HUTCHERSCOOP

Blog mission: to cover Josh Hutcherson's professional and philanthropic projects, as well as news related to the members of his artistic community. As a matter of editorial policy, this blog will not post any news or photos that invade his privacy.

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A Second Season of “The Big Script” On Its Way

At its 2017 NewFront presentation in New York, Condé Nast Entertainment announced it will continue its partnership with Indigenous Media’s film incubator, The Big Script. CNE revealed there will soon be a second round of short films focusing on young adults on its online media platform, The Scene.

Back in February, Josh Hutcherson’s directorial debut Ape premiered on the Scene alongside four other shorts. Plans are in the works to turn Ape, which stars Hutcherson as a young man with mental illness, into a feature film as early as this year.

(Photo credit: Josh Hutcherson on Instagram.)

Hutcherson served as producer on all five short films in the first incubator. There is no word on whether Hutcherson will be directly involved in the new round of shorts.

The second season of The Big Script is part of CNE’s larger focus on “next gen” entertainment and technology aimed at younger audiences.

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Six Feet Under House Part of The Future Man Story

New images from the set give fans a look at production

Production on Future Man geared up this week with shoots on the Sony Pictures lot, and on location around Los Angeles. One set is a home in the West Adams area of L.A., and it’s already familiar to audiences as the site of the Fisher & Sons Funeral Home from the HBO series Six Feet Under. 

On St. Patrick’s Day, while many Angelinos celebrated and relaxed, the cast and crew were hard at work all day and late into the night. Hutcherson and producer-writer-director Seth Rogen were both spotted on set. The stunt team was busy with shots that involved a character (potentially Hutcherson’s?) jumping out of the upper-story window of the famed former fake funeral home.

Other peeks behind the scenes show a large number of background actors portraying police officers and members of a motorcycle gang; there were also actors in 1960s period costume, similar to last year’s pilot episode shoot at Canter’s Deli. The plot of the show has Hutcherson traveling back in time in order to save the future.

(Image Credits: K.Compayre and T.Wong)

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Exclusive: Josh Hutcherson & Eliza Coupe in a 2016 test shot for Future Man.

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Producers Discuss The Message Behind “Tragedy Girls”

Filmmakers Cameron Van Hoy and Armen Aghaeian are revealing a few more details about Tragedy Girls, Josh Hutcherson’s upcoming comedy-horror flick.

In a recent interview with Central Kentucky Television, Van Hoy stopped short of discussing Hutcherson’s role in the film, but gave a little more insight into the plot.

The movie focuses around two high school students, played by Deadpool’s Brianna Hildebrand and X-Men: Apocalypse’s Alexandra Shipp.

“They get in way over their heads with a killer in the town who they find and kidnap. And it sort of spirals out of control from there,” Van Hoy said. Internet speculation has been that Hutcherson plays the killer.

“They are so infatuated with social media [that] they’re using that as their tool to gain a following,” Aghaeian added.

Van Hoy said that the film is as much social commentary as it is a horror-comedy, given people’s intense use of social media “and about the narcissism that comes along with and just all the the dangers of this obsession that our culture and our generation has.“

Watch the whole interview with CKTV below or click the link.

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ICYMI...

Producers Cameron Van Hoy and Armen Aghaeian talked in-depth last summer about making Tragedy Girls, which is now making a splash at SXSW.

Editor’s note: Since our original story, we now know that Josh Hutcherson does not play the killer (that honor goes to actor Kevin Durand) but one of the victims. Reviews of the film have given Hutcherson praise for his brief, but memorable, role.

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What’s up with production on Future Man? Some behind-the-scenes hints

Even though Josh Hutcherson recently told a radio audience he’d start production on Future Man in March, fans are still hungry for details about Josh’s first starring role in a television series.  A few clues from social media gathered over the last few weeks start to paint a picture of what the show entails.

Most recently, Hulu gave fans a new promotional spot featuring Hutcherson in full futuristic battle gear as his character, Josh Futterman. But as far back as February, it started to become clearer that production was gearing up. Movie fans spotted both co-creator Seth Rogen and actor Haley Joel Osment (who plays Dr. Camillo) on the Sony lot.

The biggest indicator that production was underway came from Josh’s co-star Eliza Coupe, who was spotted by a fan of Hutcherson at an L.A. nail shop, sporting her character Tiger’s signature purple hair. Just a couple of days later, Coupe and her stylists posted the first pictures of the “do” on Instagram.

In the meantime, all the behind the scenes elements of the show seem to be coming together. Staff at the art department has been at it for weeks, working out of an office on the Sony lot. “Pre-visualization” work on special effects and sound editing is in full swing. Stuntmen gathered to rehearse fights for the upcoming show.

All of this indicates a fairly big budget, and a glance at the crew list seems to support that. Professionals involved in the production even include some Hunger Games alums. Nikoletta Skarlatos is on board in the makeup department, and artist Luca Nemolato, who designed the terrifying “lizard mutts” of Mockingjay Part 2, is involved as well. It’ll be fun to see what vision Nemolato might be bringing to the show.

Hutcherson has said he’d love to see the show premiere when Hulu’s summer shows hit the air. Given the extent of the production, and Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s commitment to AMC’s Preacher, fans may not see Future Man until fall. Based on what’s happening behind the scenes, though, it may be well worth the extra wait.

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Praise for Two Josh Hutcherson Films Ahead of SXSW Debuts

Audiences at Austin’s South By Southwest Film Festival can catch Josh Hutcherson in two new films this weekend: Tragedy Girls and The Disaster Artist. Both films are catching the eyes of the entertainment media, which bodes well for the films’ success.

Writer Peter Hall lists horror-comedy Tragedy Girls as one of Fandango’s “Movies We’re Dying to See”, drawing in readers with the question, “What if the final girls of a horror movie knew they were actually in a horror movie?” Tragedy Girls stars Deadpool's Brianna Hildebrand and X-Men: Apocalypse's Alexandra Shipp with Hutcherson in a supporting role.

(Photo credits: Sean Mehen/@idahocartel_films and Seth Rogen/@sethrogen on Instagram)

Meanwhile, Forbes has put James Franco’s The Disaster Artist on its “13 Titles to Watch”. The film that tells the behind-the-scenes story of the making of the cult classic The Room continues to be a “work in progress,” but writer Dade Hayes points out that other hits like Trainwreck have received similar treatment at the festival. Hutcherson co-stars in The Disaster Artist in the role of actor Philip Haldiman.

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South By Southwest (SXSW) Film Schedule Update

Josh Hutcherson’s two upcoming features at SXSW are on the schedule now, with film fans in Austin having their choice of The Disaster Artist and Tragedy Girls on the same night. 

Details for The Disaster Artist: 

When: Sunday, March 12 at 10:00pm

Where: Paramount Theater, 713 Congress Avenue

Details for Tragedy Girls:

When: Sunday, March 12 at 11:55pm

Where: Stateside Theatre, 719 Congress Avenue

When: Tuesday, March 14 at 11:30pm

Where: Alamo Lamar E, 1120 S Lamar Boulevard

When: Friday, March 17 at 11:15am

Where: Alamo Ritz 1, 320 E 6th Street

Tragedy Girls producer Armen Aghaeian has also given fans what may be the first tiny glimpse of Josh in the finished film, opposite his co-stars Brianna Hildebrand and Alexandra Shipp.

Festival badges are on sale at https://www.sxsw.com/attend/. 

SXSW will also sell a limited number of single admission tickets. According to SXSW.com, they’ll go on sale about 15 minutes before the show if seats are available. The single admission ticket price is $12 for all screenings.

There has been no confirmation of Josh’s attendance at the festival at this time.

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Josh Begins Production on Future Man in March!

Josh Hutcherson revealed the news on Mario Lopez’s syndicated radio show while promoting his new short film, Ape. 

Hulu has ordered a full season of the sci-fi comedy, produced and directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg.  Hutcherson plays a janitor/champion gamer who is called upon to save the world by traveling through time. 

“Some next level out-there-ness” is how Hutcherson describes it. 

“It’s going to be insane,” Hutcherson told Lopez. “Seth and Evan are geniuses and the scripts are great; and it’s just a wild, wild adventure, so it’s going to be really fun.”

Eliza Coupe, Derek Wilson, Ed Begley Jr. and Glenne Headly costar.

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Animated Feature Seems to Be In the Works for Hutcherson

(Josh Hutcherson with producer Lucas Lynette-Krech in an undated photo.)

The producer of an upcoming animated holiday film is dropping hints about Josh Hutcherson’s involvement in a new project. On Instagram Thursday, Lucas Lynette-Krech of Canadian studio Awesometown Entertainment posted a photograph with Hutcherson, adding, “What an awesome experience and an amazing voice performance. It’s hard not to love my job.”

