22
Aug
2024
0

Chicago-Made ‘Let’s Start a Cult’ Reveals Premiere Date and Poster

The date is set. The filmed-in-Chicago indie Let’s Start a Cult will debut in theaters on October 25th. The filmmaking team has released its official poster. Here’s a look at the art plus the lowdown on cast, crew, and the cult that might be cooking up in this indie…

The feature was filmed in the Chicagoland area last Summer. The Chicagoans who collaborated with director Ben Kitnick on this project included line producer RoseMary Prodonovich, director of photography Jason Chiu, and casting directors Jennifer Rudnicke, Mickie Paskal and AJ Links of PR Casting, to name a few. Click here for the full cast and crew roll call.

Kitnick wrote the film with stars Stavros Halkias (certified c*mboy, the Stavvy’s World podcast) and Wes Haney (Netflix’s The Characters: Tim Robinson). The film also stars Eric Rahill (FX’s The Bear), Katy Fullan (HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm), and Daniel Simonsen (BBC’s House of Fools), with appearances from my sleepy king Joe Pera (Adult Swim’s Joe Pera Talks With You), Ethan Suplee (My Name is Earl), Tom Papa (Netflix’s Tom Papa: You’re Doing Great!), and professional wrestler Phil “CM Punk” Brooks.

Here’s the official poster for the film…

Kitnick said this in his director’s statement: “The conceit behind Let’s Start a Cult originated from one dark, comedic hypothetical: what if a cult member was such a social outcast that even their new chosen family was agitated by their presence? The success of our production had a crucial hypothetical in itself: could a film deliver notes found in the big-budget comedies of yesteryears while existing within the scope of a modern indie? Let’s Start a Cult is our answer to both questions.”

“It is a wild, absurd comedy with heart, balancing high-concept ideas with a broad comedic approach, as modern as it is a throwback,” Kitnick continued. “The film’s central characters are searchers, looking to quell life’s concerns by adopting a fresh belief system with like-minded outsiders. In hindsight, this really is symbolic of our experience making the film. It was a fiercely collaborative process, with cast and crew deadly serious about telling a delightfully unserious tale. I hope you have as fun of a time watching as we had making this, dare I say, ‘cult comedy.'”

Let’s Start a Cult hits theaters October 25 from Dark Sky Films. Click here for more about the film.

Check back here at SCREEN for the latest news from the film and TV production community in the Chicagoland area. You can also click right here to subscribe to our weekly email newsletter.

Leave a Reply