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movie explores the idea of a commune functioning in
today’s world,” he states. “It’s about people trying to rise
above human nature, but who ultimately can’t.”
Though George is hesitant to indulge in too many
of the commune’s temptations of drugs, free love and no
boundaries, his wife grows to love it. As Linda becomes
fully immersed, George realizes how much she means
to him and that he doesn’t want to share her within the
communal setting. “We wrote this so that viewers get
that there are two sides,” says Wain. “Linda goes off the
deep end, but it’s at her husband’s urging. Little does
either of them know at the beginning just how deep of
an impact Elysium will have on their future together.”
When considering the comedy’s cast, the filmmakers
requested the talents of many actors with whom they
had previously worked. Paul Rudd, who co-wrote
the screenplay for Role Models along with Wain and
Marino, was a natural choice for the lead role. “George
is basically a combination of Ken, Paul and myself,”
notes Wain. “Plus Paul has had leading roles in the last
three films I’ve made, so obviously, he came to mind.
But we didn’t know if he wanted to do it.”
It was a welcome opportunity for Rudd to perform and
help produce Wain and Marino’s latest comedy. He says,
“I remember David and Ken worked on Wanderlust for
a while. It went through a couple of drafts, but
when they finally got it to the place they wanted,
I read it, thought it was hilarious and wanted to
do it. It all came together fairly quickly.”
After Rudd came on board, the filmmakers
took the project to actress Jennifer Aniston,
who offers that she instantly realized a kinship
with Linda. “I felt parallel to her and what she
was going through,” Aniston offers. “It was
like coming out of your shell and letting your
guard down.”
Wain admits to being a big fan of Aniston’s
since the time that the performer was on the
iconic television series Friends. “There aren’t
many actresses in the world with whom we can
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identify so fully and are so funny and engaging,” the
director notes. “She dove head first into our ensemble
cast and is just terrific.”
Rudd and Aniston have a working relationship that
dates back 14 years to the groundbreaking independent
film in which they co-starred, The Object of My
Affection. “Working with Jen is great,” says Rudd. “She’s
a talented actress, very funny, and just plain cool. We’ve
also been friends for many years. Because of that I hope
people inherently feel as if there’s some history with the
characters, because there is with is us in real life. I think
it comes across.”
Aniston shares in the sentiment. She commends: “I
just love Paul dearly. We’ve known each other for such
a long time, and I have to say he’s a darn good actor.”
With Rudd and Aniston in place, Wain and Marino
approached Judd Apatow to join them in production
duties. The filmmaker has worked with Rudd on several
comedies including The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked
Up and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, as well as Apatow’s
upcoming This Is 40. “Judd was the natural person to
seek out for this project,” says Wain. “I’ve known him
loosely over the years because we’ve worked with a lot
of the same people, particularly Paul. Our sensibilities
overlap, and he brings an unmatched depth of experience
George tries not to look directly at nudist Wayne (JOE LO TRUGLIO).