- Jesse Eisenberg is back in the director’s chair with The Debut.
- The film stars Paul Giamatti and Julianne Moore in the lead.
- The Debut will be out in the fall
After entertaining viewers with A Real Pain, actor Jesse Eisenberg is back in the director's chair with another project - The Debut. The Social Network star will both direct and feature alongside Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti in the film. The trailer of the R-rated musical comedy is out now.
The film, produced by A24, is set to release this fall. The plot follows a woman who joins a small community theatre production, where she has to face an irascible director.
In the trailer, Mona Freidman (Moore) who hasn't sung in front of anyone else “since church choir,” gets a starring role in a production helmed by Jerry (Paul Giamatti) “the biggest name in New Jersey community theater.”
Mona soon changes from a shy and unassuming housewife into a method actor who will do anything to protect her role, even if it means going against Jerry.
In a pivotal moment from the trailer, a character played by Halle Bailey tells Mona, “Jerry is going to test you, and push you, and drag you through the mud.”
As the production approaches opening night, Jerry pushes Mona to her breaking point. In one instance, he insists that she recite her line three times without blinking.
Jesse Eisenberg will reportedly play another actor in the film, as per Deadline. He has also penned the script.
Jesse Eisenberg's A Real Pain starred him and Kieran Culkin as two cousins who reunited to honour their late grandmother's Polish roots with a trip throughout the country. The film was much appreciated, with Culkin winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
With The Debut, Eisenberg brings together Oscar nominee Paul Giamatti and Academy Award winner Julianne Moore. Bailey, Cara Buono, Eldar Isgandarov, Craig Bierko, and Bernadette Peters also appear in the film.
For his new project, Eisenberg reunites with Topic Studios and Fruit Tree, who had worked on A Real Pain as well. This will also mark his second collaboration with Moore. The Still Alice star had featured opposite Finn Wolfhard in Eisenberg's debut feature, When You Finish Saving the World.
Apart from The Debut, Eisenberg's next project is Minions and Monsters, where he has a voiceover role.
A24 has not yet announced a release date for The Debut.