Casting Standout: 'Young Adult'

Casting Standout: 'Young Adult' By Melinda Loewenstein November 30, 2011 Photo by Paramount Pictures The first time that writer Diablo Cody teamed up with director Jason Reitman, the result was "Juno." Their latest collaboration, "Young Adult," tackles such topics as regret, reliving the past, and whether or not an individual can change.Charlize Theron plays the unlikable, entitled, and bitchy young-adult novelist and wannabe home-wrecker Mavis, who decides to return to her hometown and win back her old high-school flame after her book series ends. With a failed marriage and a faltering career, Mavis is determined to fix her life, but things don't work out quite the way she expected. While in town, she reunites with former classmate Matt, who is also trying to overcome the past, and the duo forge an unexpected bond. Patton Oswalt plays Matt, who is permanently disabled from a beating in high school.Casting directors Jessica Kelly and Suzanne Smith got the job done in about five weeks. They say Reitman's involvement in the casting sessions was a perk and that the best part of the process was watching him direct in the audition room. According to the CDs, he always knew the right thing to say, and his direction was always interesting and out of the box.As the majority of the movie is set in a small fictional town in Minnesota, Smith and Kelly say they wanted to create that world as realistically as possible. To that end, they were looking for funny, charismatic, inventive actors who gave the impression they actually lived in this small town but who could also deliver "Diablo Cody lines."The role of Buddy, Mavis' old flame, now a happily married family man, was the easiest to cast, the CDs say: Patrick Wilson walked in and was undeniably Buddy. For Buddy's wifethe kind-hearted, sympathetic BethElizabeth Reaser stood out early on as a favorite.One of the more difficult roles to cast was Mavis' mother, as the part required certain qualities to work. Smith and Kelly say they needed someone a bit Midwestern, with a sweetness that couldn't be acted but was innate; otherwise the character could come off as silly or too judgmental. They ended up finding those qualities in Jill Eikenberry.Other cast members include Collette Wolfe, as Matt's shy and awkward sister Sandra, and J.K. Simmons, who has appeared in all of Reitman's features, as Mavis' editor, who is heard but never seen.Casting Directors: Jessica Kelly and Suzanne SmithDirector: Jason ReitmanWriter: Diablo CodyStarring: Charlize Theron, Patrick Wilson, J.K. Simmons, Elizabeth Reaser, Patton OswaltThe Pitch: A fiction writer (Theron) returns to her hometown after her divorce, intent to rekindle a romance with an ex-boyfriend (Wilson) who is now married with a child. To read Back Stage's complete coverage of Awards Season, please get our FREE SAG Nomination Committee Guide. Or follow all our daily coverage with Back Stage's new online Awards Season section. Casting Standout: 'Young Adult' By Melinda Loewenstein November 30, 2011 PHOTO CREDIT Paramount Pictures The first time that writer Diablo Cody teamed up with director Jason Reitman, the result was "Juno." Their latest collaboration, "Young Adult," tackles such topics as regret, reliving the past, and whether or not an individual can change.Charlize Theron plays the unlikable, entitled, and bitchy young-adult novelist and wannabe home-wrecker Mavis, who decides to return to her hometown and win back her old high-school flame after her book series ends. With a failed marriage and a faltering career, Mavis is determined to fix her life, but things don't work out quite the way she expected. While in town, she reunites with former classmate Matt, who is also trying to overcome the past, and the duo forge an unexpected bond. Patton Oswalt plays Matt, who is permanently disabled from a beating in high school.Casting directors Jessica Kelly and Suzanne Smith got the job done in about five weeks. They say Reitman's involvement in the casting sessions was a perk and that the best part of the process was watching him direct in the audition room. According to the CDs, he always knew the right thing to say, and his direction was always interesting and out of the box.As the majority of the movie is set in a small fictional town in Minnesota, Smith and Kelly say they wanted to create that world as realistically as possible. To that end, they were looking for funny, charismatic, inventive actors who gave the impression they actually lived in this small town but who could also deliver "Diablo Cody lines."The role of Buddy, Mavis' old flame, now a happily married family man, was the easiest to cast, the CDs say: Patrick Wilson walked in and was undeniably Buddy. For Buddy's wifethe kind-hearted, sympathetic BethElizabeth Reaser stood out early on as a favorite.One of the more difficult roles to cast was Mavis' mother, as the part required certain qualities to work. Smith and Kelly say they needed someone a bit Midwestern, with a sweetness that couldn't be acted but was innate; otherwise the character could come off as silly or too judgmental. They ended up finding those qualities in Jill Eikenberry.Other cast members include Collette Wolfe, as Matt's shy and awkward sister Sandra, and J.K. Simmons, who has appeared in all of Reitman's features, as Mavis' editor, who is heard but never seen.Casting Directors: Jessica Kelly and Suzanne SmithDirector: Jason ReitmanWriter: Diablo CodyStarring: Charlize Theron, Patrick Wilson, J.K. Simmons, Elizabeth Reaser, Patton OswaltThe Pitch: A fiction writer (Theron) returns to her hometown after her divorce, intent to rekindle a romance with an ex-boyfriend (Wilson) who is now married with a child. To read Back Stage's complete coverage of Awards Season, please get our FREE SAG Nomination Committee Guide. Or follow all our daily coverage with Back Stage's new online Awards Season section.