Hard-partying brothers Mike (Adam Devine) and Dave (Zac Efron) place an online ad to find the perfect dates (Anna Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza) for their sister’s Hawaiian wedding. Hoping for a wild getaway, the boys instead find themselves outsmarted and out-partied by the uncontrollable duo.
Mike and Dave Stangle are young, adventurous, fun-loving–and obnoxious. The “some” would include other members of the Stangle family. So when their sister Jeanie announces she’s getting married, the family holds an intervention, demanding that Mike and Dave bring dates. Respectable dates!
The reason for the intervention is revealed through quick flashbacks that recall the guys’ antics over the years at Stangle family gatherings. Everyone’s having a good time, things are going smoothly, and then Mike and Dave show up stag, get drunk, hit on the girls, act like idiots and ruin the celebration. Therefore, dates!
To fulfill their family’s request Mike and Dave turn to the best source of decent, respectable girls they can think of: Craigslist. They place an ad promising that their selected companions will receive an all-expense paid trip to Hawaii and the chance to participate in all of the Stangle family wedding-related activities.
The ad goes viral, and the response is so overwhelming that Mike and Dave have no choice but to audition the candidates. They meet with nice girls, grungy girls, weird girls, paranoid girls, militant girls, twin girls that look like guys, girls that are guys.
The dates they hadn’t counted on are Tatiana and Alice. They seek out the brothers and charm their way into the winning spot as wedding dates.
Weddings—and Mike and Dave—will never be the same.
THE HEART OF “MIKE AND DAVE”
Along with its R-rated humor, MIKE AND DAVE NEED WEDDING DATES has unexpected moments of heart. Jake Szymanski, who makes his feature directorial debut after helming hilarious short form comedies on Funny or Die, says: “The Stangle family is very tightly-knit, even when they disagree. They’re very proud of being Stangles, so they’re just trying to have one family event that doesn’t get completely screwed up by Mike and Dave.”
The core of the film’s comedy and much of its heart is the brotherly bond between the two guys. “Mike and Dave are close,” states Szymanski. “They’ve grown up together, still live together, work together, party together, and ultimately learn some lessons together.”
One of those lessons stems from their determination to not screw up their sister Jeanie’s destination wedding. “Mike and Dave love Jeanie and Jeanie loves them, as well,” Szymanski continues. “She just wants her special day to go without a hitch.”
“Mike and Dave adore their sister,” confirms Efron. “Their mantra is: ‘We’re doin’ it for Jeanie! Everything we do is for Jeanie!’ They protect and love her and have put her on a pedestal. She forgives them for all the mischief they do.”
To make this wedding go smoothly for Jeanie, Mike and Dave are told they must bring dates to the nuptials. “So, Mike and Dave come up with a ‘foolproof’ plan to find respectable dates,” says Devine. “They troll for them on Craigslist—where they can also find lawnmowers and stuff.”
Despite their good intentions, Mike and Dave face some formidable obstacles in ensuring the wedding is shenanigans-free—starting with their own natures. “Mike is a bit of a hothead,” notes Szymanski. “He’s also impulsive, and a little selfish and inconsiderate.”
“So I can relate to the character,” jokes Devine. “Mike just likes to have the best possible time in any situation. He’s the type of guy you’d have to know a long time in order to meet him and not think, Holy s***, what’s wrong him?!”
Brother Dave is a little less prone to making trouble. Possessing a softer, artistic side, Dave enjoys a good party as much as anyone else, but, notes Szymanski, Dave “has a little more capability to reason than Mike.”
“Dave is very much the younger brother and follows Mike’s lead,” adds Efron. “But as Mike starts to lose his mind over Tatiana, the roles of the two guys are reversed, and Dave has to take charge and be the big brother.”
Whatever their differences, Mike and Dave are tight. “They have a symbiotic relationship,” says Efron. “They can’t exist without one another. They’re as much best friends as they are brothers.”
The brotherly bond was also evident in the dynamic between Devine and Efron. “Everyone was fascinated by how much Adam and Zac became like family,” says Ready. Fascinated, but not surprised. As Ready recalls: “Just after we cast Adam, we attended his stand-up show with Zac. Zac watched Adam intently, and then told us, ‘I’m going to be his brother.’ And he truly does that in the film.”
ALICE AND TATIANA
Mike and Dave have reassured their sister and parents that they’ve got the wedding wired. There will be no craziness, stunts, mischief, trampolines (don’t ask!) or fireworks. They’ve found the perfect dates to keep things under control.
Or not.
“The dates, Tatiana and Alice, were fun to write because they’re balls-out,” says Cohen. “They’re pretty intense, crazy, down-on-their-luck, tough chicks who decide they need a break and, after hearing about Mike and Dave’s ad, they transform themselves into nice, sweet, respectable-looking women. But as soon as they arrive in Hawaii, they go into extreme party-mode and start ruining things.”
Mike and Dave certainly know how to rock a room, but they’re small-timers compared to their dates. As background to Alice and Tatiana, Szymanski observes that they “have a history of misadventures that have taken them around the world. They can travel around the globe with only a couple of backpacks, and have stories to tell for ages.”
“The characters were great inventions of our writers,” notes Ready. “Tatiana is a mix of danger and sexuality, and everything she does is pretty extreme. Alice is a wild child who is always unpredictable. They are in such different places in their lives, and yet these wedding dates are just what they need.”
When we meet Alice, she is heartbroken, having been left at the altar. “So a wedding is about the last place she should be,” says Anna Kendrick, “and her downward spiral continues.” Alice’s coping mechanism: alcohol.
At her core, Alice is somewhat innocent. “It’s nice play such a naïve character,” adds Kendrick. “And Zac’s character, Dave, is just as innocent. A surprising kind of gentle comedy comes out of that double-naivety.”
Aubrey Plaza describes Alice’s cohort Tatiana as a founding member of the “Bad Girls Club. She’s a tough bitch from Philadelphia who doesn’t take s*** from anyone. Tatiana likes to party and go on adventures. She is the Alpha in any group.”
Underneath that tough exterior, though, are some soft and chewy feelings about her pal Alice. “Tatiana wants to help her best friend get her groove back after she’s gone through a really bad breakup,” offers Plaza. “Mike and Dave’s ad for dates to their sister’s destination wedding is a chance for a free vacay, to party endlessly and get that groove back.”
SIS GETS A MASSAGE
The other woman in the boys’ life is, of course, their sister Jeanie, whose Hawaiian wedding provides the backdrop for the unexpected girls-gone wild / dates-gone-horribly-wrong hijinks. But Jeanie’s big day is also ground zero for the guys’ determination that Jeanie be happy—no matter how crazy things get. “The film makes you care about the wedding and you do see that Mike and Dave really care about Jeanie’s happiness,” says Ready. “Enjoying all the s*** hitting the fan only works if you enjoy the relationship between the brothers and their sister.”
After all, notes Sugar Lyn Beard, who portrays Jeanie: “She’s a Stangle, and that means, for her, it’s all about love and family.
“Mike and Dave are party boys with good intentions,” she continues. “Jeanie was like that, too, when she was growing up with them. They’ve protected Jeanie her entire life, but now there’s a new man in her life, her fiancé Eric, and he brings out her sweeter side.”
A special massage brings out yet another side of Jeanie. Having been accidently mauled by an ATV driven by…who else?…Mike, Jeanie is ready for some serious rest and relaxation. A nice massage seems like the perfect idea, but Alice has something a little more potent in mind for Jeanie. She makes arrangements with the masseur, Keanu, for him to go the extra mile. “Without touching his clients, Keanu can manipulate their chakras in ways that give them release—over and over and over, again,” says Kumail Nanjiani, who takes on the role. “It’s very important to him that his women clients leave the massage room happy.”
Beard says filming the scene was a highlight for her—not only of the film, “but of my life!” she exclaims with a laugh. “My bare butt was exposed for almost an entire day’s shooting, and I was being used like a slip ‘n slide. The scene was a little sweaty, a little oily, but all great. I was laughing so hard, which was interesting because Jeanie is getting so much pleasure out of the massage, that all the shaking of my body from laughter kind of worked for the scene.”
Jeanie’s fiancé Eric is blissfully oblivious to these goings-on. But even if he was aware says Beard, nothing would change between them. “They’re a very ooey-gooey couple, sickeningly sweet, and finish each other’s sentences.” Sam Richardson, who plays Eric, notes that the character is a 180-degree-turn from his future brothers-in-law: “He’s a clean-cut, pretty mellow dude. Eric is also very prudent and on top of things.”
Richardson agrees with Beard that Jeanie’s life was turned around after meeting Eric. “I think Eric came along at a point in Jeanie’s life where she was ‘full-on Stangle’ and trying to emulate her brothers. Now, they kind of complete one another.”
MOM AND DAD STANGLE
Watching over the tight-knit, if off-kilter Stangle clan are parents Burt and Rosie Stangle. It is Rosie and Burt who insist that Mike and Dave bring wedding dates—a plan that backfires in every conceivable way. Still, a parent’s love can withstand anything, even a catastrophic destination wedding.
Like many parents, Rosie sees only the best in her wayward offspring. “Rose thinks her boys are good-hearted, and that no matter how horribly they act, there’s a dearness to them,” says Stephanie Faracy, who plays Rosie. “Mike and Dave are just tripping over themselves in the nicest way, which gives the movie an unexpected dimension of sweetness. Even though Mike and Dave are impossible, she sees them in a pure way, even as they torture her with their antics.”
Rosie’s husband Burt is played by the respected character actor Stephen Root, fondly remembered for, among his many offbeat characters, the beleaguered, stapler-obsessed office drone Milton, in the cult comedy Office Space. For Root, the role provided a welcome change of pace from those for which he is best recognized. He let Devine, Efron, Kendrick and Plaza handle the out-of-control characters. “I’ve played a lot of bent, oddball guys,” he explains, “but I hadn’t played a straight-arrow dad in a while. That was a real attraction for me.”
Root and Faracy, who had not met before production, quickly settled into their roles as a long-wedded couple. “One day, Stephen and I were sitting in rockers outside the hotel, waiting for a van to take us to the shooting location,” Faracy relates. “I turned to Stephen and said, ‘We look like a married couple because we don’t even speak to one another and still seem kind of happy.” Adds Root: “Rosie and Burt are hand-holders into their sixties; you know, that type.”
MIKE VERSUS COUSIN TERRY
A far less nurturing member of the extended Stangle clan is Mike and Dave’s cousin Terry, played by Alice Wetterlund, who’s always competing with Mike—usually over the same woman. Devine describes the character as a “pan-sexual playboy/businessperson.” Adds Cohen: “Terry is a really exciting character because she’ll go after anything and anyone, and will stop at nothing to succeed.”
Terry is the film’s villain—an “’80s-type bad guy” says Plaza, whose Tatiana figures prominently in Terry’s battle with Mike. “Terry uses Tatiana to piss off Mike and basically gets to f*****-b**** her in a steam room,” Plaza elaborates.
Szymanski notes that the film upends the typical guy versus another guy dynamic. “We wanted to do something that hadn’t been seen before and make it a competition with a sleazy female cousin, instead of a sleazy male cousin,” he explains. “Alice Wetterlund auditioned and just nailed it and had the perfect mix of confidence and smarm. It’s creepy but great.”
