- Joined
- Dec 3, 2013
Ellen Page, Paris Berelc Starring in Video Game Comedy '1UP' (Exclusive)
Kyle Newman is directing what will be the first feature to come from BuzzFeed Studios.
Ellen Page and Paris Berelc are starring in 1UP, an underdog comedy set in the world of gaming that Kyle Newman will direct for BuzzFeed Studios.
Julia Yorks wrote the script that has been described as being in the vein of Pitch Perfectbut set in the world of eSports with a GamerGate backdrop.
The story centers on a female gamer named Vivian Lee who quits her college eSports team rather than put up with sexism from her male counterparts. But with her scholarship on the line, she is forced to assemble a Varsity-caliber, all-women's team that can compete with the boys. With the help of an enigmatic coach who returns to the spotlight after her own GamerGate scandal, the young woman recruits an unlikely crew of unskilled misfits to kick some serious gamer butt.
Berelc is playing the college student while Page is the coach.
BuzzFeed’s Richard Alan Reid is producing, as are Michael Philip and Jason Moring.
1UP is the first feature from BuzzFeed Studios and falls in line with its mission to develop and produce what it sees are socially relevant and high-concept feature films for global millennial and Gen Z audiences.
Production is expected to begin in Toronto in the November.
Newman is best known for helming Fanboys, the road trip comedy that featured Star Wars fans breaking into Skywalker Ranch, and the action comedy Barely Lethal, which starred Hailee Steinfeld, Sophie Turner and Samuel L. Jackson. He is repped by UTA, Zero Gravity Management and Frankfurt Kurnit.
Berelc currently co-stars with Adam Sandler in Hubie Halloween, one of Netflix’s big hits this year. The rising actress previously starred in Netflix’s Alexa & Katie as well as Disney XD’s Lab Rats: Elite Force. She is repped by UTA, Rare Global and Brecheen Feldman.
Page is one of the stars of Netflix’s blockbuster series Umbrella Academy, whose second season debuted earlier this year. The actress, who was nominated for an Oscar for her performance in 2007’s Juno, has some video game experience as she starred in Quantic Dream and Sony’s Beyond: Two Souls. She is repped by UTA, Kelly Bush Novak at VIE Entertainment, and law firm Morris Yorn.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yes, the main character’s name is indeed Vivian
Seriously, @Jaimas put down the bottle
