| Friends with Kids | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Jennifer Westfeldt |
| Produced by | Riza Aziz Joey McFarland Joshua Astrachan Jake Kasdan Jon Hamm Jennifer Westfeldt Joe Gata (executive producer) John Sloss (executive producer) Lucy Barzun Donnelly (executive producer) Mike Nichols (executive producer) |
| Screenplay by | Jennifer Westfeldt |
| Starring | Adam Scott Jennifer Westfeldt Jon Hamm Kristen Wiig Maya Rudolph Chris O'Dowd Megan Fox Edward Burns |
| Music by | Marcelo Zarvos |
| Cinematography | William Rexer II |
| Editing by | Tara Timpone |
| Studio | Points West Pictures Red Granite Pictures |
| Distributed by | Lionsgate |
| Release date(s) | September 9, 2011 (Toronto International Film Festival) June 1, 2012 (Sweden) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | <US$10 million |
Friends with Kids is an independent American ensemble comedy that is written, produced, directed by and also starring Jennifer Westfeldt. Her partner Jon Hamm will also star in the movie, along with Kristen Wiig, Adam Scott, and Megan Fox. Shooting began in 2010 in New York.
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The plot of Friends with Kids revolves around a pair of best friends in their 30s who observe the effect of having kids has taken on the couples they know. To avoid that toll, the best friends resolve to have a child and then date other people.[1]
Friends with Kids is directed, written, produced and also starring Jennifer Westfeldt.[1] This will be her directorial debut.[2] Her partner, actor Jon Hamm, also agreed to play a supporting part and help produce her feature film.[1] The idea for Friends With Kids had been floating around after Westfeldt and Hamm noticed that friends were starting to have families and 'all but disappearing from their lives.' Cast member Adam Scott admitted that the couple's suspicion was not baseless, as he has been "the worst friends" to them as he is "so busy" after getting married and having children.[3] She was encouraged to move forward with her idea after an informal reading of the screenplay took place at her and Hamm's home in late 2010.
It was always planned that Hamm would star in the movie, but in a role where he would not be paired-up with his real-life partner.[3] However, this left only a few months open between when Hamm finished doing the fourth season of Mad Men and would resume for a fifth to get Friends with Kids off the ground and ready to shoot. According to one of the producers, resources for the production were easy to find. "The impossible algorithm is to line up the cast, the calendar and the cash in such a way that you get to make the movie,” said co-producer Joshua Astrachan. "It just never is that easy to put an independent film together."[3]
Principal photography lasted for four weeks,[4] beginning in New York during December 2010[2] and carrying out into early 2011.[5] With a budget of less than US$10 million, Friends with Kids was made through Westfeldt and Hamm's new production company, Points West Pictures, and a large portion of it was financed by Red Granite Pictures. The latter had never previously financed a movie.[3] The biggest goal set for Friends With Kids is to get it shown at a film festival and sold to a distributor.[3] The film premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2011[6]. On September 21, 2011, Lionsgate announced that it had acquired the distribution rights to the film.[7]
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Friends with Kids is looking into an April 2012 release date in theaters.[1] It is scheduled for release in Sweden on June 1, 2012.