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Home , Adriane Lenox, Annie Mumolo, Avy Kaufman, Baghead, Bill Hader, Boyd Holbrook

The Skeleton Twins

PRODUCTION NOTES

Starring

Bill Hader Ty Burrell Boyd Holbrook

Directed by Craig Johnson Written by Craig Johnson and

Produced by , Jennifer Lee, Jacob Pechenik Executive Producers , ,

A Duplass Brothers Production A Venture Forth Production

The Skeleton Twins

Cast

Milo Dean Maggie Dean Kristen Wiig Lance Luke Wilson Rich Ty Burrell Billy Boyd Holbrook Judy Joanna Gleason Carlie Kathleen Rose Perkins Dr. Linda Essex Adriane Lenox

Crew

Director Craig Johnson Screenplay Craig Johnson and Mark Heyman Producer Stephanie Langhoff Jennifer Lee Jacob Pechenik Mark Duplass Jay Duplass Jared Ian Goldman Director of Photography , ASC Ola Maslik Editor Jennifer Lee Music Nathan Larson Music Supervision Randall Poster Meghan Currier Kaela Wohl Casting Avy Kaufman, CSA

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The Skeleton Twins

Logline

When estranged twins Maggie and Milo feel they‟re at the end of their ropes, an unexpected reunion forces them to confront why their lives went so wrong. As the twins reconnect, they realize the key to fixing their lives may just lie in repairing their relationship.

Short Synopsis

After many years of estrangement, twins Maggie and Milo lead separate lives on opposite sides of the country. When both feel that they're at the end of their ropes, an unexpected reunion forces them to confront how their lives went so wrong. For Maggie, that means re-examining her marriage to sweet “nature frat boy” Lance and her own self-destructive tendencies, while Milo must face the pain of an early heartbreak he never quite got past. As the twins‟ reunion reinvigorates them both, they realize the key to fixing their lives just may lie in accepting the past and mending their relationship with each other.

Long Synopsis

As children, Maggie and Milo Dean seemed inseparable. But tragedy hit their family as teenagers when their father died, sending them on different paths, and ultimately leading to a decade-long estrangement. Now in their thirties, another set of near-tragedies brings them together. Melancholic Milo (Bill Hader), a frustrated with no prospects, decides to accept his sister‟s offer to return to their hometown in bucolic upstate New York. However, he‟s unaware that Maggie (Kristen Wiig) herself is barely holding together, secretly unhappy despite her loving husband Lance (Luke Wilson).

At first, the bond between the twins is tentative: A surprise visit from their mother (Joanna Gleason), a new-age practitioner who refuses to recognize her children‟s pain, only seems to amplify just how little Maggie and Milo have recovered from the events of their childhood. Secretly Maggie and Milo separately seek out relationships that are destined to go nowhere. Maggie enjoys the flirtatious attention of her hunky Australian SCUBA instructor (Boyd Holbrook) a little too much, sabotaging her interest in having a baby with Lance.

Meanwhile, Milo meets up with his first love, Rich (Ty Burrell). After their father‟s death, Milo (as an older teenager) had an affair with Rich, his high-school English teacher – a scandal that drove brother and sister apart. At first, Rich is seemingly happy with a girlfriend and grown son

2 and resents Milo‟s sudden return. Desperate to get his former lover‟s attention, Milo pretends to be successful and happy, which is enough to get Rich to consider rekindling their romance.

With painful wounds that only the other can understand, Milo and Maggie grow closer as they try to guide each other through this newest set of secrets. But as the hurt from the past catches up to the confusion in the present, their special bond is put to the test once again. They bring out not only the best in each other, but also the worst, and they are each desperate to avoid owning their own mistakes. Eventually Milo and Maggie grow to understand that living truthfully and sharing their lives with each other, pain and all, is the only way they can move forward and reclaim the happiness they once enjoyed together.

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Director’s Statement

The Skeleton Twins is about a brother and sister and their strange, messy, beautiful, funny, volatile relationship. At its core, it's a love story: Maggie and Milo meet essentially as strangers and then discover, or, in this case, re-discover their love for each other. But what interested me most about this story were the small ways in which brothers and sisters interact, reflect each other and connect – specifically through humor.

I am very close to my sister and, even though we are wildly different people, we share an offbeat sense of humor. My sister can make me laugh in almost any situation, light or dark, and I wanted that sensibility to infuse Maggie and Milo‟s relationship. More than their common history, more than the mutual feeling that they've screwed up their lives, more than their shared taste in 80s music, it is their ability to crack each other up, often in the face of tragic circumstances, that bonds them together.

This bittersweet dynamic is key to the tone of the film. I wanted the The Skeleton Twins to feel like real life in all its messiness and unpredictability. That means it needed to be both funny and sad, often within the same scene. These kinds of contradictions help to humanize the characters and create a film world that is recognizable – perhaps painfully so.

Maggie and Milo are damaged, prickly, sardonic, and self-obsessed. But they are also passionate, generous, hopeful, and full of love. And, most of all, they‟re funny. The moment we are about to judge them, they come through with acts of grace and humor that disarm us – and remind us not only of our own brothers and sisters, but of ourselves. We're all struggling against life in our own ways, and if you can't face the darkness and chuckle, you're done for.

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The Skeleton Twins

About the Production

Poet Maya Angelou writes “I don‟t believe accident of birth makes people sisters or brothers. Sisterhood and brotherhood is a condition people have to work at.”