Awesometown’s newest project, The Littlest Reindeer, was introduced to buyers at last month’s American Film Market. Samantha Bee and Martin Short star, and comic John Cleese is reportedly attached to the project as well. No word yet on whether Hutcherson is involved with this film, or one of the two other features Awesometown has in development with Double Dutch International.

Hutcherson’s last foray into animation was 2013’s Epic. With an all-star cast that included Colin Farrell, Amanda Seyfried, and Beyoncé, the film made $268.4 million USD worldwide.

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Update!

Awesometown and Double Dutch now confirm Hutcherson is the voice of the lead in Elliot The Littlest Reindeer!

Details emerged on the opening day of the Berlin International Film Festival.

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Josh Hutcherson’s Directorial Debut Coming in February

Josh Hutcherson’s directorial debut Ape and the rest of “The Big Script” film incubator are headed for release in February, according to two writers on the project.

Condé Nast’s The Scene will be the online home for Ape, as well as Djochoua Belovarski’s LYRA, Brad Martocello’s Boy in a Backpack, Jamie Mayer’s Crowbar Smile, and Scott Simonsen’s Honor Council.

The news emerged after Ape writer Jon Johnstone and writer-director Mayer both confirmed the information online. Mayer, whose first young adult novel is also scheduled for release next month, made the announcement on her new website:

Jon Avnet and Rodrigo Garcia’s Indigenous Media and Hutcherson’s Turkeyfoot Productions co-produced the films from features submitted to Hollywood’s script database The Black List.

IM and Turkeyfoot hope the shorts will spark interest in a feature-length version of one or more of the films. One major clue that Hutcherson’s film may, in fact, be getting feature treatment later this year comes from Johnstone’s Linkedin profile, where he says producers are “eyeing a summer or fall 2017 production start.”

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Animated Feature Seems to Be In the Works for Hutcherson

(Josh Hutcherson with producer Lucas Lynette-Krech in an undated photo.)

The producer of an upcoming animated holiday film is dropping hints about Josh Hutcherson’s involvement in a new project. On Instagram Thursday, Lucas Lynette-Krech of Canadian studio Awesometown Entertainment posted a photograph with Hutcherson, adding, “What an awesome experience and an amazing voice performance. It's hard not to love my job.”

Awesometown’s newest project, The Littlest Reindeer, was introduced to buyers at last month’s American Film Market. Samantha Bee and Martin Short star, and comic John Cleese is reportedly attached to the project as well. No word yet on whether Hutcherson is involved with this film, or one of the two other features Awesometown has in development with Double Dutch International.

Hutcherson’s last foray into animation was 2013’s Epic. With an all-star cast that included Colin Farrell, Amanda Seyfried, and Beyoncé, the film made $268.4 million USD worldwide.

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A Chance To Go Behind the Scenes of Josh’s New Series

Producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg are offering fans a chance to visit the set of Future Man in 2017, thanks to a charity auction.

The winning bidder will get a behind-the-scenes look at the production and meet both Rogen and Goldberg, who are also the duo behind such comedies as Pineapple Express, The Interview, and the animated hit Sausage Party.

Future Man stars Josh Hutcherson as a janitor by day, champion video gamer by night, who is called upon to travel through time in order to save the world. The half-hour series is slated to stream on Hulu next year.

Bidding closes on December 8. Proceeds from the auction will benefit the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California. Details of the auction and your chance to bid online can be found at IfOnly.com.

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Josh Hutcherson Joins Nonpartisan Anti-Corruption Movement

Represent.Us coalition, created by both conservatives and progressives, now enlists the help of Hollywood.

While Americans were casting ballots for President Tuesday night, South Dakota voters were also weighing in on a proposal designed to clean up government statewide. The measure passed, and now Represent.Us is hoping the victory will spur some momentum to do the same across the country.

On Thursday, the grassroots organization released a video in which Hutcherson, Martin Sheen, Laura Dern and other stars encourage the public to get similar measures put on their states’ ballots.

Represent.Us is ultimately hoping for nationwide passage of the American Anti-Corruption Act, penned by Federal Elections Commission chair Trevor Potter in 2012. The act calls for stricter guidelines on lobbying, tougher ethics laws, and increased government transparency.