Wetterlund agrees, noting that Terry is an “Alpha-female with a lot of tricks up her sleeve. Terry can really get under Mike’s skin. She really knows how to bust his balls, because she’s sexually experienced, a real dynamo, and can zero in on a guy’s weaknesses from a woman’s perspective. That’s Mike’s worst nightmare.”
Another troublesome wedding attendee is Jeanie’s maid of honor, the perpetually-pissed-off Becky, played by Mary Holland. “Becky is a little overbearing and treats the wedding almost like it’s her own,” says Szymanski.
Adds Holland: “Becky cannot filter her anger, and there’s something very refreshing about that.”
“SUMMER CAMP”
The spectacular destination of the destination wedding in MIKE AND DAVE NEED WEDDING DATES is the beautiful island of Oahu. Though the real Mike and Dave Stangle attended the wedding in the northeast U.S., the filmmakers decided this was the time to practice creative license. “We had initially written a story set in northern California,” recalls Cohen, “until one day Brendan and I looked at each other and said, ‘Do we want to go to the wine country, or do we want to go to Hawaii?’”
While every film production unit faces challenges—and this was no exception—Ready likens the experience to summer camp. “The location provided a special kind of energy and a separation from the rest of the world, which allowed everyone to bond,” he explains. “It’s one of the many reasons that the camaraderie and chemistry of the cast is so strong.”
The burgeoning brotherly bond between Devine and Efron was facilitated by the opportunity to spend considerable time together on location. Says Devine: “Zac and I arrived in Oahu two weeks before production started, and we didn’t know anyone else there. Who else am I going to hang out with? So we obviously were just going to hang out with each other every day and that was great planning on Fox’s part, because we became the best of buds. By the end of production, he says with a laugh, “we finished each other’s sentences in a weird way.”
ABOUT THE CAST
ZAC EFRON (Dave Stangle) has nurtured an impressive body of work that encompasses both film and television, and he has proven to be one of Hollywood’s most promising talents. Efron has received a wide array of accolades throughout his career, including CinemaCon’s Comedy Stars of the Year (2016, shared with MIKE AND DAVE NEED WEDDING DATES co-stars Anna Kendrick and Adam Devine), ShoWest’s Breakthrough Performer of the Year award, the MTV Movie Award for Breakthrough Performance (2008) and Best Male Performance (2009), in addition to multiple Teen Choice and Kids Choice Awards.
Last year, Efron starred in We Are Your Friends, for director Max Joseph. The film follows a young DJ as he works on what he hopes will be his first hit track but ultimately discovers that success may come at a price.
Efron worked alongside Robert De Niro in Dirty Grandpa, where he portrays an uptight groom who, just before his wedding, is tricked into driving his vulgar grandfather, a former Army general, to Florida for spring break. Also this year, Efron reprises his role as Teddy in Neighbors 2.
In 2014, Efron starred opposite Seth Rogen in Neighbors, a comedy about a couple with a new baby who face unexpected challenges when they move in next to a fraternity house. The film received rave reviews and had one of the highest openings for an R-rated comedy ever. Prior to that, Efron was seen in the romantic comedy That Awkward Moment alongside Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan and Imogen Poots. The film followed three friends who tackled the complications of modern day relationships. Efron also served as a producer on the film under his Ninjas Runnin’ Wild banner.
Additional film credits include the historical drama Parkland, At Any Price, Lee Daniels’ The Paperboy, alongside Nicole Kidman, John Cusack and Matthew McConaughey, Liberal Arts, an independent film written and directed by Josh Radnor, The Lucky One, a film adaption of the Nicholas Sparks novel, the NBC Universal animated film Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, Gary Marshall’s New Year’s Eve alongside Michelle Preiffer, Robert De Niro, Halle Berry, Jessica Biel and Hilary Swank, Charlie St. Cloud, 17 Again, opposite Matthew Perry and Leslie Mann, the Richard Linklater film Me and Orson Welles, and the box office smash summer film Hairspray, which won the Critic’s Choice award for Best Ensemble.
Television credits include a recurring role on the WB series Summerland, and guest starring roles on The Suite Life of Efronk & Cody, ER, The Guardian and C.S.I. Miami.
Efron became a household name with the launch of the 2006 Emmy® Award-winning Disney Channel phenomenon High School Musical. He reprised his role as Troy Bolton, head of the basketball team, in High School Musical 2, which broke cable TV records garnering 17.5 million viewers. Efron also starred in the Disney feature film High School Musical 3: Senior Year, the third installment of the extremely successful High School Musical franchise. HSM3 set a box office record as the highest grossing opening weekend for a musical.
On stage, Efron starred in the musical Gypsy, and has appeared in productions of Peter Pan, Mame, Little Shop of Horrors and The Music Man.
In addition to acting, Efron established his own production company, Ninjas Runnin’ Wild, with partner Jason Barrett in 2010. Ninjas Runnin’ Wild has a first look deal with Warner Bros. and currently has several projects in development. That Awkward Moment marked their debut feature film.
A native of Northern California, Efron currently resides in Los Angeles.
ANNA KENDRICK (Alice) has a variety of accomplishments that showcase her impressive range of talent. She was the lead in Pitch Perfect 2, which broke the record as the highest grossing musical of all time. The song “Cups,” which she performed in the first Pitch Perfect, went multi-platinum, and was one of Billboard’s top songs of 2013.
Kendrick starred in Walt Disney Pictures’ film adaptation of the musical, Into the Woods, directed by Rob Marshall, where she plays Cinderella opposite Meryl Streep and Johnny Depp.
More recently, Kendrick starred in the wedding comedy Table 19, the action-thriller The Accountant, opposite Ben Affleck, The Hollars, opposite John Krasinski (who also directed), and Mr. Right, alongside Sam Rockwell, directed by Paco Cabeza. She is currently working on Trolls, a DreamWorks Animation feature.
Kendrick’s other recent credits include Radius/Weinstein’s film adaptation of the musical The Last Five Years, Cake, Happy Christmas, Drinking Buddies, in which she starred opposite Olivia Wilde and Ron Livingston, Summit Entertainment comedy-drama 50/50, with Seth Rogen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and David Ayerʼs intense crime-drama, End of Watch, opposite Jake Gyllenhaal. Kendrick was also in the blockbuster Twilight Saga franchise, including New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn part 1.
In 2010 Kendrick starred opposite George Clooney and Jason Bateman in the acclaimed film Up in the Air, directed by Jason Reitman, for which she earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress, and was honored by The National Board of Review for Best Supporting Actress and by the MTV Movie Awards for Best Breakout Star. Kendrick also earned nominations from the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, The Golden Globes®, BAFTA, and the Screen Actors Guild.
Kendrick notably starred in Picturehouseʼs Rocket Science, directed by Jeffrey Blitz. Her performance as an ultra-competitive high school debate team member garnered critical acclaim, and the film received a nomination for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. Kendrick was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work in the film.
Kendrick made her feature film debut in director Todd Graffʼs Camp, a favorite at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. Her performance in the cult classic earned Kendrick an Independent Spirit Awards nomination, as well as a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the Annual Chlotrudis Awards.
An accomplished theatre veteran, Kendrick began her career as Dinah Lord in the 1997 Broadway musical production of High Society, for which she received a Tony Award® nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. At just 12 years old, the honor made Kendrick the second youngest Tony nominee in award history. Kendrick also garnered Drama League and Theatre World awards, as well as Drama Desk and FANY award nominations.
Kendrickʼs additional theatre credits include a feature role in the New York City Operaʼs production of A Little Night Music, starring Jeremy Irons, My Favorite Broadway/The Leading Ladies: Live at Carnegie Hall, and Broadway workshops of Jane Eyre and The Little Princess.
ADAM DEVINE (Mike Stangle) is quickly becoming one of the most sought after young comedians and actors in the comedy world. Devine is best known as a co-creator, writer, and star of the hit Comedy Central show Workaholics. Last year, he was seen in Universal’s Pitch Perfect 2, where he returned as Bumper Allen, the leader of the all-male campus singing champions.
Also last year, Devine appeared in Nancy Meyers’ The Intern opposite Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro, in the Warner Bros’ comedy about a seventy-year-old widower (De Niro) who enters an intern program. He will next be seen in Sony’s Final Girls opposite Nina Dobrev and Thomas Middleditch.
Devine starred in the Universal comedy Pitch Perfect, which follows the competitive world of collegiate a cappella and also stars Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow, and Rebel Wilson. He can also be seen in his scene-stealing reoccurring guest star role as a nanny in ABC’s Modern Family.
Devine’s sketch-comedy group, Mail Order Comedy, has headlined sold-out comedy shows all over the nation. Devine acts, writes and produces all of Mail Order Comedy’s material, including Workaholics.
Devine also performed in the “New Faces” show at the Montreal Comedy Festival, shortly after which he was cast opposite Jon Heder and Diane Keaton in Warner Bros’ Mamma’s Boy. He appeared on Comedy Central’s Live at Gotham and on TBS’ Frank TV and ABC’s Better Off Ted. Additionally, Devine was a recurring guest star on ABC’s Samantha Who?
AUBREY PLAZA (Tatiana) is an American actress and comedian known for her deadpan style. She portrayed April Ludgate on Parks and Recreation, and after appearing in supporting roles in several films, had her first leading role in the 2012 comedy Safety Not Guaranteed.
Plaza began her career as an intern. After performing improv and sketch comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, she appeared in the web series The Jeanie Tate Show. Plaza later appeared in films such as Funny People, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Life After Beth.
STEPHEN ROOT (Burt Stangle), one of the most prolific character actors working today, has collaborated with many of the biggest names in Hollywood. Born in Sarasota, Root majored in acting and broadcasting at the University of Florida and remains a die-hard Gator fan. After three years of touring the U.S. and Canada with the National Shakespeare Company, Root settled in New York, honing his craft in many regional theaters and starring off-Broadway in Journey’s End and The Au Pair Man. His Broadway debut came in So Long On Lonely Street, followed by the Tony award-winning production of All My Sons, with Richard Kiley.
A starring role as Boolie in the Broadway national touring company of Driving Miss Daisy with Julie Harris brought Root to Los Angeles, where he now resides. Back on the boards, he recently starred with Helen Hunt and Lyle Lovett in Much Ado About Nothing, an L.A. Shakespeare Production.
Root’s first acting role on screen came in George A. Romero’s cult horror classic Monkey Shines. After that, many more under-the-radar supporting roles came his way until he found some moderate fame in the acclaimed series NewsRadio, where he played the somewhat eccentric owner of a radio station, Jimmy James, with Dave Foley as the station manager. The show ran from 1995 to 1999.
Root has played more eccentric characters in recent years, voicing several characters in the hit animated TV series King of the Hill, a show created by and starring Mike Judge. Judge would later cast Root in another cult classic film, 1999’s Office Space, where Root played the squirrelly and unforgettable Milton Waddams, a man who is pushed around at work and has a fetish for Swingline staplers.
More recently Root has worked with such directors as the Coen brothers and Kevin Smith, creating more oddball characters as well as making guest appearances on numerous TV shows.
STEPHANIE FARACY (Rosie) has enjoyed an enduring career in theatre, film and television. Soon after arriving in Los Angeles from the Yale School of Drama, she landed her first role in the Warren Beatty classic Heaven Can Wait. Additional film credits include the multi-award winning HBO film Temple Grandin opposite Claire Danes, Bad Teacher with Cameron Diaz, The Five-Year Engagement with Jason Segal and Emily Blunt, Alexander Payne’s Sideways (SAG Award™, Best Ensemble), and Flight Plan with Jodie Foster.
Television credits include guest roles on Togetherness, Modern Family, Frasier, Will and Grace Ugly Betty, Grey’s Anatomy, Castle, Desperate Housewives and the HBO original movie Mary and Martha with Hilary Swank and Blenda Blethen. Faracy received an L.A. Ovation Award for her work onstage in Two Rooms and appeared in the critically praised Los Angeles revival of Gemini.
SUGAR LYN BEARD (Jeanie) is a Canadian-born actress and writer, best known for her work on YTV Canada’s The Zone and as a popular voice actor. Beard (nicknamed “Sug”) started her career as a late‐night radio Hip-Hop DJ on Toronto’s KISS.92. Her unique voice and boundless energy quickly caught the attention of a growing audience, and the station’s program director moved her to the city’s #1 morning show Mad Dog and Billie.
Know back then as “Sugabaybee,” Beard wasted no time and began making her mark by writing and producing bits, interviews and parody songs for the show. Her parody of Eminem’s “The Real Slim Shady,” aptly named “The Real Sugabaybee,” rose up the local charts and made it to #1 in summer of 2000. At the station’s annual Wham Bam Thank You Jam, Beard was asked to perform as the opener to world renowned R&B group Destiny’s Child.
At age 20, Beard was scouted by YTV Canada to host their popular after-school television program The Zone. As writer and host, she played a variety of characters in improvised sketches and conducted celebrity interviews. In 2005, Beard was named the second most recognized television personality (just under Ryan Seacrest) in a study done by Toronto’s Ryerson University.
Beard has been featured as a voice actor in over 30 animated series, including the worldwide phenomena Sailor Moon and the Care Bears series, as well as the television movie The Santa Claus Brothers alongside Bryan Cranston.
Since moving to Los Angeles, Beard has appeared on Showtime’s Weeds, Fox’s The Mindy Project, IFC’s Garfunkel and Oates, and FX’s You’re the Worst. She can also be seen in the feature films 50/50, For a Good Time, Call … and Aloha. In 2015, Beard landed the lead role in the indie drama Palm Swings. She can also be heard contributing various voices to the upcoming animated comedy Sausage Party alongside Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig and Jonah Hill.
Beard is currently developing Homeless Harriot, a live action dark comedy series she created. Seth Rogen’s Point Grey Pictures is producing.
SAM RICHARDSON (Eric) has been honing his comedy skills since the ripe old age of 15, when he started taking classes at Second City’s Detroit outpost. Raised between Ghana and Detroit, he grew up loving Saturday Night Live and Ghostbusters.
After studying for a few years at Wayne State University and performing at Detroit’s Second City, as well as the Planet Ant Theatre in Hamtramck, Richardson moved to Chicago to join the Second City Touring Company and eventually the resident Mainstage cast. There, he wrote and starred in two reviews: Spoiler Alert: Everybody Dies and South Side of Heaven. Both earned him nominations for a Jefferson Award for Best Actor. Richardson also wrote and filmed a rehashing of Second City Television (SCTV) in Toronto. In 2012, he was featured in Montreal’s New Faces of Sketch showcase at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival.
A few years ago, Richardson made the move to Los Angeles and quickly booked roles in films and TV. He recurred on The Office (season nine) and co-starred on Arrested Development (season four). Richardson also had supporting roles in the feature films We’re the Millers and Horrible Bosses 2. Last season, he had a recurring role on HBO’s award-winning series Veep, which has turned into a series regular role for the new season, which debuted in April.
Richardson has continued to write comedy and received a pilot order for a show created with his partner, Tim Robinson, called Detroiters. Produced by Jason Sudeikis and Broadway Video, the buddy comedy has received its pilot order from Comedy Central (date TBD).
A confessed “comic book nerd” and sneakers collector, Richardson lives in Los Angeles.
ALICE WETTERLUND (Terry) has performed her non-yelling brand of comedy on stages such as Comix, Broadway Comedy Club, UCB theaters, San Francisco’s Punchline and The Hollywood Improv, as well as on critically-acclaimed shows, including College Humor Live, Big Terrific, and Meltdown. She has performed nationally in festivals such as Bridgetown, Moon Tower and Women in Comedy, and frequently tours with Comedy Central on Campus and with Girl Code/Guy Code on Campus.
Wetterlund was a New Face for the 2013 Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal and was on the official line up for Fox’s 2013 Night of Comedy in Los Angeles. Her credits include guest starring roles on New Girl (Fox), Betas (Amazon original series), and Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s The Interview. Wetterlund is currently recurring on Silicon Valley (HBO), Girl Code (MTV), and @Midnight (Comedy Central). She appears on the Greg Daniels directed TBS pilot, The Group.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
JAKE SZYMANSKI (Director) is a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and a graduate of the Northwestern University. After graduation, the self-proclaimed comedy nerd spent his time making sketch videos with friends and studying improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Los Angeles.
In 2007, Szymanski was hired as Funny or Die’s first in-house director and continued on to direct Digital Shorts at Saturday Night Live for two seasons. He directed the HBO comedy special, 7 Days in Hell, starring Andy Samberg. The film, which premiered at SXSW, received critical acclaim from The Guardian, The A.V. Club, IndieWire, and more.
Szymanski has also directed and helped create a number of award winning ad campaigns, including Will Ferrell’s Old Milwaukee Beer ads.
ANDREW JAY COHEN (Screenwriter, Executive Producer) recently made his feature film directorial debut with The House starring Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler, which he also co-wrote and produced. Cohen co-wrote and executive produced Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising. Cohen also served as 2nd Unit Director, co-writer and executive producer on the first Neighbors.
Cohen studied film at Yale University and got his start in the film industry working at Creative Artists Agency. While assisting a television agent, Cohen wrote and directed spec commercials and short films in his free time. One of them caught the eye of director Adrian Lyne, who hired Cohen as his assistant on Lyne’s feature Unfaithful. Cohen went on to work alongside Judd Apatow for many years—first as Apatow’s assistant on Anchorman, and then as associate producer on The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Talladega Nights and as co-producer on Funny People.
BRENDAN O’BRIEN (Screenwriter, Executive Producer) is a feature comedy screenwriter and producer. O’Brien co-wrote and executive produced the hit film Neighbors (Universal/Good Universe) starring Seth Rogen and Zac Efron, which grossed over 270 million dollars worldwide, and co-wrote and executive produced the 2016 sequel, Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising. O’Brien co-wrote, with frequent collaborator Andrew Jay Cohen, and produced the upcoming feature The House (New Line/ Good Universe/ Gary Sanchez) starring Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler.
Universal Pictures picked up O’Brien’s Untitled Action-Comedy pitch, which will re-team him with Gary Sanchez and Will Ferrell. He will write and produce the feature for Ferrell to star in for Universal.
A graduate of Georgetown University, O’Brien worked on The 40-Year-Old Virgin and was a co-producer on Judd Apatow’s Funny People. He also co-wrote and produced the Funny or Die viral hits “Acting with James Franco” and “Makin’ Music with John Mayer,” which collectively have over five million views.
PETER CHERNIN, p.g.a. (Producer) is the Chairman and CEO of The Chernin Group (TCG).
TCG’s entertainment production company, Chernin Entertainment, produces feature films and television programs. The company’s first feature film, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, was released in August 2011 to widespread critical praise and re-launched the franchise for a new generation. Since then, Chernin has produced several box office hits, including the immensely successful franchise sequel Dawn of the Planet of the Apes; action comedy The Heat; sci-fi thriller Oblivion; dramedy St. Vincent; crime drama The Drop; and Spy, the Paul Feig-directed comedy starring Melissa McCarthy.
Chernin also produced Tim Burton’s Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, to be released September 30, 2016; as well as War for the Planet of the Apes, the upcoming third installment in the global hit franchise.
Chernin currently serves as an executive producer on Fox’s hit television comedy New Girl. His previous executive producing credits include Fox’s Ben and Kate and Touch.
TCG’s assets also include a majority stake in CA Media, an Asia-based media investment company; Otter Media, a venture formed with AT&T which oversees a portfolio of businesses including Fullscreen and Crunchyroll; a minority stake in Emerald Media, an investment platform focused on fast-growing opportunities in the media and entertainment industries across Asia; and strategic investments in U.S.-based technology and media companies, including Pandora, SoundCloud, Headspace, Flipboard, Scopely, MiTú, and Medium.
Prior to starting TCG, Chernin served as President and Chief Operating Officer of News Corporation. Chernin sits on the boards of American Express, Pandora, Twitter and UC Berkeley, and is a senior advisor to Providence Equity Partners. He is on the board of the Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and is Chairman and Co-Founder of Malaria No More.
JENNO TOPPING, p.g.a. (Producer) is the head of film and television at Chernin Entertainment.
She produced and oversaw the development of feature films Spy directed by Paul Feig and starring Melissa McCarthy; St. Vincent starring Bill Murray and Melissa McCarthy; The Drop starring James Gandolfini and Tom Hardy; Exodus: Gods and Kings, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Christian Bale; and The Heat starring Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy, which was the highest grossing comedy of 2013.
Topping is currently producing and overseeing Tim Burton’s Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children, to be released in 2016; as well as War for the Planet of The Apes, the third installment in the global hit franchise.
Topping oversees Chernin Entertainment’s television slate, which includes Fox’s Emmy®-winning hit comedy New Girl, now in its fifth season. Previous series from Chernin Entertainment include Fox’s Ben and Kate and Touch.
Topping’s other credits include Country Strong starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Tim McGraw; Catch and Release, written and directed by Susannah Grant and starring Jennifer Garner; and the Charlie’s Angels movies.
Topping previously served as an executive for HBO Films, where she supervised the Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning films, The Late Shift (Kathy Bates) and Rasputin (Ian McKellan and Alan Rickman) in 1995.
JONATHAN LEVINE (Producer) was born and raised in New York City. He has been making films since the age of 12. Following his graduation from Brown University’s Art/Semiotics program, he worked in New York as personal assistant to renowned writer-director Paul Schrader. In 2002, Levine moved to Los Angeles to attend the AFI Conservatory as a director.
Most recently, Levine wrote and directed the Sony comedy hit The Night Before, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen and Anthony Mackie. Previously, he rote and directed the feature film adaptation of the novel Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion for Lionsgate. The film opened to both mass critical and commercial acclaim, and has grossed over $115 million worldwide.
Levine recently directed the Showtime pilot I’m Dying Up Here, a dark comedy set in the 1970s Los Angeles comedy scene starring and executive produced by Jim Carrey. Additionally, Levine will soon direct Fox’s Untitled Mother-Daughter Comedy, starring and produced by Amy Schumer, and will also direct and produce the pilot 305, a Miami-set drama from Pitbull, also at Fox.
Previously, Levine directed 50/50 for Mandate Pictures. The critically acclaimed and Golden Globe nominated film is based on screenwriter Will Reiser’s story and was released in 2011 by Summit Entertainment. The film, which stars Joseph Gordon Levitt, Seth Rogen, Bryce Dallas Howard and Anna Kendrick, follows the story of Adam Lerner, played by Levitt, who at 25 is diagnosed with a rare type of cancer.
Levine made his feature directorial debut with All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, which was later released by The Weinstein Co. in October 2013. Levine’s second feature and his first as both writer and director was 2008’s The Wackness, which won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival and LA Film Festival. Starring Ben Kingsley and Josh Peck, the film also earned Levine an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best First Screenplay and was released by Sony Pictures Classics.
DAVID READY (Executive Producer) is the Senior Vice President of film at Chernin Entertainment.
Ready’s credits include Red and Red 2, starring Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, John Malkovich, and Morgan Freeman; the thriller Man on a Ledge, starring Sam Worthington and Elizabeth Banks; and the Tom Clancy adaptation Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, starring Chris Pine, Kiera Knightley, and Kevin Costner.
With Chernin, Ready is currently working on a diverse slate of films, including Red Sparrow, an espionage thriller novel which Justin Haythe is adapting for Francis Lawrence to direct; The Mountain Between Us, with two time Academy Award® nominee Hany Abu-Assad attached to direct; Sidekicks, a fairy tale adventure film currently being rewritten by Meg LeFauve; and many more.
He previously served as an executive at di Bonaventura Pictures and Jerry Weintraub Productions.
NAN MORALES (Executive Producer) is a seasoned motion picture producer, instrumental in every aspect of the operations of the filmmaking process, from initial scheduling and budgeting for financing to post production turnovers for delivery.
Morales’ projects have been diverse throughout her career. Last year saw the release of Selma (Academy Award nominee for Best Picture), The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out Of Water, and Paper Towns. Morales’ credits also include Step Up Revolution, What’s Your Number, Extraordinary Measures. In addition, she served as co-producer on the film Coach Carter for Paramount Pictures.
Prior to being an independent producer, Morales was Vice President of Feature Production Management at Paramount Pictures, where she oversaw several box office hits, including Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Save the Last Dance, Sleepy Hollow, Runaway Bride, Election, Face Off, In & Out, Star Trek: First Contact, Primal Fear and Clueless.
Morales was born and raised in Los Angeles and when not on location, spends her time between her homes in Portland, Oregon and Los Angeles, California.
MATTHEW CLARK (Director of Photography) has been shooting narrative features, television series and commercials for the past 15 years. He has worked with numerous acclaimed directors in features and television, including Don Scardino, Beth McCarthy-Miller, Randall Einhorn, Gina Kim, and Jay Chandrasekhar.
Clark’s feature film work includes director Gina Kim’s drama Never Forever, starring Vera Farmiga. Nominated for the 2007 Sundance Film Festival’s Grand Jury Prize, the film won the Jury Special Prize at the Deauville, garnered critical notice and was spotlighted in reviews by the American Cinematographer magazine and the International Cinematographer’s Guild. He also recently shot Day Zero, directed by Bryan Gunnar Cole and starring Elijah Wood.
Clark’s television credits include episodes of NBC’s Up All Night, and the hit series 30 Rock, for which he received two Emmy Award nominations.
Clark graduated from the acclaimed New York University’s Graduate Film Program and was presented the ASC Heritage Commendation for Outstanding Cinematography by the American Society of Cinematographers, for his body of student work.
JONATHAN SCHWARTZ (Editor) edited the first two seasons of Modern Family, for which he earned two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Picture Editing and won an Eddie, awarded by American Cinema Editors, for Best-Edited Half-Hour Series.
Schwartz began his career in features, apprenticing under Oscar-winning editor Paul Hirsch (Star Wars, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Mission: Impossible) and assisting two-time Oscar-winner Joe Hutshing (JFK, Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous). Schwartz served as assistant editor on eight films, during which time he also edited an independent feature, several shorts, and countless acting reels for friends.
In the spring of 2009, Schwartz edited a few test scenes for a pilot called My American Family. It was a small weekend gig, but the pilot’s director, Jason Winer, enjoyed working with Schwartz and offered him an editor position if the pilot got picked up to series. It did, but with a new title: Modern Family.
After two successful seasons, Schwartz left Modern Family to explore new material and relationships. He edited House of Lies and The Big C, both for Showtime, before completing his first significant feature, the military thriller Allegiance. Between these projects, Schwartz edited several pilots for such directors as Larry Charles (Borat, The Dictator), Nicole Holofcener (Enough Said), and John Hamburg (I Love You, Man).
Most recently, Schwartz shot the action-comedy Let’s Be Cops for 20th Century Fox, and the comedy The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, for Warner. Bros.
A native of Washington, DC, Schwartz studied film history and theory at Columbia University before moving to Los Angeles in 2004. He lives in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles with his beautiful fiancée, an art historian and private art curator.
LEE HAXALL (Editor) won an Emmy Award in 2004 for editing the pilot of the fan-favorite series Arrested Development, and a CableAce Award in 1997 for editing HBO’s Arli$$.
A Pennsylvania native who made the move to California to attend the University of Southern California, School of Cinematic Arts, Haxall’s feature credits include the blockbuster Meet the Fockers, Take Me Home Tonight, The Dukes of Hazzard, Beerfest, The Love Guru, Crazy, Stupid Love, The Change-Up, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone and Sisters.
Haxall began her editing career in television, cutting several movies and many series, including the hit drama NCIS: Los Angeles, and the critically acclaimed The Shield.
