Director Jon S. Baird (Stan and Ollie) and writer/producer Steven Rogers (I, Tonya) have made many movies of their own, but for their first collaboration, they tackled something very personal for Rogers, a story based on his own upbringing as the child of parents involved in regional theater.
For the movie, Everything’s Going To Be Great, the duo cast Emmy winner Bryan Cranston and Oscar winner Allison Janney as Buddy and Macy Smart, who has spent most of their lives producing regional theater with their younger son Les (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth from Pinocchio) being far more interested in the family business than his older brother Derrick (Jack Champion, Avatar: The Way of Water). When the Smarts are given an opportunity to take over a New Jersey theater, it’s an offer too good to refuse, and for Buddy, it might finally be his chance to show the world what he and his family can do. The movie also stars Oscar-winner Chris Cooper, Laura Benanti, and Simon Rex.
Cinema Daily US had a chance to speak with Baird and Rogers about their new movie when it premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, discussing how it came out of Rogers’ own childhood travelling around the country with his theater family, how that idea connected with Baird and got him on board to direct, casting the two sons of Janney and Cranston’s characters. You can learn about all these things and more in the video interview above.
Everything’s Going To Be Great will open in select theaters on Friday, June 20.
You can also read Adriano Ercolani’s review of the movie from Tribeca right here.
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Director: Jon S. Baird
Screenwriter: Steven Rogers
Cast: Allison Janney, Bryan Cranston, Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, Jack Champion, Simon Rex, Chris Cooper, Laura Benanti, Cady Huffman, Jessica Clement
Producer: Alex Lalonde, Bryan Unkeless, Steven Rogers
Production Co: Lionsgate, eOne Films, Amaze Film + Television, Astute Films, Clubhouse PIctures
Distributor: Liongate
Rating: R (Language|Some Sexual Content|Partial Nudity|Brief Teen Alcohol Use)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): June 20, 2025
Runtime: 1 hour, 35 minutes
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You can watch the trailer below: