FACEBOOK: Facebook.com/Crackle
TWITTER: Twitter.com/Crackle
INSTAGRAM: Instagram.com/Crackle
HASHTAG: #PartyBoat
Contact:
Jennifer Huppert
Crackle
Media & Talent Relations
O: 310-244-9302
E:
SYNOPSIS:
Party Boat is centered around Max, a fun-loving, yet irresponsible party animal, dedicated to bringing the fun by whatever means necessary. He is on a mission to throw his wildest party to date – a birthday party for his best friend, Kiley. Unbeknownst to Kiley, Max has had a crush on her since middle school. When Max finds out that Kiley’s boyfriend plans to propose, he embarks on an adventure to win her heart and throw his most epic rager yet.
About the Production
Party Boat is a hilarious and irreverent tale of life, love, and the pursuit of the ultimate rager. Brett Davern (“Awkward”) stars as free-spiritpartyanimal Max, who learns that his best friend and first love, Kiley (“Switched at Birth” standout Katie Leclerc), will soon be getting engaged to her square-but-loving boyfriend, Greg (belovedFast And Furiousfranchise hero Sung Kang). Desperate to break up the proposal and win Kiley’s heart, Max sets out to throw thepartyto end allparties.
Party Boat is helmed by acclaimed filmmaker Dylan Kidd, director of the award-winning drama Roger Dodger, from a script penned by accomplished husband-and-wife duo Matthew Giegerich and Chelsea Rae Giegrich. The film is produced by Amy Kim and Jaime Burke of Lifeboat Productions (“Confess",Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser), along with Douglas Banker and Alex Garinger of Five All in the Fifth Entertainment (“World Star TV”).
Co-writer Chelsea Rae Giegrich used her personal life to shape the script, drawing on her experience as the first of her friends to get engaged. While sharing engagement news is usually a landmark moment met with excitement and congratulations, Giegrich was surprised to find the reaction of her group was far different, generating a response that was quite lackluster. Sparked by this—and wanting to create the next great coming-of-age party movie in a cinematic landscape surprisingly devoid of them—Giegrich and her now-husband, Matthew, began crafting this heartfelt comedy built around the bigger idea of what it’s like when one of your friends decides to grow up and take life’s biggest plunge.
"One of the big ideas that we always discussed while making the movie was that critical moment that happens in your twenties when your friends start to hit big 'adult' milestones — someone gets engaged, or lands a big job or promotion, or buys a home,” said Producer Alex Garinger. “It becomes this gut check moment for everyone else in the friends group. You start to wonder, 'What the hell am I doing with my life?' and maybe make some questionable decisions. This is such a relatable, universal feeling, and, by the way, it happens again in your 30s when those now-married friends start to have kids and settle down. And probably every decade after that. And so Party Boat is built around one friend reaching such a milestone — and everyone else freaking out before ultimately figuring out what they should do next."
Viewers of all ages will be able to empathize with the plight of the characters, whether it’s the lovelorn Max, the more straight-laced and responsible Sean (played by Demetrius Rogers), or the nervous and unsure Kiley. Party Boat’s producer, Amy S. Kim, succinctly sums up what makes the film and its characters so relatable, saying, “It’s a coming of age story for ALL of the characters: Max has to give up what he thinks is the love of his life, to let her be truly happy. Kiley realizes that she isn’t going to become her sister, and that she is ready to grow up and be with Greg. Sean realizes that both his life and business needs a fun/work balance in order to succeed. Even the mother has a coming-of-age when she lets go of her father’s legacy and conservative values, and allows herself to fall in love with a lady pirate. Everybody has growth in the movie – and as everyone knows, growth is often hilariously uncomfortable.”
With a film where friendship is so integral to the plot, making the right casting choices is crucial to giving the story an air of authenticity. A main factor that sets Party Boat apart from other films in the genre is the genuine feeling of friendship, fueled by the fact that many of the leads had already worked with the producers on previous projects, and a few of the cast mates had already been close friends for years before coming together to film Party Boat. This helped create a welcoming family atmosphere that made it easy for everyone to bond quickly.