TYLER B. ROBINSON (Production Designer) is based in Portland, Oregon. He spent his twenties laying a foundation of life experiences he would come to draw upon in his future film work, including honorable service in the U.S. Army as a squad leader / weapons specialist, world travel and seasonal jobs at ski resorts. In 1998, while hitchhiking to a Phish concert, Robinson landed in Portland, where he began to put down roots. Using the G.I. Bill Robinson went to school for Multimedia and obtained an internship at Food Chain Films, which sparked the beginning of his film career.
With his creative eye, leadership skills, budget consciousness and hands-on approach, Robinson quickly stepped into the position of Art Director and, soon after, Production Designer. Working locally, Robinson cut his teeth on commercials, independent films and webisodes before being offered the TV pilot for Portlandia, which turned into a five season run. In 2014 he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for his work on the show and was awarded the Art Director’s Guild Award for Outstanding Production Design in a TV Series for seasons four and five.
R0binson’s feature film credits include The Kings of Summer and the cult hit The FP, both of which received rave reviews at Sundance and SXSW, respectively.
Robinson continues to enjoy success designing national commercial spots for brands, including Old Navy, Volkswagen, Mobil Oil, Nintendo, Mercedes Benz, Kellogg’s, Nokia, Dentyne and Nike. Most recently he traveled to Toronto and Los Angeles to design two new TV pilots for director Jonathan Krisel, both of which have been picked up for series.
In his spare time Robinson enjoys designing and fabricating fantasy weapons including functional cupcake cannons and banana split Gatling guns.
DEBRA McGUIRE (Costume Designer) is a fine artist, fashion designer and costume designer, and is best known for her ten year run on the hit show Friends and for designing many of David Mamet’s film and theatre projects. Her collaborations with Mamet include Phil Spector (starring Al Pacino and Helen Mirren), which was nominated for 11 Emmys, and in which she was nominated for Best Costume Design.
McGuire has also designed many of Judd Apatow’s film and television projects. She is currently designing the fifth season of the television series New Girl, as well as The Grinder (starring Rob Lowe and Fred Savage), Fresh Off the Boat (starring Randall Park and Constance Wu) and Cooper Barrett’s Guide to Surviving Life, all for 20th Century Fox Television. In 2015, McGuire designed the feature National Lampoon’s Vacation, starring Ed Helms and Christina Applegate.
She began designing costumes for a dance theatre company in Paris in the early eighties. In 2007 McGuire won the NAACP Award for Best Costume Design for Atlanta, at the Geffen Playhous, and in 2006 she was nominated for an Ovation Award for Best Costume Design for Boston Marriage, also at the Geffen Playhouse.
McGuire is primarily a fine artist, with a career that began as a painter, working and teaching in her Bay Area studio. She became an instructor at colleges and universities in Northern California, a jewelry and accessories designer in New York, as well as a fashion designer, fashion consultant, couturier (with a store in Pacific Palisades, California for 10 years) and costume designer. McGuire has been speaking at galleries and art colleges on the East Coast, most recently Pratt Institute, Rhode Island School of Design and Brown University, on the subject, “The Refinement of Process: Visual Journey of the Artist as Costume Designer.”
JEFF CARDONI’s (Music) talents range from intimate independent fare to full orchestral majesty. He has composed scores for over thirty feature and several network series. Cardoni’s unique ability to cross genres has made him a powerful player in the film composing industry.
Cardoni originally studied classical piano, while playing percussion in school orchestra. But it was rock and roll that led him to Los Angeles in 1997. After a brief stint as lead guitarist for the Warner Bros. band Alien Crime Syndicate, Cardoni left to pursue film scoring full time. He worked under several Hollywood composers, including John Murphy (Snatch, 28 Days Later) and Christopher Tyng (Futurama, The O.C.), while studying conducting and orchestration at UCLA.
Cardoni has received several ASCAP Film and Television Awards for his work on the worldwide hit CSI: Miami and was nominated for an Ariel Award for his score to the 2005 feature 7 Dias.
Cardoni’s body of work ranges from studio features films, such as Just Friends for New Line, Open Season 3 for Sony, Firehouse Dog for Fox, Miss March, and the latest in the American Pie franchise, to television scores for the CBS drama The Defenders with James Belushi, Wilfred starring Elijah Wood, and The League on FX. He has also worked extensively in independent film, including the Sundance hit The Vicious Kind, directed by Lee Toland Krieger and produced by Neil Labute, and Oscar nominated director Roland Joffe’s You and I. Other highlights include creating a new live score for the 2011 Super Bowl on Fox, recorded with an 80 piece orchestra in the world famous Dvorak Concert Hall in Prague.
Cardoni is also an active songwriter, penning the theme songs to MTV’s hit Pimp My Ride, MadTV on Fox, and FX’s The League, as well as songs for the hit Gotham for Fox, the song “Hard Knock Life” with Mike Myers in Austin Powers: Goldmember, Harold & Kumar 2, Eurotrip, The Sweetest Thing, A Walk To Remember, New York Minute, National Lampoon’s Senior Trip and many others.
Cardoni produced several songs with Jon Lajoie for the soundtrack album to The League, as well as songs for indie pop artist Jules Larson, which have appeared recently on the soundtrack to The Lucky One. He also produced and mixed a recent Lexus spot for the seminal indie rock band The Pixies.
Recent scores include Step Up: All In (Summit/Lionsgate), Mike Judge’s hit Silicon Valley for HBO, and the drama feature The Confirmation, directed by Oscar® nominated Bob Nelson (Nebraska) and starring Clive Owen and Maria Bello. Upcoming is Smitten and Best Kids of Crestview Academy.
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