Following the success of a bunch of celebrity TV shows that revolved around poker, film director Zak Penn is taking the next step – making a film about poker.

Celebrity TV shows to culminate in poker-themed film

Following the success of a bunch of celebrity TV shows that revolved around poker, film director Zak Penn is taking the next step – shooting a full-featured comedy about an international poker tournament, pokergazette.com reported.

The film will feature Ben Affleck and David Schwimmer, both of whom have become poker aficionados, William H. Macy, who learned a lot about gambling while filming Oscar-nominated "The Cooler", Chicago favorite Richard Kind, and German film director Werner Herzog who will be wearing his actor's hat.

Penn will make a highly improvisational picture – inspired by Christopher Guest's "mockumentaries" ("Waiting for Guffman," "Best in Show") and Larry David's improvised HBO series "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

Penn is a natural to helm this project – he's been a weekly poker player since high school.

"The biggest problem the cast and I will face is that we will lose all of our fees playing cards while staying at the hotel," he told Daily Variety.

The as-yet-unnamed film is being partially financed by Insomnia Entertainment, a venture created to make films promoting casino gambling. Filming is scheduled to begin in February at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas.