Vices can be a gift and a curse, depending on your level of indulgence. While some escapes can numb the pain, others become poison the longer you lean on them for support. It takes honesty and fortitude to admit there’s a problem, and drawing the line isn’t always as simple as saying no. Recovery requires help, guidance, and support. The right inspiration, even the right person, can help guide you through the darkest of addictions, but you have to want it. In the upcoming Apple Original Films project, Sponsor, Academy Award nominee John C. Reilly (Stan & Ollie, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story) joins Jason Segel (Shrinking, Dispatches from Elsewhere) for a psychological thriller that takes a hard look at dependency.
What is Sponsor about?
Based on an original idea co-written by Segel and his Shrinking collaborator James Ponsoldt, Sponsor watches as Peter (Segel) makes a big mistake when he gets behind the wheel after partying too hard. A terrible accident leaves him with a choice: prison or a recovery program. Convinced he doesn’t have a drinking problem, he begrudgingly shows up to his first meeting and searches for a sponsor. In walks the no-nonsense, charismatic yet enigmatic Jerry, whom Peter becomes convinced is the answer to his prayers.
Reilly will play Jerry, the sponsor, while Segel portrays Peter.
Sponsor will shoot in California, with the project originating from Apple Studios and produced by Platinum Dunes. Segel and Ponsoldt produce alongside Michael Bay, Brad Fuller, and Alex Ginno for Platinum Dunes.
What else is John C. Reilly working on?
Reilly recently played former Lakers owner Jerry Buss in HBO’s Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, as well as Archibald Harold Holmes in the music video for Jack White’s song of the same name. Reilly’s upcoming projects include the David Leitch-helmed heist film How to Rob a Bank, also starring Zoë Kravitz, Nicholas Hoult, Christian Slater, Anna Sawai, Pete Davidson, Sam Lerner, and Rhenzy Feliz; Dara Van Dusen’s A Prayer for the Dying; and Alex Prager’s horror thriller Dreamquil. Set in 1879s Wisconsin, Dusen’s film focuses on a sheriff who faces a deadly threat, forcing him to choose between his family and defending the community that gave him a second chance. Meanwhile, Dreamquil revolves around a woman who embarks on a virtual wellness retreat to get her life back on track, but with nightmarish consequences.
What do you think about the concept for Sponsor? Will John C. Reilly and Jason Segel make a good pairing? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
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