That‟s definitely the case for twins Milo (Bill Hader) and Maggie Dean (Kristen Wiig). An almost impossibly close bond as children brought them together through very dark times surrounding their father‟s death. But that same bond was shattered as the events of the subsequent few years made them realize that truly being there for each other in the most critical moment can be an impossible task, even for the closest of siblings. After a decade of not talking to each other, circumstances bring them back together in a poignant and painfully funny drama that director and co-writer Craig Johnson calls “a love story between a brother and a sister.” The Skeleton Twins delicately balances two lifetimes of pain, regret, and loss with a buoyant and joyful of two people rediscovering themselves and each other just at the right time.

It also features eye-opening and powerful dramatic performances from several better known for their comedic abilities. Inspired by the witty and emotionally resonant real-life dramas of filmmakers like , Lisa Cholodenko, and , Johnson and co- writer Mark Heyman knew they wanted to tell a story that would make audiences both laugh and cry while identifying with familiar and flawed characters. It was nearly a decade ago when, as graduate students at NYU‟s Tisch School of the Arts film program, the idea first occurred to them. “We‟d written kind of a broad, dopey comedy, and really enjoyed the process of working together,” says Johnson. “We sat down in a coffee shop and said, let‟s write a movie that is real and sad and funny and unique, and we started throwing around ideas.”

The germ of the screenplay would come from Heyman‟s suggestion to revisit an incident from his own teenage life in New Mexico, when one of his peers alleged to have had a relationship with . “It was clearly inappropriate,” Heyman remembers, “but the student was almost eighteen and the teacher was very young, so it was just on the edge of „almost acceptable,‟” he says, explaining how he thought the situation might make for a compelling backstory.

The idea quickly resonated with Johnson, whose parents had both worked as teachers. But in order to flesh out the situation, they needed more. “We came up with the idea that there had been a sibling who interfered in the relationship,” says Johnson. “Eventually, we realized we were more interested in that brother-sister relationship, and the affair with the teacher became secondary.”

The screenplay went through several drafts over the course of a few years and was put aside to gestate as Johnson and Heyman both continued on their individual journeys as film professionals. Johnson made his first feature, True Adolescents, starring actor/writer/producer Mark Duplass, while Heyman worked as an executive for filmmaker , co- producing The Wrestler and writing Black Swan.

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But neither forgot about The Skeleton Twins, and Johnson eventually asked Duplass to come aboard as an executive producer. “He loved the script and agreed to help produce, and that really legitimized the project.” One of Duplass‟ first choices was to bring aboard Avy Kaufman, one of the industry‟s busiest, best connected, and shrewdest casting directors. “We always knew that we‟d need a significant cast to get this movie off the ground,” says Johnson, acknowledging that the sometimes-sensitive subject matter set the project apart from the usual fare.

Kaufman suggested Bill Hader to play the part of Milo. “Bill had not been on my radar,” remembers Johnson. “Of course, I loved him but I knew him from and all of the very broad comedies he‟d made. I‟d never seen him do anything that was subtle. Fortunately, Avy had just seen him do a table read of a film with Kate Winslet and , and she said Bill was one of the most effective and nuanced actors there.” Once Hader, Johnson, and the film‟s producers met in New York, a decision was made very quickly. “When I met Bill, I instantly had this image of Milo as a sweet, shy nerd who really wanted to be an actor. We talked about how Milo is gay, but how that is really secondary to his identity after his failed ambitions and trouble with his sister. By the time we left the meeting, we all felt unanimously that Bill was the one we wanted.”

Hader knew that the screenplay required actors with strong comedic instincts – there are scenes where Milo tries to cheer up his sister with an elaborately choreographed lip-synch, and where they crack each other up while huffing nitrous oxide at the office where Maggie works as a dental hygienist. But the opportunity to frame those funnier moments in the context of two family members going through so much emotional turmoil was what really attracted him to the project. “No one knows more about you than your siblings, and Milo and Maggie have this great tragedy together,” says Hader, who admits that he drew upon the character‟s emotional life from his own close relationship to two sisters. “At the beginning of the film, he‟s just in this incredibly lonely place and he wants to reach out to his sister without asking.”

Knowing how easily the story‟s balance of serious drama and hopeful comedy could be disrupted, Johnson and the film‟s producing team rounded out the cast with several actors who are known as powerhouses in the comedy world. “I find that comic actors are able to transition to drama much easier than dramatic actors can do comedy,” says Johnson. “Some of my favorite movies are the ones where comedic actors are recontextualized, like Adam Sandler in Punch Drunk Love or in The Truman Show.”

Their search for an actor to play the complicated role of Maggie ended with Kristen Wiig, one of the industry‟s most in-demand actresses due to her brilliant instincts, comic precision, and strong writing abilities.

Before Wiig had even been approached, Hader had excitedly told his SNL colleague about the script. “I loved how Bill described the character and the story,” remembers Wiig today. “I read it and instantly knew I wanted to do it. Maggie is half got-it-together, half total train wreck. She has a difficult relationship with her mom, because of her father‟s death, she looks at the world a certain way, and she hasn‟t spoken to her brother in ten years. So she‟s had loss after loss after

6 loss. Now she‟s with Lance because on paper he is perfect and she loves him, but mentally she has some things to figure out before she can stay with someone.”