With casting Max, the film needed someone who was equal parts fun and wild, while also remaining sympathetic. Garinger explains, "Brett is outgoing and fun-loving, which is exactly what we needed for the character of party king Max — and also exactly what we needed on set. On our long overnight shoots, we knew we could count on Brett to keep everyone laughing and their energy sky high. But Brett also brought a great sensitivity and sweetness to the role. Fans of "Awkward" will definitely recognize this side of him, and he really shines in his more personal scenes with Katie and Demetrius."
Katie Leclerc plays the endearing Kiley, the dream girl at the center of Max’s major party plans. Having starred in the acclaimed drama series “Switched at Birth”, Leclerc has honed her skills as a versatile actress capable of being humorous and heartfelt—which was very important given the inner conflict that Kiley struggles with throughout the film, as she fears ending up like her sister who is bitter about marriage. Kim had worked with Leclerc before on the Verizon go90 series “Confess”, and knew she was the right choice for this part. Kim says, “Katie’s versatility is her biggest attribute as an actor. Most of her fans will know her from “Switched at Birth”, but I knew her as the captivating love interest from “Confess.” She’s inherently got this loveable quality where she appeals to everyone. She was absolutely perfect for this role, you just adore her character, Kiley.”
Viewers across the globe will instantly recognize Kiley’s charming boyfriend, Greg, played by Fast and the Furious favorite Sung Kang. A man of many interests, Kang was a consummate professional and more than willing to put himself out there as he brought his character to life. Kim says, “Sung Kang is an old friend of ours—we’d been trying to work with Sung for five years now. He’s so talented and just all-around one of the most creatively smart people. We sent him the script, and he loved that the character of Greg was different from anything he’d played before.”
Mostly known for his roles in various action blockbusters and dramas, Kang’s role allowed him to exercise his more comedic side—stepping out of his comfort zone, much like his character is forced to do in the film. On playing Greg, Kang says, “He’s idealistic to a fault. He really loves his girlfriend, and [he’s on this boat so he can] create a very romantic ambiance for her and create a wonderful proposal.” On how he was able to relate to Greg, Kang continues, “In this film, I actually do a dance for her, and [Greg] is afraid of dancing. [He] hates dancing. In real life I hate dancing, too, so it was really difficult. But I do a whole dance routine for her and try to woo her that way.”
Greg’s big dance number stands out as one of Kim’s favorite aspects of the production, saying, “It’s such a sweet moment, because he’s a character who is a little bit uptight, but he expresses his love for this girl in a way that’s so far out of his comfort zone. Sung had actually been saying for two days leading up to that dance, ‘I cannot dance, I cannot dance!’ And then he does it, and he’s so adorable. So, that was a nice moment to see come full circle.”
The young cast is bolstered by veteran funnyman Jay Mohr, tasked with making sure the party never gets too far out of hand as nosy boat cop Officer Walsh. Everyone was thrilled when Mohr came onboard, as everyone was already a fan of him as an actor and a standup comedian. To make it better, his collaborative and positive attitude permeated the shoot. He was heard on more than one occasion as saying, “This is the most fun I’ve ever had.”
Dishing on what drives his character, Mohr explains, “He used to be a real policeman, and he's angry a lot of the time because he doesn't carry a gun—he carries water to stay hydrated. Officer Walsh is the guy who was just that jerk in high school, probably like a straight-lace. I got to just trash talk kids from a boat, so it was perfect.”
Rounding out the ensemble is accomplished YouTube sensation Jc Caylen, who shines as Mohr’s sidekick, Officer Hicks. “Jc Caylen was another person we’d worked with in the past,” Kim says. “He’s very talented, he’s got a very successful YouTube channel that he’s been building since he was about 19 year-old. He’s very much a self-starter in that way. But, he also takes acting very seriously. He had the best attitude, and jumped in there. He ingratiated himself to the rest of the cast and was a complete pleasure to work with.” The young entertainer especially enjoyed his time working alongside Mohr, and their undeniable chemistry is one of the film’s many highlights. Kim recalls, “[Jc] had the most scenes with Jay, and they were hilarious together. They’d just riff off each other, it was amazing to watch.”
While casting the film’s leads fell into place rather easily, finding the film’s biggest star—the boat itself—was a bit more difficult as shooting took place on Lake Lanier—a massive man-made lake and resort community outside of Atlanta, Georgia. Garinger explains, "When we were looking for our party boat, we considered dozens of options, and we started to feel like Goldilocks — some boats were too big or too small, some were the perfect size but not the right layout or look. We finally struck gold with the Chapman: The main and upper decks were big enough to make it feel like the guys could throw raging parties on it. And then the lower cabin sold the idea that Max really lived there and Sean ran the business out of it. It was the perfect fit.”
"One bit of trivia: The original plan was to remove the hot tub, which was huge and smack in the middle of the main deck. When we realized that was not going to be possible, we decided to have it work for us, and we were able to incorporate it into a number of scenes. Now, we can't imagine the movie without all those 'hot tub moments.'"
The region’s erratic weather patterns caused a challenge, which forced the cast and crew to adapt to the on-again, off-again showers pouring down from the sky. Kim recalls, “We didn’t have a cover set, we were always on the water, and Georgia’s known for these sporadic lightning storms. There was half-a-day when we got shut down, and there were other days when we were working around the weather. So, it was really tough.”
Though plagued by the constant threat of storms, which lurked in the background like a bumbling boat cop waiting to break up a party, it couldn’t dampen the tremendous rapport of the cast and crew.
CAST:
BRETT DAVERN……………………………………………………Max
KATIE LECLERC…………………………………………………..Kiley
SUNG KANG…………………………………………………………Greg
BEAU MIRCHOFF…………………………………………………Jonathan
EMILY KURODA…………………………………………………..Eomma
JC CAYLEN………………………………..…………………………Officer Hicks
JAY MOHR……………………………………………………………Officer Walsh
DEMETRIUS BRIDGES.……………………………………....Sean
ANNIE JACOB………………………………………………………Becky
BRITTANY KRALL………………………………………………..Lauren
CREW:
DYLAN KIDD………………………………………………………..Director
MATT GIEGERICH………………………………………………..Writer
CHELSEA RAE GIEGERICH…………………………………..Writer
AMY KIM………………………………………………………………Producer
JAIME BURKE………………………………………………………Producer
DOUGLAS BANKER………………………………………………Producer
ALEX GARINGER………………………………………………….Producer
BIOS:
CAST:
BRETT DAVERN (Max)
Growing up in Edmonds, Washington, a life in Hollywood seemed far off, but after Brett Davern began performing in local theatre as a young boy, he knew acting was his calling. While still in high school, Brett earned a scholarship to "Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center," one of the most exclusive summer camps for the performing arts, located in upstate New York. This program features an eclectic group of alumni, including Oscar nominees Robert Downey, Jr. and Natalie Portman, Emmy-winner Jon Cryer, as well as stage and screen actress Bryce Dallas Howard. Davern continued to hone his craft in college, studying theatre at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) in New York City.
Soon after graduating AMDA, Brett landed the sought after role of "William Messerman" in Chad Lowe's directorial debut, BEAUTIFUL OHIO, in which he had the opportunity to work with seasoned actors such as Oscar-winner William Hurt, Emmy-winner Julianna Margulies and Rita Wilson.
Since arriving in Los Angeles, Brett Davern has quietly amassed a body of work that encompasses both television and film. For five seasons, Davern played “Jake Rosati” on the breakout MTV comedy series AWKWARD, which the New York Times called, “the smartest, freshest, most moving new sitcom of 2011.”
In 2014, Brett played the young “Carl Wilson” in the highly anticipated Beach Boys biopic LOVE & MERCY, starring opposite Paul Dano, John Cusack and Paul Giamatti. The film premiered at the 2014 Toronto Film Festival and was picked up for distribution by Lionsgate. That same year, Brett starred in the feature BORN TO RACE 2: FAST TRACK, playing lead “Danny Krueger,” a 21-year-old small town drag racer with big dreams, opposite his AWKWARD co-star and real life best friend, Beau Mirchoff. He would follow up with a strong supporting role in STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT, based on the 1971 Zimbardo experiment, starring opposite Billy Crudup, Ezra Miller, Nick Braun and Michael Angarano for IFC.
Other notable film credits include the independent feature JUNK, which won the Audience Award at the 2012 Austin Film Festival, the star-studded comedy, MOVIE 43, directed by The Farrelly Brothers for Relatively Media. Brett also starred opposite Mathew Lillard and Rachelle Lefevre in the coming-of-age comedy POOL BOYS and played the introverted, but dynamic "Whisper," in the feature film TRIPLE DOG opposite Britt Robertson.