Olivia Wilde Is Bringing Us the Next Great Teen Comedy Starring Beanie Feldstein
It’s been a couple of years since we’ve seen Olivia Wilde on the big screen, as the actress has been busy making theatergoers, including one Jennifer Lawrence, throw up, and even faint with her Broadway production of 1984. Now, the 33-year-old is adding yet ANOTHER role to her already impressive resume, heading behind the camera for her directorial debut with a female-driven flick titled Booksmart.
Starring 21-year-old Kaitlyn Dever, who you may recognize from Tim Allen’s Last Man Standing TV series, and Jonah Hill’s little sis Beanie Feldstein, who most recently appeared in Lady Bird, the film will be chock-full of badass babes, with writers including Black-ish’s Emily Halpern and Sarah Haskins, also on board.
As for the plot, Booksmart will tell the story of two best friends and academic overachievers (Dever and Feldstein) who, on the day before graduating from high school, begin to worry they might have missed out on all the fun of their youth in their drive to succeed. So, they decide to make up for it, by packing four years of fun into a single evening.
Wilde first broke the news on Instagram, sharing a snap of a director’s chair and writing, “SOOOO…. On this #femalefilmmakerfriday I’m beyond thrilled to announce that I’m directing a movie called Booksmart for @annapurnapics and Gloria Sanchez Productions, starring BRILLIANT humans, @beaniefeldstein and @kaitlyndever,” she gushed, adding, “Not only is it a great story but it’s f*cking hilarious and I can’t wait to tell it to you. Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to continue freaking out with happiness.”
While the film will mark Wilde’s directorial film debut, it won’t be her first time behind the lens: She has previously acted as music video director for several acts, including Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (“No Love Like Yours“) and and the Red Hot Chili Peppers “(Dark Necessities“).
Speaking about the latter, she revealed, “They gave me a shot and I’ll forever be grateful because it served as another type of launch pad for me.”
She also spoke to the educational experience behind it, saying, “Directing non-actors is a way to witness what happens when real emotions happen in front of a camera and how real people actually behave when they’re being watched as opposed to people who are trained to perform,” she elaborated of the intimidating, but educational experience. “So, that’s one reason why it’s been so informative for me.”
Looks like all that knowledge will soon be put to great use on the big screen!
What’s your fave Olivia Wilde project to date? Tweet us @BritandCo.
(Photo via Tommaso Boddi + Neilson Barnard/Getty)
