Malcolm D Lee will write anddirect comedy The Better Man forUniversal Pictures and studio-based producers Scott Stuber and Mary Parent.

Charles Castaldi will alsoproduce the project, Lee's third collaboration with Universal Picturesfollowing The Best Man and UndercoverBrother.

The Better Man follows the story of a successful Los Angeles comicwho attends a tempestuous family reunion in the South.

"Malcolm is an extremelygifted director who has a rare ability to combine comedy and dramaticstorytelling into satisfying films with broad appeal," Stuber said. "We'reexcited to be working together again."

"Scott has always beenamazing to work with and so has Universal," Lee added. "It is a great team that hasconsistently supported my movies. I'm thrilled to be in business with themagain."

Lee made his directorialdebut in 1999 with The Best Man,which starred Taye Diggs and Morris Chestnut and Sanaa Lathan, and followed upwith the 2002 action comedy Undercover Brother starring Eddie Griffin and Chris Kattan.

Most recently he directedFox Searchlight's Roll Bounce.His projects in development include The Harlem Little League, which he will direct and produce with Spike Leeunder the 40 Acres and A Mule banner, and Brushback, which Lee will direct from a script by Eric Daniel.

Stuber and Parent arecurrently producing You, Me & Dupree for Universal starring Owen Wilson and Kate Hudson, and are inpre-production on the Untitled David O Russell Project, also for the studio.