Despite their tenure together on SNL, Wiig and Hader still managed to surprise each other on set. “It has been a dream – Bill and I had been working together for seven years, but this film is so completely different, and I‟ve seen a side of him I‟ve never really seen,” says Wiig. “Before we did this we were very close. I always considered him like a brother, so being able to play these two complicated people has been very rewarding.”

Hader, for his part, thinks the same of Wiig. “Working with Kristen, she just makes you better,” Hader says. “It‟s just not fair how talented she is. We‟ve known each other for years so once she was cast, we didn‟t have to do too much – that nitrous oxide scene, embarrassingly, is pretty much how Kristen and I are around each other all the time. She‟s essentially my sister. But just watching her work, it‟s amazing that I‟ve known her for so long and she can still do things that surprise me. I will watch her and say „Wow, you can do that? I thought I knew all your moves, and I don‟t!”

The chemistry between Wiig and Hader was crucial for Johnson, who is very close to his own sister. “My sister isn‟t that much different from Kristen Wiig in terms of temperament or sense of humor, and we‟ve always connected through our very strange, shared sense of humor. I think that‟s become one of the most present elements of the movie, how a brother and sister can connect through humor. Bill and Kristen are such dear friends in real life that they have a brother-sister type relationship, and that‟s not something a director can manufacture.”

While Johnson believes in sticking closely to a script, casting performers with strong comedic backgrounds allowed him to give them room to bring their own sensibilities and interpretations to the dialogue. “Even in scenes where I wanted them to do the script very much as written, I‟d always want them to riff on the lines, to embellish them, to throw in their own stuff, because it makes the movie feel more authentic and natural – and much, much funnier,” he says.

Perhaps no one exemplifies this more in The Skeleton Twins than Luke Wilson, who chose to play the part of Maggie‟s husband Lance like “a Labrador retriever – upbeat, friendly, you can yell at him and two minutes later he‟s forgotten that you‟re mad.” Lance‟s presence is largely humorous counterpoint in the story – his exuberant love of life, food, and his wife seem almost ridiculously naïve given the tragedy shared by the other characters. But Wilson appreciates the important part Lance plays in the twins‟ difficult journey. “Lance is smart enough to know that he‟s lucky to be with Maggie, but not quite sharp enough to know that he‟s not giving her what she needs. He‟s smart enough to know that Maggie and Milo have a deep bond, but that they are totally different people from the kind he‟s used to.”

Wilson‟s comedic instincts wowed everyone on set – including his co-stars Wiig and Hader. “Luke blew Bill and Kristen‟s mind just a little bit – from an improv comedy perspective, he matched them with bells on,” says Johnson. “Luke is amazing,” agrees Wiig. “He‟s got such a sweet, genuine, „I love life‟ vibe, which is very much like Lance.” “Working with Luke Wilson is like a dream, because like a lot of people I‟ve been a huge fan of his since ,” says

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Hader. “He‟s taken this part and made it his own thing – he‟s constantly improvising and making it fresh, constantly inventing, constantly trying things out.”

The producers faced a tougher casting challenge with the very serious role of Rich, the onetime high school teacher whose life was changed when he and a teenaged Milo fell in love. “It was crucial that we find someone who could bring an innate compassion and humanity to a character audiences might otherwise be very quick to condemn,” says Johnson. “What Rich did was inexcusable, but we didn‟t want to just paint him in black and white.” Though now known for his acclaimed role as Phil Dunphy on the award-winning sitcom , Ty Burrell‟s resume features work in all , so the producers knew that he‟d bring great care to the part of Rich. For Burrell, the challenge of playing a man whose misguided passions for a minor almost ruined him was impossible to resist. “I‟ve played repressed characters before,” he says, “but never anyone who was quite so scared. And that combination scared me as an actor, which is always a good sign. Rich is a good person and I think his view of what makes a good person is very locked into religion and his upbringing. He wants to be a good person, he is very well- intentioned, but he wants to treat Milo well, so he‟s kind of trapped.”

Burrell was also drawn to working with the cast. “Bill Hader is a genius,” he enthuses. “I‟d seen him in enough things aside from Saturday Night Live to know that he‟s a really good actor, really smart and subtle, and he‟s so good in this movie, it‟s incredible. It doesn‟t surprise me but it will be a cool thing for people to see.” Hader was equally enthused about working with Burrell, but for slightly different reasons. “Working with Ty is a huge honor, and how he played the part was so great,” says Hader.

One of the film‟s other critical supporting roles is that of Judy, the twins‟ mother and a new-age devotee living in Sedona. Heyman says the inspiration for Judy came from growing up in Santa Fe, which has an active new-age community. “My mom ran a company that put on „insight seminars,‟ something that Judy is doing in the film,” he says. “My mom is not very much like Judy, but my childhood was filled with people like that, very huggy, but with a hollowness.” Tony Award-winning actress Joanna Gleason brought the character to life with precision and bite in a crucial scene early in the film. “Joanna just nailed it in terms of the kinds of minds those people have,” says Heyman. “She even corrected the script regarding a line about which chakra the character was talking about. She really understands people in that world.” Johnson agrees, also crediting her theater background for breathing life into the character: “Joanna has this professional, performative-sounding voice, and that‟s perfect for the character. She‟s trying to perform the role of this loving and healing mom, but she‟s also a deeply selfish woman. Joanna elevated the character in a way that was needed for her to come across as real.”

