US, 2015, 105’
directed by: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
written by: Jesse Andrews
cast: Thomas Mann, Olivia Cooke, RJ Cyler, Nick Offerman, Molly Shannon
cinematography: Chung-Hoon Chung
edited by: David Trachtenberg
producers: Steven Rales, Dan Fogelman, Jeremy Dawson
production: Indian Paintbrush
Sundance Film Festival 2015 – U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic, Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic; Locarno Film Festival 2015
Greg Gaines is a high-school kid who keeps to himself and wants to draw as little attention to himself as possible. Avoiding social contacts, he spends most of his time watching crazy parodies of classic movies with his only friend Earl, whom he describes as his associate. Greg's mother then persuades him to befriend Rachel, the girl from his class diagnosed with cancer. Slowly, Greg discovers the value of a true friendship. This warm and entertaining coming-of-age story is in sharp contrast to the director's feature debut, The Town that Dreaded Sundown. Still, Me, Earl and the Dying Girl has preserved Rejon's signature youthful friskiness and versatility, which is reflected in his cross-genre filmography, including a few episodes of the megapopular TV series Glee and American Horror Story.
Alfonso Gomez-Rejon began his career as personal assistant to M. Scorsese, R. De Niro and A.G. Iñárritu. He has directed episodes of Glee and American Horror Story and was nominated for an Emmy for his work on American Horror Story: Coven. His debut feature The Town That Dreaded Sundown was a stylish meta-reboot of Charles B. Pierce's 1976 horror film. His second feature Me and Earl and the Dying Girl won the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at Sundance.
