Last year, you may have caught the apocalypse dramedy “It’s A Disaster,” starring David Cross, America Ferrara, Julia Stiles, and the comedy troupe The Vactioneers, made up of Jeff Grace, Kevin M. Brennan, Blaise Miller, and writer/director Todd Berger (here’s our review if you need to catch up). Well, now one of The Vacationeers, Jeff Grace, is embarking on his own filmmaking journey and launching a Kickstarter campaign to get the wheels moving on the road movie “Folk Hero & Funny Guy.”
As we mentioned a couple of weeks ago, “Girls” actor and indie filmmaker Alex Karpovsky (who will next be seen in the Coen Brothers‘ “Inside Llewyn Davis“) has signed on to co-star in the story of two longtime friends, a folk musician and a stand up comic (Karpovsky) who hit the road together. Actress/musician Liza Oppenheimer is also set to co-star. Grace, a stand up comedian, writer, and performer wrote the script for “Folk Hero and Funny Guy” and will make his directorial debut on the film. Singer/songwriter Adam Ezra is contributing original music to the project as well. Here’s the official synopsis:
“Folk Hero & Funny Guy” follows Paul and Jason, childhood friends who have drifted apart as they’ve reached their 30s. Jason is a good-looking and free spirited singer-songwriter whose career is taking off, while Paul is a struggling stand-up comedian whose once promising trajectory is now in decline. They reunite when Jason passes through town on his most recent tour. A night of drinking leads Jason to offer Paul the opportunity to serve as the opening act for his upcoming solo tour. What Paul doesn’t know is that Jason has booked the tour himself in order to win back an old flame. Paul’s woes are the ideal opportunity for Jason to get his number one wingman back on board.
A wealth of talent has already circled around the project, and the Kickstarter campaign is where you can get involved in getting this indie project underway. There are also a host of fun incentives, including premiere parties on the East Coast and the West Coast (with karaoke!), stand up lessons from Jeff Grace, and a custom Sundance schedule from producer and festival schedule savant Ryland Aldrich.
The Kickstarter video, featuring Grace, is below, as well as a poster (via Slashfilm). Head over to FolkHeroandFunnyGuy.com to check out the Kickstarter campaign and make a donation (it runs from October 30th to December 4th). There’s no doubt we’ll be hearing more about this project as it gets underway soon.
The premise sounds like a mix of two other movies starring Karpovsky, Sleepwalk With Me and Inside Llewin Davis.