Judy‟s vocal display of her spirituality seems to negate the pain that her children have suffered, bringing Maggie and Milo into even sharper focus. Scenes that show their moments of reconnection suggest shared coping mechanisms from their past. One of the biggest depictions of this dynamic comes in the form of a lip-synch performance Milo uses to pull Maggie out of a particularly dark mood. “I knew that we needed that moment to reflect a time when they were kids and did crazy stuff together like lip-synch uplifting pop anthems,” explains Johnson. The problem came when Kristen Wiig was cast in the film – because the song that Johnson and Heyman initially chose was “Hold On” by Wilson Phillips, which is featured very prominently in

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Wiig‟s blockbuster hit Bridesmaids. “I had to spend a very funny 48 hours listening to every pop ballad from the 80s, and I was lip-synching all of them in the mirror to try to get an idea of what it would look like,” remembers Johnson with a laugh. Eventually, he settled on “Nothing‟s Gonna Stop Us Now” by Starship: “It‟s the perfect song lyrically, but it‟s also a duet between a man and a woman, so it gives Milo all of this time to try to get Maggie to sing along with him and sing the Grace Slick part. He needs a full two verses to amp up his game and we really see her struggle before she finally joins in.”

Principal photography lasted for 22 tightly scheduled days. “Even with 22 days, it was an absolute dream shoot,” remembers Johnson. “It was so much fun that after day two or three, I thought to myself „Wow, things are really going okay!‟ I didn‟t dare say it out loud, but by the last couple of days we were all saying it!” “It‟s a dream,” says Hader. “It‟s only Craig‟s second movie, it‟s a low budget movie on a tight schedule, but you‟d never know it. It‟s so relaxed and it all comes from the top down. The whole crew has been joyous, it‟s like you never want it to end.” Luke Wilson agrees: “Craig is really thoughtful and funny and I think there‟s a certain power that comes with being laid back – that calmness that comes from being confident, which he definitely has.”

For Hader, Johnson‟s passion for the characters are what made the process so gratifying. “He cares so much about these two people,” says Hader. “He hates watching scenes where we fight, hates seeing the characters when they are down. And it means the world when Craig comes up to me after a scene and says „you nailed that.‟”

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The Skeleton Twins

About the Cast

BILL HADER (Milo)

Actor, writer, comedian, producer, and repertory player, Bill Hader performed for eight seasons as a regular cast member on NBC‟s venerable comedy institution Saturday Night Live. Originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Hader earned two Emmy nominations for Outstanding in a Comedy Series.

On screen, Hader‟s many hits include ‟s and the Apatow-produced , both released in 2007. The following year he appeared in Forgetting Sarah Marshall with , Pineapple Express with , and beside a manic in ‟s blockbuster . He reunited with Stiller to appear in : Battle of the Smithsonian, and then with Superbad director and SNL castmate Kristen Wiig for Adventureland. His third film with Mottola was Paul with Wiig, Rogen, and Simon Pegg. Hader also co-starred with and Tommy Lee Jones in , and appeared in You, Me, and Dupree and Hot Rod.

Hader has also voiced several animated characters. Films include Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and its sequel; Turbo; Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs; Doogal; and Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil. He will be heard next in Pixar‟s and Inside Out.

In 2013 Hader appeared in the CBS Films comedy The To Do List, written and directed by his wife Maggie Carey, and co-starring , , and . Hader was also seen recently opposite Larry David in HBO‟s . As a producer on ‟s , he won an Emmy Award in 2009. A Second City alum, Hader currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife and their two daughters.

KRISTEN WIIG (Maggie)

One of the most sought-after actresses of her generation, Kristen Wiig can most recently be seen in The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty, in which she stars opposite director Ben Stiller. In 2014, Wiig will star in the comedic IFC television miniseries, The Spoils Of Babylon, written and directed by Matt Piedmont and Andrew Steele, produced by , and executive produced by . Wiig co-stars opposite Tobey Maguire, Tim Robbins, and .

This spring Wiig will also star in the IFC dramatic film Hateship Loveship, directed by Liza Johnson and starring Guy Pearce, Nick Nolte, and Hailee Steinfeld. She recently wrapped production on , directed by Shira Piven, and Sebastián Silva‟s Nasty Baby.

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In 2012, Wiig finished her seventh and final season as a cast member on NBC‟s revered show Saturday Night Live. During her time on SNL, Wiig received four Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, playing such memorable characters as the excitable Target Lady, Lawrence Welk singer Doonese, the irritating one-upper Penelope, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and . In 2013 Wiig was also nominated for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her return as guest host.

In 2011, Wiig starred in the critically acclaimed breakout film Bridesmaids, which she co-wrote with , and for which she was nominated for an Academy Award, Writers Guild of America Award, and BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay. Directed by and produced by Wiig and Judd Apatow, Bridesmaids is Apatow‟s highest-grossing production and is the top R-rated female comedy of all time. Wiig was also nominated for a Golden Globe for Lead Actress in a Comedy or Musical, and the film was nominated for Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical. The film also received a SAG nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

Other film credits include Apatow‟s smash-hit comedy Knocked Up; , directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini; , written and directed by ; Greg Mottola‟s Paul and Adventureland, with , Kristen Stewart, Jesse Eisenberg, and Bill Hader; All Good Things with Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst; MacGruber; ‟s Extract with , , and ; ‟s Whip It!, starring Ellen Page; David Keopp‟s Ghost Town with ; and ‟s Walk Hard, another Apatow-produced film in which she starred opposite John C. Reilly. Voice acting credits include the 's reboot of and the animated feature films with and Jason Segel; ; and with Gerard Butler and . Wiig has also guest- starred in the Emmy-winning NBC series , HBO‟s , and The Flight Of The Conchords.

