All Around Pennsauken

By Frank Sinatra, AAP Editor

Pennsauken native Scott Taylor is known primarily as a writer for TV shows, such as Nickelodeon’s “The Thundermans,” which completed its final season last month, and “Knight Squad;” as well as “Secret Life of Boys” for the CBBC. But a movie script he and his writing partner, Wesley Jermaine Johnson, wrote two years ago just got picked up by action movie star Vin Diesel, known for his roles in “The Fast and the Furious,” “xXx,” and “The Chronicles of Riddick.”

Scott Taylor

Taylor describes “Muscle” as buddy action comedy somewhat of a feel like “Bad Boys,” the 1995 movie starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. But the film script has its origins in the small screen.

“The script came about from a TV idea we had,” explains Taylor, a member of Pennsauken High School’s graduating class of 1989. “It was a gritty action comedy we thought was perfect for HBO or Showtime. It was shown to Samantha Vincent, Vin’s sister, who helps run his One Race Films production company. Since Vin was too busy for TV, we were asked to make it into a feature film.

“We wrote the script and then everything happened with Paul Walker passing away, so it just sat. But producers Reggie Hudlin and Byron Phillips believed in the story, took it back to Vin Diesel, and it caught on.”

While Diesel has signed on to star in the film and STXfilms and One Race Films are producing the movie, there’s still plenty of work to be done. No director or additional actors have been named and the plot remains top secret. But if all goes well and the Hollywood stars align, “Muscle” could have all the makings of a successful movie franchise.

“When we got the call that Vin wanted to do ‘Muscle,’ it was amazing. I can’t even begin to tell you. You put work into this script and it turned into something that was bigger than you could imagine,” says Taylor. “It’s a very humbling experience and I’m extremely blessed.”