I suppose we should officially call today first look Friday. After getting a reveal of Edgar Ramirez‘s next film, the first still has come our way for another one of next year’s most-anticipated dramas. Nat Faxon and Jim Rash (of Community fame) deservedly won an Oscar earlier this year for scripting Alexander Payne‘s The Descendants and now, in no time at all, they’ve completed production on their directorial debut.
Above you can see the first still of The Way, Way Back from NY Times, featuring from left to right, Zoe Levin, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Sam Rockwell and Liam James. The $10 million film, which also includes Maya Rudolph, Amanda Peet, and Rob Corddry, follows a teenager (James) whose irresponsible mother (Collette) and stepfather (Carell) drive him to find a job working at a water park, where he finds guidance from the loquacious manager (Rockwell).
The NY Times profile goes into more about the road to get this one made, which one should certainly check out, but I’m excited to see Carell and Rockwell face off, two actors whose careers have seemed to continually excel. If this writing/directing duo can match the stellar work of their previous effort, as well as hopefully learn some tips from Payne behind the camera, we could have a nice surprise on our hands. The plan is to debut at festivals next year (Sundance seems like a strong fit), or possibly get picked up by a studio beforehand. Fox Searchlight, are you listening?
What do you think of the first still? Did you love The Descendants?