A native of Rochester, New York, Wiig worked as a Main Company Member of the Los Angeles-based improv/sketch troupe . She currently resides in New York City.

LUKE WILSON (Lance)

Born in and the youngest of three brothers who would go on to make careers in film, Luke Wilson discovered his love of acting while a student at Occidental College. In 1993, the brothers Wilson collaborated with to make “Bottle Rocket,” a 13-minute short that premiered at the Sundance . After attracting the attention of James L. Brooks, the short became a full-length feature film. Afterwards, Wilson moved to Hollywood, setting up house with his two brothers and Anderson.

Wilson‟s dozens of credits since include the indie classic ; the Legally Blonde films with ; the Charlie’s Angels films; Old School; Blades of Glory; with Will Ferrell; Mike Judge‟s Idiocracy; the western 3:10 to Yuma; and Neil Labute‟s Death at a Funeral.

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On television, Wilson appeared in several episodes of That 70’s Show and recently co-starred with Laura Dern in the acclaimed HBO series Enlightened. His upcoming projects include Dear Eleanor, directed by Kevin Connolly; Ride, written and directed by ; and the animated Tibetan Rock Dog. In 2005, Wilson wrote, starred in, and co-directed (with his brother Andrew) The Wendell Baker Story co-starring Jessica Alba and Seymour Cassel.

TY BURRELL (Rich)

With a range of performances across television, contemporary film, and classic theater, award- winning Ty Burrell continues to prove himself as one of the finest and most versatile actors today. He is currently starring in the fifth season of ABC‟s Emmy Award-winning hit Modern Family as Phil Dunphy. For his work on the show, he has won an Emmy Award (with four total nominations), the Monte Carlo International Television Festival Award, a Critic‟s Choice Award, a Comedy Central Award, and four SAG Award Nominations. The show has also earned SAG Awards for Outstanding Ensemble three years in a row.

Burrell will next lend his voice to a whale named Bailey in the Disney/Pixar sequel opposite and Ellen DeGeneres. He also recently wrapped production voicing the lead role in the DreamWorks 3D feature Mr. Peabody and Sherman. Recently he appeared with Ricky Gervais, , and the Muppets in Muppets Most Wanted. He is currently working with ABC on a new show, which he is writing and co-executive producing with his brother Duncan.

Previous screen credits include Butter with Jennifer Garner; Christopher Neil‟s Goats; Morning Glory with Harrison Ford and Diane Keaton; The Incredible Hulk with Edward Norton; National Treasure 2 with Nicolas Cage; Fur with and Robert Downey Jr.; Nicole Holofcener‟s Friends with Money; Finn Taylor‟s The Darwin Awards; Down in the Valley with Norton and Evan Rachel Wood; the Weitz‟ brothers‟ In Good Company; Ridley Scott‟s Black Hawk Down; the remake of Dawn of the Dead; and ‟s Evolution. Previous television credits include the Fox sitcom Back to You with Kelsey Grammar; the CBS sitcom Out of Practice with Stockard Channing; and guest appearances on Damages, The West Wing, Law and Order, and Comedy Central‟s Key and Peele.

Stage credits include rave reviews for the Royal Court Theatre‟s London production of Caryl Churchill's Drunk Enough to Say I Love You. Burrell‟s extensive Broadway and Off-Broadway theater credits also include the highly acclaimed Signature Theater production of Burn This opposite Edward Norton, , and Dallas Roberts; Lord Buckingham in the Public Theater‟s production of Shakespeare‟s Richard III opposite and directed by Peter DuBois; and starring opposite and in Paul Weitz‟s Show People, directed by Peter Askin at Second Stage Theater.

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BOYD HOLBROOK (Billy)

Quickly amassing an impressive resume of diverse roles, Boyd Holbrook has starred opposite some of the most well-respected actors in Hollywood. He will next be seen in Sara Colangelo‟s Little Accidents opposite Elizabeth Banks and Chloe Sevigny. He is currently in production on ‟ A Walk Among the Tombstones with Liam Neeson and directed by Scott Frank. Holbrook is also set to star opposite Terrence Howard and Thomas Hayden Church in the indie drama Cardboard Boxer.

He recently completed work on ‟s Gone Girl; Jane Got a Gun, with Natalie Portman and Ewan McGregor; and Terrence Malick‟s Untitled Project, opposite Ryan Gosling, Christian Bale, Michael Fassbender, Portman, and Rooney Mara. Other credits include Scott Cooper‟s Out of the Furnace with Christian Bale and Zoe Saldana, Andrew Niccol‟s The Host; Very Good Girls with , Dakota Fanning, and Peter Saarsgard; Vera Farmiga‟s Higher Ground, and Gus Van Sant‟s Milk.

In television, Holbrook had a prominent role in ‟s acclaimed biopic for HBO, Behind the Candelabra, opposite and . Other television credits include Kevin Reynold‟s Hatfields & McCoys, and Showtime‟s The Big C.

Holbrook is also an avid sculptor and has exhibited at various locations, including the Rare Gallery in New York.

