LITTLE MONSTERS Adds Gad, Nyong'o And England For The New Aussie Zombie Comedy
The film follows Dave (England), a washed-up musician who volunteers to chaperone his nephew’s kindergarten class field trip after taking a shine to the plucky schoolteacher, Miss Caroline (Nyong’o). Dave’s intentions are complicated by the presence of the world’s most famous kids show personality, and competition for Miss Caroline’s affections, Teddy McGiggle (Gad). One thing none of them bargained for however, is a sudden zombie outbreak, from which Dave and Miss Caroline must protect the children.
Snoot Entertainment’s Keith and Jess Calder are producing with Made Up Stories’s Bruna Papandrea, Jodi Matterson and Steve Hutensky. Jeanne Snow is executive producing with major production investment from Screen Australia in association with Create NSW.
“Jess and I are delighted to be working with Abe Forsythe and the whole team in Australia, as we’re huge fans of his first film Down Under,” said Keith Calder. “That we also get to work with Lupita Nyong’o and Josh Gad has turned a great experience into a total dream.”
“Abe is a brilliant filmmaker and I can’t wait for audiences to fall in love with this original film that is equal parts hilarious, heartwarming and terrifying,” said Papandrea. “We at Made Up Stories have been longtime fans of Lupita’s and Josh’s extraordinary work and we are thrilled that they have come on board alongside Alex.”
Sally Caplan, Head of Production at Screen Australia said “Little Monsters is an utterly charming and seemingly-impossible meld of zombie horror with romantic comedy that we expect will have genuine crossover appeal for audiences. Building on the working relationship forged on Down Under, we are thrilled to see Abe Forsythe and Jodi Matterson team up with vastly experienced producers Bruna Papandrea and Steve Hutensky and offer our congratulations to the team for assembling this inspired cast.”
Create NSW CEO Michael Brealey commented, “Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o and the multi-talented Josh Gad are incredible choices for Little Monsters and we are delighted to welcome them and the rest of the impressive cast and crew to NSW. This is a major win for the state and we are especially excited that such an esteemed producing team, including Emmy Award winner Bruna Papandrea, is onboard for the shoot in and around Sydney.”
Nyong’o, who won an Oscar in 2014 for her performance in 12 Years A Slave, most recently wrapped production on Black Panther from Disney/Marvel. She can next be seen in Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi, which bows December 15 from Disney/Lucasfilm. Nyong’o is repped by CAA and Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka Finkelstein and Lezcano.
Native New Yorker. Lover of all things pizza, chocolate, pets, and good friends. Karaoke hero. Left of center. Survivor. Fond supporter of cult, obscure and independent cinema - especially fond of Asian movies and global action cinema. Author of the bi-weekly Hit List. Founder and editor of Film Combat Syndicate. Still, very much, only human.
