Media 8 Entertainment Inc. announced today that a number of leading actors have signed on for roles alongside star Amanda Bynes in its feature film teen comedy project ILovewrecked/I. Chris Carmack, one of the young stars of Fox's hit television series "The O.C." has signed on to play Jason, the rock idol whom Jenny (Ms. Bynes) finds herself shipwrecked with. "Sopranos" star Jamie-Lynn DiScala has also signed on to play the role of Alexis, who is Jenny's rival for Jason's affections. And playing the role of Jenny's best friend Ryan will be up-and-coming star Jonathan Bennett, who recently had a starring role in the hit feature film teen comedy IMean Girls/I.
Principal photography on ILovewrecked/I began last week on location in the Caribbean. ILovewrecked/I is being directed by Randal Kleiser (director of IGrease/I and IHoney I Blew Up the Kid/I), from a script written by Stephen Langford. Media 8 Entertainment's Stewart Hall will produce, along with Bacon & Eggs' Joe Anderson and Wendy Thorlakson. In ILovewrecked/I, Ms. Bynes plays Jenny, an eighteen year-old girl who is ecstatic when she finds that her favorite rock star, Jason, is a guest at the tropical resort where she is working for the summer. When they are both thrown overboard during a cruise, Jenny is even more thrilled to find herself stranded on a remote beach, alone with Jason. Jenny soon learns that they are actually just down the beach from the resort - but Jenny keeps the truth from Jason so that she will have a chance to win him over. Things get even more complicated when Jenny's rival Alexis pretends to be shipwrecked too, and they must compete for Jason's affections.
"We are tremendously excited to have assembled such a talented cast to star alongside Amanda in ILovewrecked/I," said Media 8's Stewart Hall. "We've always seen this film as a fresh, fun teen comedy with wide audience appeal, and now this project has become even more dynamic with these talented and attractive new additions to the cast," further added Hall.
Also joining the cast is Joey Kern (Grind, Cabin Fever), who will play Jason's high-strung manager Milo; veteran comic star Fred Willard (IA Mighty Wind, Best in Show/I) as Jenny's father; Kathy Griffin (IBeethoven's Fifth, Suddenly Susan/I) as Jason's cutthroat publicist Belinda; Alfonso Ribeiro ("The Fresh Prince of Bel Air") as the hotel manager; and Jackie Long (IRoommates/I) as Ryan's friend Chase. Rounding out the rest of the cast are Suzanne Kent (IHoney, I Blew Up the Kid/I) and Connor Matheus (IThe Polar Express, Santa Clause 2/I) who will respectively play Cinderella and Otis Venable, guests at the resort. Lance Bass will also have a role in the film as Dan, a cell-phone toting assistant to Milo and Belinda.
Media 8 Entertainment is currently gearing up production in its strategy of producing, financing and distributing at least six films a year. Production has also begun on Media 8's IRunning Scared/I, a big budget film which stars Paul Walker and is being produced by Michael Pierce (producer of IThe Cooler/I), Brett Ratner (director of mega-box office hits IRush Hour, Rush Hour 2/I, and IRed Dragon/I), and Sammy Lee. The gritty, fast-paced IRunning Scared/I is writer- director Wayne Kramer's follow up to his critically acclaimed film IThe Cooler/I.
Media 8's current slate of upcoming releases includes the Mike Binder-directed IThe Upside of Anger/I, a bittersweet comedy which is slated to be released in the US through New Line Cinema, and stars three-time Academy Award nominee Joan Allen, two-time Academy Award winner Kevin Costner, Erika Christensen, Evan Rachel Wood, Keri Russell, and Alicia Witt. Also upcoming is ISanta's Slay/I, an action infused horror-comedy that casts everyone's favorite holiday figure, Santa, in an entirely new and sinister light. Media 8 is co-producing ISanta's Slay/I with Brett Ratner, and the film features WWE wrestling star Goldberg as the devilish Santa Claus, alongside up-and-coming young stars Douglas Smith (IState's Evidence, Sleepover/I) and Emilie de Ravin ("Roswell"). Also forthcoming is IHavoc/I, Academy Award winner Stephen Gaghan's (ITraffic/I) searing music-driven story of teen culture as it clashes with the real world of urban Latino gangsters, directed by two-time Oscar winner Barbara Kopple, and starring Anne Hathaway and Bijou Phillips. |