JOANNA GLEASON (Judy)

Joanna Gleason‟s credits range from Broadway to feature films to television series. On Broadway, she was the recipient of a Best Actress Tony Award, A , and an Outer Critic‟s Award for her performance in Stephen Sondheim‟s Into the Woods. She also received Tony nominations for her performance in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Joe Egg. Notable televisions credits include recurring roles on The West Wing, Friends, ER, How to Make it in America, King of the Hill, and The Good Wife. Her feature film credits include ‟s Crimes and Misdemeanors and Hannah and her Sisters, as well as Boogie Nights, My Sassy Girl, and The Wedding Planner. Most recently, she can be seen in Last Vegas.

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The Skeleton Twins

About the Filmmakers

CRAIG JOHNSON (Director / Screenplay)

Craig Johnson‟s first feature film True Adolescents, starring Mark Duplass and Melissa Leo, premiered at the 2009 SXSW Film Festival. He has written two films for 20th Century Fox and was a member of the inaugural Fox Writer's Studio. He holds an MFA from ‟s graduate film program and a BA in Theater from The University of Washington. The Skeleton Twins is his second feature.

MARK HEYMAN (Screenplay)

Mark Heyman was born and raised in Santa Fe. After attending NYU‟s graduate film program, he worked as the director of development for filmmaker Darren Aronofsky. He was a co- producer on The Wrestler and writer on Black Swan. He currently resides in Los Angeles, and is working on an adaptation of the novel Syndrome E for Indian Paintbrush and an original screenplay, Look At Me, which will mark his feature directing debut.

STEPHANIE LANGHOFF (Producer)

Stephanie Langhoff is producing partners with Jay and Mark Duplass. Together they have worked on the brothers‟ films Jeff, Who Lives at Home and The Do-Deca Pentathlon, as well as Colin Trevorrow‟s Safety Not Guaranteed. Currently the team is in production on season one of Togetherness, which the brothers are writing and directing for HBO. Langhoff is a former executive at Revolution Studios in New York, where she served as a producer on Perfect Stranger, American Girl on the Home Front, and An American Girl Adventure. Prior to her career in film, Langhoff worked as an investment banker after graduating from the University of Virginia.

JENNIFER LEE (Producer / Editor)

A producer with an editor‟s eye, Jennifer Lee uses her deep knowledge of story to guide creative choices that span from script development to technical finish. Film and TV editing credits include Union Square, Arcadia, True Adolescents, Small, Beautifully Moving Parts, Gun Hill Road, and DL Hughley: The Endangered List, which won a Peabody. A graduate of Columbia University, Lee is a former editor for Marvel and DC Comics. She lives in New York with her

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JACOB PECHENIK (Producer)

Jacob Pechenik is the Founder and President of Venture Forth, a production and finance company that supports high-quality and impactful independent films. Jacob collaborates at all stages in a project‟s life cycle, offering tailored financing options as well as developing films from the ground up. His credits include Richard Linklater‟s Before Midnight and the upcoming Black and White, starring Kevin Costner and Octavia Spencer, and Rock the Kasbah, starring .

MARK DUPLASS & JAY DUPLASS (Executive Producers)

After a series of micro-budget Sundance shorts in 2003 and 2004, Jay and Mark Duplass premiered their first feature at Sundance in 2005. The film was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards, won the Emerging Vision Award at the SXSW Film Festival, and was jointly distributed by Roadside Attractions and . The brothers‟ second effort was distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. In 2010, Fox Searchlight released their and John C. Reilly dramedy Cyrus, which was followed by the 2012 Paramount Vantage release of Jeff Who Lives At Home, starring Jason Segel, Ed Helms, and Susan Sarandon. 2012 also saw the Fox Searchlight release of The Do-Deca-Pentathlon.

Under their Duplass Brothers Productions banner, Jay and Mark have also produced several acclaimed and award-winning films: Colin Trevorrow‟s Safety Not Guaranteed, ‟s Black Rock and The Freebie, Jacob Vaughan‟s Bad Milo, and the upcoming films The One I Love, Creep, and Brother’s Keeper. Currently the Duplasses are producing, writing, and directing the HBO show Togetherness, which will premiere in early 2015.

JARED IAN GOLDMAN (Executive Producer)

Jared Goldman‟s recent features include Brother's Keeper, directed by Ross Katz and starring , Nick Kroll, and ; ‟s And So It Goes starring Michael Douglas and Diane Keaton; and John Krokidas‟ Kill Your Darlings starring Daniel Radcliffe and Dane DeHaan. Other projects include ‟s The Wackness starring Sir and Manda Bala (Send A Bullet) directed by Jason Kohn. Goldman worked at GreeneStreet Films and Miramax Films. He is a member of the PGA, DGA, and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.

REED MORANO, ASC (Director of Photography)

Reed Morano is one of only eleven female members of the distinguished American Society of . She was the recipient of the Vision Award for Cinematography and

15 named one of Variety‟s “10 Cinematographers to Watch.” Credits include Kill Your Darlings, The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete, Little Birds, Shut Up and Play the Hits, For Ellen, Rob Reiner‟s The Magic of Belle Isle, and Frozen River, which was nominated for two and seven Independent Spirit Awards. Upcoming works include War Story, starring Catherine Keener and Sir Ben Kingsley, Reiner‟s And So It Goes, and the new original HBO series Looking, directed by Andrew Haigh.

