EXCLUSIVE: Earlier this month, Mike Birbiglia announced that he’d be canceling a select set of stand-up dates alongside John Mulaney, with a “dream project” coming to fruition. And now, we can tell you what that project is.
Focus Features has greenlighted Old Friends New Friends, a comedy marking Birbiglia’s first feature effort in a decade. He’s eyeing a fall start, with Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea), Patrick Schwarzenegger (Beach Read), Geraldine Viswanathan (Thunderbolts) and Dylan Gelula (Dream Scenario) set to star.
The logline: When a tight-knit group of college friends travels to a summer camp for their old friend’s wedding, they discover he’s built a new life — with new friends — forcing them to confront what they’ve lost, who they’ve become, and whether growing up means growing apart.
Birbiglia will direct from his own script and produce alongside Jacob Jaffke (X trilogy, Dream Scenario) and Joe Hartwick (Maze Runner franchise, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes) for Oddball Entertainment.
Birbiglia broke out as a filmmaker with Sleepwalk with Me, a semi-autobiographical 2012 dramedy about a struggling stand-up comic whose severe sleepwalking — and fear of marriage — threaten his relationship and career. Growing out of his one-man stage show of the same name, the film won the Best of NEXT Audience Award in its world premiere at Sundance before going on to distribution through IFC Films. Birbiglia’s sophomore feature was Don’t Think Twice, an ensemble comedy revolving around jealousy within a tight-knit New York improv troupe when one member lands a career-making TV gig. Starring Birbiglia, Keegan-Michael Key, Gillian Jacobs, Kate Micucci, Tami Sagher and Chris Gethard, that critically acclaimed SXSW dramedy released in 2016.
An Emmy nominee, Birbiglia has performed his award-winning solo shows worldwide — from the Sydney Opera House to the West End of London to Broadway. All six of his solo shows — Sleepwalk with Me, My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend, Thank God For Jokes, The New One, The Old Man & The Pool and The Good Life — have enjoyed successful runs on and off Broadway before expanding their audiences on Netflix. Performing stand-up since his time at Georgetown University in the late ’90s, the comedic multi-hyphenate is repped by UTA and Schreck Rose Dapello.
An Oscar nominee known for films like Manchester by the Sea, Lady Bird and Boy Erased, Hedges’ upcoming slate also includes Michael Cera’s debut feature, Love Is Not the Answer. He is repped by Untitled Entertainment and Brecheen Feldman Breimer.
Breaking out with a turn in the third season of HBO’s The White Lotus, Schwarzenegger will next be seen starring opposite Margaret Qualley in the romantic drama Love of Your Life from Amazon MGM, which releases this fall after premiering at TIFF. He’s part of the cast of the Florian Zeller thriller Bunker, premiering in Venice, and will next year be seen starring opposite Phoebe Dynevor in 20th’s rom-com Beach Read, based on the bestseller by Yulin Kuang. He is repped by UTA, Entertainment 360 and Patrick Knapp at Goodman, Genow, Schenkman.
Known for films like Blockers and Marvel’s Thunderbolts*, Viswanathan will next be seen starring alongside Amy Poehler in her Peacock series Dig. She is repped by WME, Entertainment 360, Mollison Keightley Management and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern.
Gelula’s film credits include Shithouse, I Want You Back, Dream Scenario and Smile 2, to name a few. Also known for major roles in shows like Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Everything’s Fine, she is repped by Mosaic, Gersh and Michael Auerbach at Jackoway Austen Tyerman.
Oddball Entertainment is repped by CAA and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman. The deal was brokered by UTA Independent Film Group on behalf of the filmmakers.
