The first trailer for coming-of-age drama Jonah Hill will make his directorial debut with the movie, drawing from a script he wrote.
Early in Hill’s acting career, he established a reputation for playing snarky and foul-mouthed characters, evidenced by famous roles in the 2007 films Knocked Up and The Wolf of Wall Street, for which he earned an Oscar nomination for Best ing Actor. With an acting résumé dating back 15 years, Hill now steps into the director’s chair with Mid90s, a Los Angeles-based film that examines the trials and tribulations of a young skateboarder, played by Sunny Suljic (who appears alongside Hill as “Skateboarder #2” in the Amazon film Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot).
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Today, A24 released Mid90’s poignant first trailer, in which Suljic’s Stevie immerses himself into a skateboarding community. From the start, the dialogue — written by Hill — creates a loose atmosphere and the profanity falls in line with Hill’s best-known characters. However, this first clip focuses mostly on Stevie’s changing perspective as he makes new discoveries and slowly becomes more confident amongst his peers. For extra dramatic effect, Lady Bird’s Lucas Hedges plays Stevie’s hard-nosed brother, who inadvertently plays a role in the boy’s questionable behavior. Visually, the Mid90s trailer features some fisheye lens visuals, reminiscent of mid-90s hip-hop videos, and the music cues similarly create a throwback feel. Overall, the trailer shifts from light-hearted moments to heavy drama, suggesting that Mid90s will be more serious than coming-of-age films that made Hill a household name. You can also check out the poster below:
Alongside Suljic and Hedges, Mid90s features Katherine Waterston, an actress on the rise after major roles in Eighth Grade, and the The Girl in the Spider’s Web.
While it’s easy to associate Jonah Hill with stoner comedy and tunnel-vision characters, it’s clear that he’s interested in making films that somehow reflect the ups and downs of life.
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Source: A24
