When Alex Kurtman first announced he was going from writing and producing big budget fare like Transformers 2 and Sar Trek, to directing a small human drama, it was assumed it would be low key, with few stars and more to allow him to get some experience behind the camera. That was particularly true as it’s based on a labour of love screenplay he’s had in his drawer for years (co-written with Roberto Orci and Lody Lambert) but could never get made.
However things haven’t turned out that way, with a very impressive cast lining up, including Chris Pine, Olivia Wilde, Elizabeth Banks and now Michelle Pfeiffer. The film is about a struggling twentysomething man (Pine) who, after flying home to LA for the funeral of his estranged record-producer father, discovers that the will stipulates that he must deliver $150,000 in cash to a 30-year-old alcoholic sister (Banks) he never knew existed, and her troubled 12-year-old son. Olivia Wilde has signed up to play the girlfriend of Chris Pine’s character, and EW now reports that Pfeiffer will be his mother.
Welcome To People is certainly turning into one to look out for. It starts shooting in LA next week.