Sundance Vet to Produce Thanksgiving Movie in Chicago; Kevin Cooper to Direct

Chicago-based Producer and Sundance Film Festival alum John Condne has come onboard to produce the Thanksgiving drama-comedy Home Invasion for the Holidays, written by Luke Thomas and directed by Kevin Cooper. Filming begins this month and will be shot over a couple weekends with a trio of Chicago’s top young actors Liv Shine, Carter Shimp and Ty Garrett Fanning. 

Home Invasion for the Holidays revolves around a couple in their twenties who find a burglar in their home when they come home from Thanksgiving dinner. They trap him in the bathroom and wait for the police to arrive, only to have second thoughts as they get to know their would-be robber. Condne, a partner at Minimal Productions, said of joining the film’s team, “As I look to broaden what I do beyond commercials and documentaries, I love the idea of getting into the feature film space on a film that has a built-in audience. And, how many Thanksgiving movies are there?!”

“I just finished working with Joe Swanberg and John Mossman on another Chicago-based film, Good Guy with a Gun, both of whom inspired me and my approach to building a film around a talented ensemble of actors,” director Kevin Cooper said. “Luke Thomas wrote this sweet, emotionally powerful story about how trauma informs our present day fears and actions, a relatable subject these days I feel.” 

John Condne made a splash with his recent documentary series America to Me, which examines race and achievement at a diverse high school in Chicago. The 10-hour mini-series premiered at Sundance Film Festival and has aired on STARZ and MTV. It received critical acclaim and was rated the #1 Series by the Hollywood Reporter and Rotten Tomatoes.

Here’s a quick preview of America to Me…

Production on the film will commence on November 14th for a day and then over a weekend in January. Chicago’s Claire Simon cast the film, and rounding out the producing team is Leyla Kader Dahm from Zero Gravity, Thomas’ L.A.-based manager, Executive Producer Kevin Coval, and Amarok Productions’ DeAnna Cooper. 

Fanning and Shimp are repped by Gray Talent Group. Shine is repped by Paonessa Talent Agency. 

Check back here at SCREEN for updates as this independent feature forges ahead into production.