J.K. Simmons & Julie Delpy To Star In ‘The Bachelors’ From ‘Unbroken,’ ‘Descendants’ Producers
EXCLUSIVE: J.K. Simmons and Julie Delpy are set in the drama The Bachelors which just secured financing and is heading before the cameras next month. The story, which is said to be similar to the powerful drama Ordinary People, was written by Kurt Voelker (Sweet November) who will also direct. The Bachelors follows a widower and his 17-year-old son who move from a small northern California town to Los Angeles hoping for a fresh start. With a new job, a new school, an old friend and two extraordinary women coming into their lives, they find their lives transformed.
Windowseat Entertainment is financing the project which is being produced by Matt Baer (Unbroken, which garnered three Oscar noms last year) and filmmaker Alexander Payne’s frequent collaborator Geoge Parra (Joy, The Descendants, Silver Linings Playbook). Windowseat’s Joe McKelheer (Barely Lethal, The Hammer) and Bill Kiely (Chasing Giants) are also producing.
J.K. Simmons won Best Supporting Actor Oscar last year for his turn in Whiplash and Delpy has twice been nominated for her writing (with Richard Linkalater and co-star Ethan Hawke) on both Before Sunrise and Before Midnight.
Los Angeles-based Fortitude International is handling foreign rights and Windowseat is financing. Fortitude, founded by foreign sales vet Nadine de Barros, financier Daniel Wagner and producer Robert Ogden Barnum, has been handling several films, including Drunk Parents starring Alec Baldwin, Salma Hayek and Joe Manganiello (currently in production) and The Brits Are Coming with Uma Thurman, Tim Roth, Stephen Fry, Sofia Vergara, Parker Posey and Alice Eve. It is also in pre-production on Tom’s Dad starring Will Ferrell.
“We are thrilled to have such strong performers joining this project,” said de Barros. “This award winning pair are the perfect talents to bring this beautifully written story to the big screen and we are excited to bring this film to Berlin.”
The Bachelors will go before the cameras March 14 in Los Angeles. The production is currently casting.
Other films produced by Windowseat include The Adderall Diaries, which was a Sundance Labs film starring James Franco, Amber Heard and Ed Harris; it will be distributed by A24 this spring. The company also co-produced Crash Pad starring Domhnall Gleason (Ex Machina), Christina Applegate and Thomas Hayden Church. The film is set to release later this year. Last year, it produced Barely Lethal, which starred Jessica Alba, Samuel L Jackson and Hailee Steinfeld.
Delpy, the darling of indie film, was part of Avengers: Age of Ultron this past year, while Simmons just finished the comedy Bastards for Warner Bros. and was the voice of the villian Kai in Kung Fu Panda 3. His upcoming films include Sony Pictures Classics’ The Meddler with Susan Sarandon and Warner Bros.’ The Accountant with Ben Affleck and Anna Kendrick due for release in October 2016.
Its helmer Voelker made his directorial debut with the comedy Park starring William Baldwin, Ricki Lake and Cheri Oteri. He recently wrote the animated film Rock Dog currently in production with a voice cast led by Luke Wilson, J.K. Simmons, Sam Elliott and Matt Dillon.
“We were immediately drawn to The Bachelors as an intimate, timeless human story that is superbly written,” said McKelheer.
Delpy is repped by CAA and Untitled Management, J.K. Simmons is repped by The Gersh Agency. Voelker is repped by Circle of Confusion, Gersh and Attorney Allison Binder. Both CAA and Gersh are representing North American rights.
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