We were all shocked, yet pleasantly surprised when it was announced that Zach Galifianakis was eyeing Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden’s adaptation of Ned Vizzini’s coming-of-age dramedy “It’s Kind of a Funny Story.”
If these indie filmmakers — known for their arresting debut, “Half Nelson,” and the Dominican baseball drama follow “Sugar” — were going go go Hollywood, starting out with Galifinakis would not be a bad choice.
So today it was announced that not only has Galifianakis confirmed his participation in the project, but that Academy Award nominee Viola Davis (“Doubt”) has joined the cast gearing up for production. Davis is taking a therapeutic role in both this project and as a counselor in David Schwimmer’s “Trust,” which she also just joined. In that role she’ll be looking after Clive Owen and Catherine Keener’s daughter, the victim of an Internet pedophile.
In Fleck and Boden’s “It’s Kind of a Funny Story,” David will play a psychiatrist and the story centers on a “clinically depressed 15-year-old who checks himself into an adult psychiatric ward where he gains a new lease on life. Davis will play the psychiatrist who helps him understand his anxieties and provides him with the help he needs,” according to Variety. No teenage male lead has been cast yet, but in the first trade report, Emma Roberts (“Hotel For Dogs”) was also in negotiations to play a part as a teenage love interest. Galifianakis will play one of the adult roles in the story, so it’s likely just a supporting role, but it’s a good name to have these days.
This is a Focus Features project and is expected to shoot before the year is over. Definitely one we’ll be anticipating highly.