David Gordon Green, the filmmaker behind Universal’s Halloween trilogy and The Exorcist: Believer, is leaving horror behind to direct a family drama starring Ben Stiller about a man connecting with his unruly nephews after a tragic accident claims their parents’ lives. The feature-length project is a hard left turn at Albuquerque for Green, who’s spent most of his recent filmmaker career bringing Halloween’s Michael Myers and William Peter Blatty’s Exorcist back to the horror fold. Is Green leaving horror for good, or is Nutcrackers a breath of fresh air before he returns to the bloody and brutal genre?
On Wednesday, Rivulet Films, Rough House Pictures, and Red Hour Films announced that Linda Cardellini (Freaks and Geeks, Dead to Me, Scooby-Doo), Edi Patterson (The Righteous Gemstones, Vice Principals, Knives Out), Tim Heidecker (Us, Time and Eric’s Bedtime Stories, The Comedy), and Toby Huss (Halt and Catch Fire, Copshop, King of the Hill) have joined Ben Stiller (Zoolander, Tropic Thunder, Mystery Men) in the film based on a script by Leland Douglas.
Nutcrackers follows the work-obsessed Mike (Ben Stiller), who must reluctantly travel to rural Ohio to look after his four rambunctious nephews after their parents die in a car accident. After run-ins with the local deputy (Tim Heidecker) and misguided attempts to unload the boys on an orphan profiteer (Edi Patterson) and an eccentric empty-nester millionaire (Toby Huss), Mike becomes smitten with social worker Gretchen (Linda Cardellini), who helps him on his journey to find a home for the boys.
Stiller’s involvement with Nutcrackers ends a six-year chill time for the comedic actor. You need to imagine that something special about the script called out to him, compelling him to step back into the spotlight. Rivulet Films’ Rob Paris and Mike Witherill, Red Hour Films’ Ben Stiller and John Lesher, and Rough House Pictures‘ Nate Meyer are producing. Rivulet financed the film, which recently wrapped production outside Cincinnati, Ohio.
What do you think about the concept of Nutcrackers? Do the latest additions to the cast make you want to see the movie more? I like the idea of Stiller summoning a dramatic performance after a lengthy absence from the silver screen. Is this Stiller’s Phoenix moment? We’ll have to wait and see.
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