Lauren Cohan and Jake Epstein to Lead Camp Reunion Comedy Both Sides Now
Lauren Cohan and Jake Epstein will lead the ensemble cast of Both Sides Now, a working-titled indie romantic comedy directed by Eric Stoltz, Deadline reported. A working title is a temporary name that can change before release. An ensemble cast means the story is organised around a group rather than carried by one star.
The screenplay is by Hailey Lustig and Robbie Roth. Stoltz directs from their script. Erich Bergen, Justin Chatwin and Brian Norris complete the central group alongside Cohan and Epstein.
The story follows lifelong friends nearing 40. They travel back to the Jewish summer camp where they came of age. The occasion is a wedding that pulls the old group together again.
Epstein plays Eddie, whose impending wedding is the reason for the reunion. Cohan plays Erin, Eddie's first love and former favourite camp sweetheart, Deadline reported. Bergen plays Lloyd, Eddie's best friend. Those three parts shape the reunion.
Music runs through the film. It features six original songs written by Roth. The cast perform the numbers themselves, which keeps the music inside the story.
The film is independently financed by Three Birds Landing Productions, meaning it is paid for outside the major studios, Deadline reported. Independent financing of this kind usually means the producers raise the budget themselves and later seek distribution. For this team, it is a first step. Both Sides Now is the company's debut feature.
Producers are Lustig, Carrie Mudd and Erin Berry, working in association with Peacock Alley Entertainment. Association in this context means the second company provides support alongside the main producers. Lustig is also the founder of Three Birds Landing Productions.
Production began on 19 September in Muskoka, Ontario. The shoot is under way. It is scheduled to wrap on 20 October, Deadline reported.
What makes this stand out is the writers' own starting point. Lustig and Roth were born in the same Toronto maternity ward on either side of midnight. That coincidence now sits behind a comedy about people who grew up together.
