Sarah-Violet Bliss and Charles Rogers are teaming up for another pic. Their first joint feature, “Fort Tilden,” took home the 2014 Grand Jury Award at SXSW. Since then, they co-created TBS’ Alia Shawkat-starrer “Search Party,” a dark comedy that will return for a third season at its new home, HBO Max. Now the pair are joining forces with Picturestart on “Monster,” a comedy feature they’ll write, direct, and exec produce. Deadline reports that Picturestart is set to develop, produce, and finance.
Set in LA, “Monster” tells the story of a young woman who moves to the city with “big dreams of stardom. Upon her arrival, she lands a personal-assistant gig with a monster of a boss who may in fact be an actual monster,” the source details.
“There is absolutely no one better than Charles Rogers and Sarah-Violet Bliss to write and direct a wildly original movie about a young woman who discovers that the boss she worships is kind of a monster and maybe even a real monster,” said Picturestart founder and CEO Erik Feig. “‘Search Party’ is an amazing show that I think would be Alfred Hitchcock’s and Preston Sturges’ favorite and we can’t wait to work on this film that combines so many wonderful things in a delightfully insane mix.”
Rogers and Bliss added that they are excited “to partner with Picturestart on a movie that we hope is a terrifying and hilarious portrait of the ways in which people monstrously abuse power – a situation that is not at all relevant in our country today,” they joked.
The pair also worked as writers on “Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp” and “Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later.”
We ran an interview with Bliss during “Fort Tilden’s” SXSW run. Asked what her favorite woman-directed film is, Bliss said, “I love ‘Your Sister’s Sister’ and ‘Hump Day’ by Lynn Shelton. I think she’s fantastic and I really look up to her. She writes characters who are unique but familiar and her films have a beautiful blend of comedy and heart that also make you think. She knows how to cast right. Those are the ingredients that I aspire to incorporate into my own work,” she revealed. “She really inspires me.”
Shelton died unexpectedly last week. Bliss tweeted, “When I was in film school and dreaming up the life I’d like to live I made a list of women whose careers I admired and Lynn Shelton was at the top. Thanks, Lynn, for showing me how it’s done and then one day being so kind to have lunch with me, that made me feel so cool.” Ava DuVernay, Reese Witherspoon, and Mindy Kaling are also among those who have paid tribute to the late writer-director.
