Webber will write, direct, and star in the untitled film (reportedly being made for well under $1 million) that centers on a struggling single father (Webber) raising his two-year-old son after the mother’s death. The story apparently mirrors Webber’s life so closely that he’ll be using his own two-year old son in the film. Here’s Webber talking to THR’s Risky Business blog, elaborating on the idea:
“That’s the crux of the film. After spending so much time with my son being a father, I became obsessed with the idea of showing the most authentic father-son dynamic on screen.”
Webber is said to also be taking great steps to shield his son from the daily realities of filming a movie, doing his best to make the experience as non-invasive as possible. He’ll be shooting with essentially no crew, using only himself, a director of photography, and a sound man.
“It’s been really cool and eye-opening to limit the exposure to my son but create the scenes and moments that seem realistically uncomfortable. The blurring of boundaries and the overcompensation that you do with a child — how you look to them for affection when it’s not appropriate? It’s been an exercise to capture real life moments and still tell a compelling story.”
So what about his real-life friends Cera, Seyfried, Sossamon, and Ritter? According to Webber, they’ll be playing versions of themselves.
“I’m getting them to show a real side of who they are and smash that up with people’s expectations of celebrity.”