Jillian Bell Making Directorial Debut With ‘Summer Of 69,’ American High Comedy For Hulu; Chloe Fineman To Lead Starry Ensemble
EXCLUSIVE: Actress Jillian Bell (Brittany Runs a Marathon) is set to make her feature directorial debut with Summer of 69, an American High comedy for Hulu, starring Saturday Night Live‘s Chloe Fineman.
Written by Liz Nico, Jules Byrne, Jillian Bell, the film’s cast also includes Sam Morelos (That ’90s Show), Charlie Day (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia), Natalie Morales (The Morning Show), Alex Moffat (Saturday Night Live), Paula Pell (Girls5eva), Liza Koshy (A Family Affair), Nicole Byer (Nailed It!), Matt Cornett (High School Musical: The Musical: The Series), Fernando Carsa (Acapulco) and Amalia Yoo (Grand Army). Production is set to kick off in Syracuse, NY this month.
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In Summer of 69, which falls under American High’s first-look deal with Hulu, an awkward high school senior hires an exotic dancer to help seduce her longtime crush before graduation, leading to unexpected friendship and lessons in self-confidence, acceptance, and adulthood.
Jeremy Garelick, Will Phelps, and Molle DeBartolo will produce for American High, with Axelle Azoulay and Matt Sacca associate producing. Breanna Bell-Singer, Dichotomy’s Adam Goodman and Matt Skiena, and Lucas Carter from Champagne Video are also producing. The project is set to join an American High catalogue at Hulu that includes such hit YA titles as Big Time Adolescence, The Binge and Crush.
In a statement to Deadline, Bell shared, “It’s always been my dream to direct and I am thrilled to be telling a story about female friendship with a cast of the most talented and funny humans.”
Emmy-nominated for her writing on Saturday Night Live, Bell is best known for her acting work in the acclaimed Amazon dramedy Brittany Runs a Marathon, as well as series like Workaholics and Idiotsitter. Other recent feature credits on the acting front include Candy Cane Lane, Murder Myster 2, I’m Totally Fine and The Drop, to name just a few. Currently, Bell can be seen starring opposite Lil Rel Howery, Billy Magnussen and more in the murder mystery comedy Reunion from Republic Pictures. Among her other upcoming projects is the Netflix dramedy Kinda Pregnant starring Amy Schumer.
A cast member on SNL since 2019, Fineman has also been seen on series like Search Party, while lending her voice to Big Mouth, Despicable Me 4 and other titles. Other notable film credits include Babylon, White Noise, and Father of the Bride. Next to be seen in Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis, out via Lionsgate on September 27, her other upcoming projects include the Sony comedy My Ex-Friend’s Wedding and Peacock’s comedy series Laid.
Founded in 2017 with a focus on provocative teen comedies, American High is known for titles including Big Time Adolescence, Banana Split, The Binge and sequel It’s a Wonderful Binge, Crush and Plan B, among others. Most recently, the company has produced titles including Miguel Wants to Fight, Prom Dates — which was released on Hulu in May — and the upcoming Empire Waist from writer-director Claire Ayoub.
Bell is represented by CAA, 3 Arts Entertainment, and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman; Fineman by CAA, Nicole Garcia Management, and Lichter, Grossman, Nichols; Morelos by Paradigm and De Passe Jones; Day by CAA, 3 Arts, and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern; Morales by CAA, Bleecker Street Entertainment, and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman; Moffat by WME, Mosaic, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman; Pell by WME and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller; Koshy by CAA and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller; Byer by WME, Artists First, and Yorn, Levine, Barnes; Cornett by Gersh, LBI Entertainment, and Walter Entertainment & Media Law; Carsa by Innovative Artists and Vision Entertainment; and Yoo by Independent Artist Group, Luber Roklin Entertainment, and Yorn, Levine, Barnes. Nico and Byrne are repped by Jen Au Management and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller.
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