The act would also reform elections funding. Hutcherson has repeatedly called for the overturning of the 2010 Citizens United decision, in which the Supreme Court ruled the First Amendment protects corporate campaign donations.

(Image credits: Represent.Us)

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Josh Hutcherson Joins Post-Election Protests in Los Angeles

(Image credit: Kenny Laubbacher)

In the wake of Tuesday’s Presidential election results, Josh Hutcherson encouraged fans in Los Angeles to rally against President-elect Donald Trump Wednesday night. 

“Come join in a peaceful march through downtown LA to show the world how many of us feel!” Hutcherson tweeted. Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul was among those marching with Hutcherson.

The march drew about 5,000 people, according to NBC Los Angeles. Many rallied around city hall, while others took to area freeways on foot. Some protesters blocked portions of the 101 and 110 freeways for a time, until police walked them off. Several people were arrested. 

(Image credit: Bernie 2016)

Hutcherson became active in the 2016 campaign early in the primary season, stumping for Bernie Sanders in Iowa and registering voters in California before lending his support to Hillary Clinton. He also appeared in the Vote Your Future public service campaign in October.

One Instagram user who spotted Hutcherson at the rally was quick to make the parallel to Hutcherson’s most famous film role: “Peeta Mellark fighting for democracy.”

Protests in Los Angeles continued through the night and into Thursday.

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Tragedy Girls Producers Eye Sundance Premiere

One of the producers behind Josh Hutcherson’s upcoming comedy-horror flick Tragedy Girls says the independent film has been submitted for possible inclusion in the upcoming Sundance Film Festival.

Former NFL star Kerry Rhodes, who is backing the project with his production company The Comeback Kids, shared the development in a recent interview with Black Hollywood Live. 

Sundance is largely regarded as one of the top film festivals in the world. The festival frequently launches Oscar contenders as well as runaway indie hits of all genres. Organizers select around 200 films each year from thousands of submissions.

Tragedy Girls stars Alexandra Shipp of the X-Men series and Deadpool’s Brianna Hildebrand as two teens whose obsession with death turns their small town upside down. Hutcherson co-stars with fellow Hunger Games alum Jack Quaid and comedian Craig Robinson. Tyler MacIntyre directs.

Hutcherson’s first Sundance appearance was for the 2010 comedy-drama The Kids Are All Right, starring Annette Bening, Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo.

The 2017 Sundance Film Festival runs January 19 to 29 in Park City, Utah. Festival selections will be revealed in early December.

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In Dubious Battle Has U.S. Premiere This Weekend

James Franco’s In Dubious Battle, co-starring Josh Hutcherson, makes its U.S. premiere at the Mill Valley Film Festival, just north of San Francisco. 

Director/actor James Franco will be on hand for the sold-out screening on Sunday evening, October 9, in San Rafael, with a reception to follow. No other cast members are currently expected to attend.

But for Bay Area moviegoers willing to take a chance, festival staff tells us a limited number of tickets may become available at the box office just prior to the screening.

If you’re looking for more of a sure thing, tickets are still available for the second screening, on Friday, October 14 at 1 P.M. You can buy tickets online via the MVFF website. General admission is $15; students and seniors pay $13.

In Dubious Battle, an adaptation of novelist John Steinbeck’s book of the same name, tells the story of agricultural workers who organize a strike in Depression-era California.

Alongside Franco, Nat Wolff, Selena Gomez and an impressive ensemble cast, Hutcherson co-stars as Vinnie, a brash apple picker who causes trouble for orchard owners and fellow workers alike.

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Josh Hutcherson Pounded the Pavement for Bernie

What do you care about? Register at voteyourfuture.us Josh Hutcherson tells us that despite stumping hard for Bernie and not getting the nomination, he's going to vote in this upcoming election on November 8th.

Josh Hutcherson has joined dozens of other Hollywood names to encourage Americans to register to vote in the upcoming Presidential election. 

Despite being an ardent supporter of Senator Bernie Sanders, who lost the Democratic Party nomination to Hillary Clinton, Hutcherson says he’s committed to the political process.

“A lot of people were saying ‘Bernie or bust’ and that’s not the right sentiment at all,” Hutcherson says.

He points to the current Supreme Court vacancy and other predicted SCOTUS vacancies in the next Presidential term as a major reason he’s voting next month.

“It’s way too small-minded to make it personal and not vote,” he adds.

You can see the full slate of Vote Your Future video testimonies at the Vote Your Future YouTube channel.