Elijah Wood Horror-Comedy ‘Cooties’ Catches Alison Pill, Rainn Wilson, Jack McBrayer, Jorge Garcia, Nasim Pedrad
EXCLUSIVE: SpectreVision and Glacier Films have fleshed out the crew of teachers who’ll take on the ultimate school outbreak in prepubescent horror comedy Cooties. Pic, written by Leigh Whannell (Insidious, Saw) and Glee co-creator Ian Brennan, follows a zombie-like epidemic originating from an infected chicken nugget that turns elementary school students into rampaging savages. Joining Elijah Wood as a substitute teacher leading a ragtag band of educators in a fight for survival are Alison Pill as Lucy, an eternally optimistic 4th grade teacher, and Rainn Wilson as ex-athlete turned PE teacher Wade. Jack McBrayer (30 Rock), Jorgé Garcia (LOST), Nasim Pedrad (SNL), and Whannell also co-star. Filming is set to begin July 15 in LA with HONEST duo Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion directing. Wood is also producing the pic alongside SpectreVision partners Daniel Noah and Josh C. Waller, with Steven Schneider (Paranormal Activity) and Glacier Films’ Tove Christensen and Georgy Malkov also producing. Glacier’s Vladimir Poliakov, Sarik Andreasyan, Gevond Andreasyan and Hayden Christensen are exec producing. Paradigm arranged financing and is handling North American sales.
Cooties marks the latest genre project for Wood, who played the flip side of campus horror as an alien-battling teen in 1998′s The Faculty. It’s also one of multiple recent projects he’s come aboard as producer including Nacho Vigalondo’s Open Windows with Sasha Grey, which he stars in and exec produced. Wood is currently in theaters in Franck Khalfoun’s slasher pic Maniac and stars in FX’s Wilfred. Wood is repped by WME, Brillstein Entertainment Partners, and Stone, Meyer, Genow, Smelkinson and Binder.
Pill stars on HBO’s The Newsroom and appears in Bong Joon-ho’s upcoming Snowpiercer. She is repped by WME and Burstein Company. Wilson is repped by WME and 3 Arts Entertainment. McBrayer is repped by UTA. Garcia is repped by APA and Kritzer Levine Wilkins Griffin Nilon Entertainment.
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