From scene-stealing comedian in The 40-Year-Old Virgin to double Oscar-nominee, Jonah Hill is now making another unexpected move by heading behind the camera. Per Variety, Hill is set to direct the coming-of-age dramedy Mid-90s, based on the spec script that he penned. While plot details are under wraps, the film is said to follow a young boy in Los Angeles in the mid-1990s who learns life lessons while hanging out with his crew of skateboarding friends. While that sounds a bit generic, every coming-of-age movie sounds terrible when truncated to a single logline, so it's hard to really know what Mid-90s is until we see footage.
Hill isn’t making the move alone, as he also has some serious talent with him in the form of producers Scott Rudin and Eli Bush, as well as A24, a studio that has made a name for itself by backing edgy, artist-driven material like Spring Breakers, Obvious Child, and the horror hit The Witch. Rudin, meanwhile, is a Hollywood veteran and Oscar-winning producer whose credits include No Country for Old Men, The Social Network, and The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Hill will not be acting in the project and it’s unclear when filming might begin, but this marks a curious career move for the actor who already surprised audiences by making a successful transition into drama with Moneyball and The Wolf of Wall Street. While he’s never directed before, Hill’s career thus far has found him working with a number of impeccably talented filmmakers to draw inspiration from. With a resume that includes Martin Scorsese, Joel and Ethan Coen, Quentin Tarantino, Judd Apatow, Bennett Miller, and Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the guy's been around some really gifted directors.
The actor next stars opposite Miles Teller in Todd Phillips’ comedic drama War Dogs and is set to return alongside Channing Tatum in Sony’s planned 23 Jump Street/Men in Black crossover, but I’m very curious to see how he fares as a director once Mid-90s gets off the ground.
