Adventureland

So I just saw Kristen Stewart, star of the new Twilight movie out tomorrow, on Letterman, and she was not was I was expecting. She's kinda reserved, cool and weird. She had this look like the nerves in her brain were directly connected to the expressions of thought on her face. This, reminded me of when I saw the kid who played the older brother in the awesome, awesome Noah Baumbach movie The Squid & The Whale go on Conan a few years back. It made me think that those two would be an interesting pair to see play opposite each other in a movie.

Fast forward a half hour. I'm digging around online, reading about movies and such, and I find a little post about Kristen Stewart being in a movie due out next year directed by this guy Greg Mottola who directed Superbad. Sure enough, her co-star is Jesse Eisenberg, the dude from Squid & The Whale. But check this out:

The movie is also written by Mottola and is based on his experience working at Adventureland. No, not any Adventureland. Fucking Adventureland Adventureland...Farmingdale, Long Island Adventureland. As in the origin of zillions of P.A.L. camp trip memories and the setting of multiple dreams I've had over the years. And to make things slightly more interesting, the movie is set in 1987. And it stars SNL's Bill Hader. And SNL's Kristen Wiig. And is supposed to be really cool.

Here's some info from slashfilm.com:

Set in 1987, the film follows James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg), an uptight recent college grad forced to take a minimum wage job at an amusement park when he realizes he can’t afford his dream tour of Europe. Writer/director Greg Mottola – best known as the director of the hit comedy Superbad – channeled his own experiences as a low-paid amusement park employee while making the film.

Co-starring Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds, Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig and Martin Star. I hear it’s more of a damedy than a laugh-out-loud comedy (ie more Garden State than Superbad), and has the potential to be next year’s sleeper hit ala Little Miss Sunshine/Juno. The first trailer will be attached to Twilight on Friday, and will also hit MySpace the same day. So check back tomorrow. But for now, you can find the first two production photos above and below.

Here are those cool, summery, late 1980's-y photos from the film that have already made me fall in love with it:





Also, some guy who saw a test screening apparently dug it:

“I thought it was excellent.” …”The acting and screenplay were great, but also thought the direction was fabulous. There was a slight ethereal quality to it that added a lot of atmosphere. The 80s aspect was also not overdone as I feared, it complimented everything just right. As it started I didnt know where it was going to go, it felt like it might be a directionless screwball comedy, but it turned out to be what I thought was a beautiful movie. Great character, acting, a tinge of weirdness. Unique stuff, well done!”

In case you're wondering, the movie is aptly titled Adventureland.

Gnarley gnarley gnarley