Director Jesse Peretz is no stranger to the Sundance Film Festival. He wrote and directed the indie darling “Our Idiot Brother,” which premiered at Sundance in 2011. His other feature-length films include “The Château” and “First Love, Last Rites.” The filmmaker has also directed several television shows, including “Girls,” “Glow,” “Divorce,” Nurse Jackie,” and “Orange is the New Black.” Peretz returned to Sundance this year with “Juliet, Naked,” a film based on two-time Oscar nominee Nick Hornby‘s eponymous novel.
As you might imagine from being based on a Nick Hornby novel, considering he wrote “High Fidelity,” “Juliet, Naked” does indeed revolve around someone’s love of music. The problem is that musical obsession has driven a wedge between a couple, with the man, played by Chris O’Dowd, more interested in his elusive rockstar idol than his own partner, played by Rose Byrne. And when the rockstar, played by Ethan Hawke, visits the couple in person, everything gets thrown into chaos.
Read the official synopsis for “Juliet, Naked” below:
Annie (Rose Byrne) is stuck in a long-term relationship with Duncan (Chris O’Dowd)—an obsessive fan of obscure rocker Tucker Crowe (Hawke). Duncan is far more devoted to his music idol than to Annie. When the acoustic demo of Tucker’s hit record from 25 years ago surfaces, it leads to a life-changing encounter between Annie and the elusive rocker himself.
Boasting an impressive, accoladed writing room, “Juliet, Naked” is co-written by Peretz’s sister, Evgenia Peretz, Oscar winner Jim Taylor (“Sideways“), Oscar nominee Tamara Jenkins (“The Savages“), and Oscar nominee Phil Alden Robinson (“Field of Dreams“).
“Juliet, Naked” is produced by Apatow Productions and is scheduled to be released on August 17.
You can watch the trailer below: