PRODUCTION UPDATE



 

Left to Right: Mike White, Glory Simon, and Doug Kieffer in Miguel Arteta's Chuck and Buck

Summer ’97 Filmmaker Magazine coverboy Miguel Arteta (Star Maps) goes digital for his second feature, Chuck and Buck, the first project from Open City’s new Blow Up Pictures division headed by former IFFM director Sharon Sklar. Blow Up’s formation was announced in January at Sundance where Open City’s Three Seasons scored a triple win with the festival’s Grand Jury Prize, Audience Award and Cinematography Award.

Chuck reteams Arteta with most of the Star Maps crew, including producer Matthew Greenfield, cinematographer Chuy Chavez and editor Jeff Betancourt, among others. The dark comedy stars Mike White, who also wrote the script, as Buck, a 27-year-old arrested adolescent who develops a fixation on his childhood best friend, Chuck, after they meet again at a funeral. Chuck, now "Charlie," a slick L.A. music exec, backs off fast, however, when Buck attempts to revive their pre-pubescent relationship. A frustrated Buck soon starts stalking Charlie and works out his confusion by writing an autobiographical play about their youthful exploits which he stages in the children’s theater across the street from Charlie’s office.

White’s best known in Hollywood for his Dead Man on Campus screenplay and his work as a producer and writer for TV’s "Dawson’s Creek". The film also features performances by Chris and Paul Weitz, the multi-talented brothers who co-wrote Antz and co-directed American Pie. Arteta is a 1993 AFI grad who made six shorts, including 1990 Student Academy Award contender Every Day Is A Beautiful Day, before embarking on Star Maps in 1996. Star Maps, made for less than $500,000, premiered at Sundance ’97 where it was bought by Fox Searchlight for $2.5 million.

Chuck shot in L.A. for four weeks beginning April 3; Greenfield points out that going digital may reduce costs on line items like raw stock but doesn’t translate into a shorter shoot. All rights are available.

Cast: Mike White, Chris Weitz, Lupe Ontiveros, Beth Colt, Paul Weitz. Crew: Producer, Matthew Greenfield; Executive Producers, Jason Kliot, Joana Vicente, Charles Rusbasan; Co-Producer, Scott Cort; Associate Producers, Jason Zolov, Gina Kwon, Abby Scharzwalder, Mike White; Screenwriter, Mike White; Director, Miguel Arteta; Director of Photography, Chuy Chavez; Production Designer, Renee Davenport; Editor, Jeff Betancourt. Contact: Matthew Greenfield, Toga LLC, 1644 1/2 Maltman Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90026. Tel: (323) 666-8485, Fax: (323) 666-9548.




 
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