Amazon Studios has announced that production has begun in Oregon on its upcoming romantic comedy, Somebody I Used to Know. The film is directed by Dave Franco from a script he wrote with his wife Alison Brie, who will also star.
The story follows Ally (Brie), who begins to question her life choices after reminiscing with an ex-boyfriend, Sean, played by Insecure's Jay Ellis. That confusion is intensified when she meets Cassidy, played by Easy star Kiersey Clemons, who reminds Ally of her younger self. The full cast includes Brie's Community costar Dani Pudi and Franco's Easy costar Evan Jonigkeit. Haley Joel Osment and Amy Sedaris will also appear, along with Airplane star Julie Hagerty, Love Life's Zoe Chao, In the Heights' Olga Merediz, Homecoming's Ayden Mayeri, and Master of None's Kelvin Yu.
This is not the first time Franco and Brie have collaborated on a project. They both voiced characters in The Lego Movie, and appeared together in both The Disaster Artist and The Little Hours. Brie also starred in Franco’s directorial debut, last year's horror sleeper The Rental. But the couple had yet to work on a rom-com together, in spite of their shared interest in the genre. "Alison and I love romantic comedies and were inspired by the classics from the 80's and 90's," Franco said when the project was first announced. "We couldn’t be more excited about working with Jay and Kiersey, who are both extremely natural performers, capable of bringing levity and drama in equal measure. And we're so grateful to have partnered with Amazon Studios, who have been incredibly supportive in helping bring this project to life."
The film is a co-production of Temple Hill, whose Fatherhood and Happiest Season proved to be big successes for Netflix and Hulu, respectively, and Black Bear Pictures, whose I Care a Lot for Netflix recently earned star Rosamund Pike a Golden Globe for Best Actress. Franco and Brie are executive producers, alongside Black Bear’s Teddy Schwarzman and Bart Lipton, and Temple Hill’s Laura Quicksilver. Producers include Temple Hill’s Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey, and Isaac Klausner, along with Black Bear’s Ben Stillman, Leigh Kittay, and Michael Heimler.
Somebody I Used to Know will stream exclusively on Amazon Prime, and is expected to arrive on the streamer next year.