Director Jesse Peretz is moving quickly to capitalize on the Sundance success of “My Idiot Brother.” The film, starring Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Emily Mortimer, Rashida Jones, Adam Scott, Steve Coogan, Hugh Dancy, Kathryn Hahn, Shirley Knight and Janet Montgomery, played to strong reviews in Park City (including one from us) and was snapped up by The Weinstein Company for a figure said to be between $6-7 million. Clearly, the helmer is on a big upswing and he’s already eyeing his next picture.
Speaking with the LA Times, Peretz reveals that he has lined up two indie heavyweights — Catherine Keener and John Malkovich (last seen together in “Being John Malkovich“) — for a family drama titled “What’s This S%^@ Called Love?“
Written by Peretz, the film “is set in Cambridge, Mass., during the 1980s….and centers on a teenage boy who’s contemplating coming out. But in a twist, his ultra-progressive family (Keener and Malkovich would play the parents) actually wants to celebrate the boy’s newfound sexuality, while all the boy wants is to be left alone.” Sounds like it’s right in the dramedy sweet spot. Peretz grew up in Cambridge so he knows the location well and when asked if it’s similar in feeling to Noah Baumbach‘s “The Squid And The Whale,” Peretz said: “It’s kind of like that. But maybe a little more positive.”
The film is being produced by Tim Perell (“Last Chance Harvey,” “The Rebound“) and financing is being sought. But with Keener and Malkovich on board, and Peretz earning the best buzz of his career so far, we would imagine there are more than few folks interested in what he does next.
