January 09, 2014

LAWT News Service

 

Daniele Watts (BRADDOCK AND JACKSON, WEEDS, DJANGO UNCHAINED) who recently earned a series regular role playing Martin Lawrence's daughter on the new FX show, "Braddock and Jackson" has most recently been cast opposite Max Burkholder (THE PURGE, PARENTHOOD) in an untitled coming-of-age feature length dark comedy. Shooting begins this month in Los Angeles.

The film is written and directed by Morgan Krantz, best known for his viral sensation comedy series Neurotica, which boasts 2 million+ views and The Cyclist, a short film starring Shannyn Sossamon. Krantz has also secured internet rap sensation, Kitty Pryde, to co-star. Set to produce are Eric Pumphrey (Reckless Tortuga) and Luke Baybak (Let’s Be Civil, Kenneth!).  

“Its definitely going to stir up some discussion” says Watts, who has been working with Krantz over the past year to develop the story which follows a romance between a disgruntled teenage boy (Burkholder) and his babysitter, played by Watts. “On the surface she may seem “whitewashed” to the average viewer but as the character is revealed the audience will get another view beyond that typically unchallenged cultural assumption. It’s a deconstructed Uncle Tom archetype caught in a love affair of Romeo and Juliet proportions.”

Director Morgan Krantz describes the project as similar to “The Ice Storm” or “The Squid in the Whale” in tone. “In my mind it’s a comedy, but the jokes are buried underneath - we’re not whacking you on the head with it.” 

This isn’t Watts first foray into darkly comic material. She’s had memorable cameos in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, and one of the most blogged about short films of 2011, The Strange Thing about the Johnsons. She also played a sizeable arc as Shane Botwin’s oddball-girlfriend on the last season of Showtime’s hit show, WEEDS.

Category: Arts & Culture