The evolution of Jonah Hill has been incredible, even thrilling to watch. The actor, like many of the Judd Apatow brat pack bunch, tuned the acclaim of those early comedies “Superbad,” “Get Him To The Greek”) into personal success outside of that sphere. But, Hill, who now has two Oscar nominations to his credit (“Moneyball,” “The Wolf Of Wall Street”) and two Golden Globes (“Moneyball” and “War Dogs”) has exceeded all expectations, eclipsed his pals. He has gone to work with Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Bennett Miller, Gus Van Sant, Harmony Korine, the Coen Brothers and more. The comedian turned serious actor, turned writer/director has now delivered his feature-length debut, the critically-acclaimed “Mid90s” that recently made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (read our review here).
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Heavily influenced by Harmony Korine’s “Kids” and 90s skate culture, and set to a soundtrack of classic 90s rock and hip-hop, Hill’s “Mid90s” is a coming-of-age story about a teenage boy who finds his scene when he meets an eclectic group of neighborhood skateboarders.
READ MORE: ‘Mid90s’ Trailer: Jonah Hill’s Directorial Debut Evokes The Skate Or Die Life Of ‘Kids’
Here’s the official synopsis:
Written and directed by Jonah Hill, MID90S follows Stevie, a thirteen-year-old in 90s-era LA who spends his summer navigating between his troubled home life and a group of new friends that he meets at a Motor Avenue skate shop.
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Given all the movie’s acclaim and Hill immediately being taken seriously as a meaningful filmmaker—oh, did we mention that Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross composed the score—it’s interesting to think of the alternative universe version of Hill’s directing career. Hill was initially supposed to make his directorial debut in 2011 based on a Black List script called, “The Kitchen Sink.” It had been pitched as “The Breakfast Club” meets “Zombieland” and featured kids attacked by zombies, vampires, and aliens. It was eventually made as “Freaks Of Nature” in 2015 and dumped into theaters by Columbia.
It’s not so much that Hill dodged as much as it is thinking how incredibly different and matured he’s become. The sensibilities of that forgotten film almost seem to belong to another person. Between then and now he directed Danny Brown’s video “Ain’t It Funny” in 2017 which is, admittedly, a lot more loose and goofy. I digress. “Mid90s” is almost here.
Starring Sunny Suljic (known for “The Killing of a Sacred Deer”), Lucas Hedges, Katherine Waterston, Na-kel Smith, Gio Galicia, Ryder McLaughlin, Alexa Demie, and Olan Prenatt, A24 will release “Mid90s” on October 19. Watch the new trailer below.
