09.24.10
DIANNE WIEST, MARK DUPLASS, AYELET ZURER AND SAM SHEPARD TO JOIN KEVIN KLINE, DIANE KEATON, RICHARD JENKINS AND ELISABETH MOSS
Minneapolis, MN and New York, NY (September 24, 2010) – Werc Werk Works, the independent production and finance company helmed by CEO Elizabeth Redleaf, and Likely Story, the New York based production company headed by Anthony Bregman, announced today the complete cast of DARLING COMPANION.
Academy Award® winner Dianne Wiest, Mark Duplass, Ayelet Zurer and Academy Award® nominee Sam Shepard have joined Academy Award® winners Kevin Kline and Diane Keaton, Academy Award® nominee Richard Jenkins and Emmy® nominee Elisabeth Moss in the new film written by Academy Award® nominees Meg Kasdan and Lawrence Kasdan and to be directed by Lawrence Kasdan.
The film will be produced by Anthony Bregman for Likely Story, Elizabeth Redleaf for Werc Werk Works and Lawrence Kasdan. Christine Walker, Meg Kasdan and John Kelly will serve as executive producers.
DARLING COMPANION is the story of a woman who loves her dog more than her husband. And then her husband loses the dog.
On a wintry day, Beth (Keaton) saves a bedraggled lost dog from the side of the freeway. Struggling with her distracted, self-involved husband Joseph (Kline) and an empty nest at home, Beth forms a special bond with the rescued animal. When Joseph loses the dog after a wedding at their vacation home in the Rockies, the distraught Beth enlists the help of the few remaining guests and a mysterious young woman (Zurer) in a frantic search. Each member of the search party is affected by the adventure, which takes them in unexpected directions – comic, harrowing, and sometimes deeply emotional.
Dianne Wiest is a two-time Academy Award® winner (Bullets over Broadway,” “Hannah and Her Sisters”) and will next be seen in John Cameron Mitchell’s “Rabbit Hole” opposite Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart. Mark Duplass is an award-winning writer, director and actor who most recently wrote and directed “Cyrus” starring Marisa Tomei, Catherine Keener and Jonah Hill. Ayelet Zurer was most recently seen in “Angels & Demons” opposite Tom Hanks and “Adam Resurrected” starring Jeff Goldblum. Sam Shepard is an Academy Award® nominated actor (“The Right Stuff”), Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, and director who will next be seen in Doug Liman’s “Fair Game” opposite Naomi Watts and Sean Penn.
About Werc Werk Works
Werc Werk Works is an independent film production and finance company founded by Elizabeth Redleaf and Christine Kunewa Walker and is dedicated to the production and financing of high caliber, story-driven films with wide appeal. The company strives to be a consistent supplier of commercial projects for both the studios and strong independent distributors worldwide. “Darling Companion” marks the fifth production for Werc Werk Works, which launched in August 2008 and is based in Minnesota. The company’s most recent title “HOWL” will be released on September 24. The film is written and directed by Academy Award winning filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman and stars James Franco as Allen Ginsberg. Werc Werk Works’ first release, LIFE “Life During Wartime,” written and directed by Todd Solondz, opened on July 23, 2010. The company currently has two films in post-production: Bela Tarr’s “The Turin Horse;” and “The Convincer”, written by Jill Sprecher and Karen Sprecher and directed by Jill Sprecher, and starring Greg Kinnear, Alan Arkin and Billy Crudup.
About Likely Story
Likely Story is a New York-based production company founded by Anthony Bregman in October 2006. The company recently wrapped production on “My Idiot Brother” starring Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel and Emily Mortimer; directed by Jesse Peretz and written by Evgenia Peretz and David Schisgall, and “The Oranges” starring Hugh Laurie, Catherine Keener, Leighton Meester, Allison Janney, Oliver Platt, Alia Shawkat, Adam Brody and Sam Rosen; directed by Julian Farino and written by Ian Helfer and Jay Reiss. This year, the company premiered Nicole Holofcener’s “Please Give” and Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman’s “The Extra Man” at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. “Please Give” was released in April 2010 by Sony Pictures Classics and “The Extra Man” was released in July 2010 by Magnolia Pictures. The company recently signed a first look deal with graphic novel and comic book publisher Tom Shelf Productions. Additional Likely Story productions include Charlie Kaufman’s directorial debut “Synecdoche, New York” (Sony Pictures Classics), Alex Rivera’s “Sleep Dealer” (Maya Releasing), and David and Alex Pastor’s “Carriers” (Paramount Vantage). Bregman’s previous producing credits include “Friends with Money,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “Lovely & Amazing,” “Thumbsucker,” “The Tao of Steve,” “The Savages,” “Trick,” “The Ice Storm,” “The Brothers McMullen,” and “Human Nature.”