OLA MASLIK (Production Designer)

Ola Maslik has been designing sets for theater, television, and narrative features for the past ten years. Her work was recently featured in May in the Summer, directed by Cherien Dabis, Chris Nelson‟s Ass Backwards, and Ryan O'Nan‟s Brother Beat The Best. Maslik recently wrapped on the Untitled Marc Lawrence/Hugh Grant Comedy, starring Hugh Grant, Marissa Tomei, , and J.K. Simmons. She holds an MFA in Graphic Design from the Academy of Fine Arts and an MFA from the Yale School of Drama. Originally from Poland, Maslik was nominated by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage to serve as an expert at the Polish Film Institute. She lives with her husband in New York City.

NATHAN LARSON (Music)

Nathan Larson is a NYC-based producer, performer, and writer of music and prose. He cut his teeth on , and in the 1990s was the guitarist for math-rockers . His substantial credits in film include Boys Don’t Cry, Todd Solondz‟s Palindromes, songs for Todd Haynes‟ Velvet Goldmine, Lilja 4-Ever, Stephen Frears‟s Dirty Pretty Things, The Messenger, and The Woodsman. Recent projects include Margin Call, Our Idiot Brother, and God’s Pocket.

KAELA WOHL (Costume Designer)

Kaela Wohl was born and raised in rural Wisconsin. She currently lives in New York and designs costumes for feature films and television. Recent credits include the upcoming season of Comedy Central‟s Inside and the feature film Staten Island Summer featuring Saturday Night Live cast members , , and .

AVY KAUFMAN, CSA (Casting)

Avy Kaufman is a New York-based casting director and proud mother of two sons. She has worked with directors , Robert Redford, Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott, , Jodie Foster, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Wong Kar Wai. Films she has cast include Life Of Pi, Lincoln, Prometheus, The Company You Keep, Keep The Lights On, Shame, , Capote, The Sixth Sense, Dancer in the Dark, and American Gangster. In 2008 Kaufman won an Emmy for her work on Showtime‟s Damages. The recipient of several Artios

16 awards from her colleagues in the Casting Society of America, Kaufman is also featured in Helena Lumme‟s book Great Women Of Film.

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The Skeleton Twins

Full Credits

1st Joseph Ciccarella 2nd Assistant Director Anne-Marie Dentici Associate Producer Roxie Rodriguez

Cast Milo Dean Bill Hader Maggie Dean Kristen Wiig Lance Luke Wilson Rich Ty Burrell Billy Boyd Holbrook Judy Joanna Gleason Carlie Kathleen Rose Perkins Dr. Linda Essex Adriane Lenox Young Maggie Young Milo Eddie Schweighardt Eric Paul Castro, Jr. Cullen Benjamin McGowan Bar Woman Jennifer Smith Store Manager Genevieve Adams Security Officer Truck Hudson Police Officer Cliff Moylan

Stunt Coordinator Chris Barnes Scuba Dive Instructor Mike Carew Diver Terry Lorino Underwater Director of Photography Reed Morano, ASC Lauren DeTitta Jessie Katz Leslie Zak Reed Morano, ASC A-Camera Operator Afton Grant, SOC 18

1st Assistant Camera George Tur 2nd Assistant Camera/Additional Camera Operator Frank Larson DIT Charlie Anderson Sound Mixer Anton Gold Max Stein Department Head Makeup Leo Won Department Head Hair Valerie Velez Tattoos Designed by Chad Fay Costume Supervisor Tamika Jackson Costume Assistants Chanda Young Sammie Seda Andrew Poppoon Assistant Location Manager Kara Janeczko Locations Assistant Samantha Furtado Parking Coordinator Derek Pastures Locations Serrantos Madimenos Production Supervisor Joaquin Prange Gilana Lobel Production Accountant Phil LoGrippo Production Secretary Benton Ferguson Office Production Assistant Evan Cathcart Assistant to Mr. Johnson Zachary Coker Assistant to Ms. Wiig Taryn Benesta Assistant to Mr. Wilson Charley Lodi Zach Sullivan Electric Manuel Moreno Electrician Bert Montanari Electrician Brigid Swanick Key Rob Harlow Best Boy Grip Abraham Altbuch Joe Doughan Art Department Coordinator Emilia Spirito Assistant Set Decorator Laura Nemesi Grant T. Gardner

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Foreman Stephen Phelps On- Emma McHugh Set Dressers John Michael Kehoe Connor Jones Assistant Property Manager Bridget Rafferty Set Decoration Production Assistants Ryan Fitzgerald Keenan Flynn Art Department Production Assistant Kestrel Michaud 2nd 2nd Assistant Director Dan Gloeckner Key Set Production Assistant Mike Mushkin Set Production Assistants Jeri Rafter Rob Fernandez Will Durrah Dylan Charles Casting Associate Leeba Zakharov Casting Assistant Jon Goracy Extras Casting Lee Genick Dental Consultant Kenneth M. Gewant, D.M.D. Caterer Edgar Javier Rojas Chef Steven Mushkin Craft Service Chris Loughran Set Medic Michael King Transportation Captain Joaquin Liddiard Driver Matt Conklin Consulting Editor Andy Keir Associate Editor Hannah Vanderlan Assistant Editor Emily Freeman Digital Intermediate by Company 3 New York Supervising Colorist Tom Poole Colorist Andrew Geary Digital Intermediate Producer Colin Davis Digital Conform John Diesso Head of Production Nick Monton Account Executive David Feldman

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Company 3 Executive Producer Stefan Sonnenfeld Post Sound Services Provided by Great City Post Managing Director Steve Simons Project Manager Melissa Kelly Supervising Sound Editor/Re-recording Mixer Ian Stynes Sound Designer Matt A. Schoenfeld Sound Editor Daniel Heffernan Artist Shaun Brennan Post Production Accountant/Accounting Clerk Slater Brauns Post Production Assistant Accountant Karen Cahill Main and End Titles Designed by Kristyn Hume Credit Scroll Sean Eno

Belladonna Productions Production Executive Linda Moran

Production Legal Services provided by Gray Krauss Stratford Des Rochers LLP Jonathan Gray André Des Rochers Jesse Fox

Payroll Services Indiepay Tax Credit Advisory Services Provided by Three Point Capital Production Insurance provided by Taylor & Taylor, LTD. Kathy England Camera Equipment provided by Technological Cinevideo Services, Inc. Score Produced by Nathan Larson Score Performed by Nathan Larson Jon Natchez Noah Hoffeld Sarah Lipstate Score Published by The Music of NATO/BMI Music Editor Robert Cotnoir, MPSE

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“Denis” Written by Neil Levenson Performed by Blondie Published by Minder Music Courtesy of Capitol Records, LLC under license from Universal Music Enterprises

Selected tracks provided by APM Music

“All Gold” Written by Alice Russell & Alex Cowan Performed by Alice Russell Published by 5mm Publishing Courtesy of Five Missions More

“Denise” Written by Neil Levenson Performed by Randy & The Rainbows Published by Minder Music Courtesy of Capitol Records, LLC under license from Universal Music Enterprises

“Easy Baby” Written by Shana Cleveland, Alice Sandahl, Marian Li Pino, Abbey Blackwell Performed by La Luz Published by Phantom Pheelings, Eerie Organ, Marian Li Pino, Abbey Blackwell Administered by Sub Pop Publishing Courtesy of Hardly Art

“Nothing‟s Gonna Stop Us Now” Written by Albert Louis Hammond, Diane Eve Warren Performed by Starship Published by Universal Music-MGB Songs on behalf of Ed. Sunset Publ., Inc., RealSongs, Albert Hammond Music Courtesy of RCA Records Label By Arrangement with Licensing

“Secret” Written by Paul David Humphreys Performed by Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark Published by BMG Dinsong Ltd. c/o BMG Rights Management (US), LLC Courtesy of Virgin Records Ltd. under license from Universal Music Enterprises

“The Fog Rose High” Written by Justin Paul Vallesteros Performed by Craft Spells Courtesy of Captured Tracks, LLC By arrangement with Downtown Records, LLC

“Outer Space” Written by John Grant Performed by John Grant Published by Blue Mountain Music Ltd. / Irish Town Songs o/b/o Showpony Music Ltd. Courtesy of PIAS Recordings UK Ltd.

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“Life Is For Living” Written by David Kos Rolfe Courtesy of Warner/Chappell Production Music

“Swampy Romp” Written by Peter Neff, Warren Giancaterino Courtesy of Warner/Chappell Production Music

“Young Hunger” Written by Hugo Manuel Performed by Chad Valley Published by BMG Platinum Songs o/b/o BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd./Happy Ground Ltd. All Rights Administered by BMG Rights Management (US), LLC Courtesy of Cascine By Arrangement with Terrorbird Media

“Don't Fight” Music & Lyrics by Donnie Emerson Performed by Donnie & Joe Emerson © 1979 Donnie Emerson. Lazy Logger Worldwide rights administered by Grow Your Own Music, a division of “A” Side Music, LLC Courtesy of Light In The Attic Records & Distribution, LLC and Don Emerson Sr.

Thank you: David Christiansson Cornelia Klapper Jeremiah Cullen Liam Lee Jennifer Duce LaToya McLean Beth Foster Kiri McCart Alicia Gaskin Loan Nguyen Erica Getto Suzette Reyes Dani Girdwood Rae Romanski Taylor Golden Colleen Rushton Caitlin Hodson Zachary Turner Kesleigh Jones Sarah Walker Sara Kelley Mia Weatherall Keith Adams John L Moore Stephen Duffy Jas Shelton Jefferson Hayman Peter Levin and Barbara Parks Town of Orangetown, NY Village of Nyack, NY Village of Upper Nyack, NY Westchester Film Office Town of Clarkstown, NY Prospect Park

SPECIAL THANKS

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Adam Roberts Bradley and Heidi Roberts Steve and Julee Johnson Cliff Chiang and Baby Parker Diana Fithian Thomas Woodrow Emily Rose Jessica Lacy Josh Katz Naomi Odenkirk Dan Rabinow Dikayl Rimmasch Clay Enos Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas and Daniel Thomas Peter Saraf Matt Walker Anne Lai Michelle Satter Gina Jarrin Tara Kromer John Tintori Maria Cabardo Stu Pollard Erik Schietinger Greg and Cathy Campbell Jen Gatien Janice Roland Shannon Treusch Joanna Pinker Julie Chappell New York State Governor's Office for Motion Picture & Television Development

This film was supported by the Sundance Institute Feature Film Program.

Filmed on location in and around Nyack, NY and New York City Filmed With the Support of the New York State Governor's Office for Motion Picture & Television Development

The characters and events portrayed and the names used herein are fictitious. Any similarities between them and actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or names, are purely coincidental.

This motion picture photoplay is protected under the laws of the United States of America and other countries. Any unauthorized duplication or exhibition of this motion picture could result in criminal prosecution as well as civil liability.

Copyright © 2014 Skeleton Twins LLC All Rights Reserved

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