Recall my post from mid-August on Chris Tucker’s frustrations with the industry, given the lack of *interesting* roles being offered to him which he used to explain his absence from theater screens since 2007…

Well, it looks like he’s found 2 projects that are worthy of his talents. First, a drama from David O. Russell titled The Silver Linings Playbook; second, a comedy from 20th Century Fox titled Neighborhood Watch.

In The Silver Linings Playbook (an adaptation of Matthew Quick’s novel of the same name) he’s in talks to join star Bradley Cooper, assuming the usual “best black friend” duties. Cooper will play “a former high school teacher who’s institutionalized for depression and then released into the care of his mother. He tries to win back his ex-wife but becomes involved with an eccentric neighbor with problems of her own.

Chris Tucker will play “Danny,” Cooper’s “spirited friend who lives in a mental hospital. He escapes on several occasions to visit the troubled protag, as the duo have a special understanding of each other.“

And by “lives in a mental hospital” I’m assuming they mean that he’s one of the hospital’s patients?

The film will also star Jennifer Lawrence as Cooper’s the neighbor he gets involved with, and Robert De Niro as Cooper’s father.

The second project – Neighborhood Watch – Tucker will be joining Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and Jonah Hill as “a group of suburban neighbors whose Neighborhood Watch is really a front for them to escape their families — until they discover a plot to destroy the world.“

Chris Tucker is being courted for the role of “Jamarcus,” a recent divorcee.

Currently, Chris is on a nationwide stand-up comedy tour which will run through November… in time to prep for either of the 2 above projects.