funny. So what project could the man who once bagged Sydney Bristow be in with the man who once eagerly auditioned for the Blue Man Group?

Why, of course, one where they're sworn enemies.

In Demoted, Vartan will play a cocky sales associate who tortures his pathetic co-worker (Cross). When their boss dies, Cross gets promoted. His position gives him power for payback, so he demotes Vartan to a secretarial position, where he'll learn his lesson.

The film sort of reminds me of other workplace comedies, like Employee of the Month, where Dane Cook and Dax Shepard, duke it out for Jessica Simpson's affections, the indie The Promotion, where John C. Reilly makes Sean William Scott feel underappreciated, and The Ex, where Zach Braff beats a crippled Jason Bateman for the spotlight. Let's hope newcomer Dan Callahan's (College, in theaters August 29th) script puts a fresh spin on things.