Fast-rising British comedy talent Richard Ayoade joins Ben
Stiller, Vince Vaughn and Jonah Hill in the neighborhood comedy “The Watch”
directed by award-winning writer and musician Akiva Schaffer (“Saturday Night
Live”).
“The Watch” follows four suburban men who formed a group to guard their
neighborhood after a series of unexplained fatalities start to toll in their
town. Headed by the civic-minded Evan (Stiller), along with Bob (Vaughn),
Franklin (Hill) and Jamarcus (Ayoade), the group initially follows some dubious
teens who stay way past their bedtime, thinking they might find the culprit in
their midst. It wasn’t long before they realize that they’re fighting
forces greater than they have imagined. The four eventually comes to
terms to settle their differences when the aliens start rummaging and rampaging
through their watch in an attempt to take full control of earth.
To play the four members of “The Watch,” Levy and director Akiva Schaffer (a
creative force on several famed “Saturday Night Live” short films) tapped three
comedy icons and a new talent. “We wanted the best,” says Levy,” and so
we went out and got the best – three titans …together in the same movie!
And then we threw in the ‘grenade’ of ‘what the hell are you going to get with
Richard Ayoade?’”
Ayoade is a British comedian, writer and director best known for his iconic
portrayal of Maurice Moss, the beloved über-geek in the award-winning British
sitcom, “The IT Crowd.” Ayoade’s innovative twist on the high-tech misfit
has garnered him nationwide acclaim and honors including the Monte-Carlo
Television Festival’s award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Comedy
Series.
Equally masterful behind the camera, Ayoade’s foray into directing began with
helming music videos for English indie rock bands such as the Arctic Monkeys
and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. In 2010, he made his directorial feature debut with
the coming-of-age adaptation, “Submarine,” which he also wrote that received
rave reviews and garnered Ayoade a BAFTA nomination for Outstanding Debut.
Ayoade’s role Jamarcus, who is newly divorced and perpetually hungry for love,
eagerly embraced The Watch’s off-kilter camaraderie. “Jamarcus feels that
The Watch is an opportunity to burst out of his shell,” says Ayoade, who is
also a noted filmmaker, having written and directed the acclaimed British film
“Submarine.” Adds Schaffer: “He’s just looking to get out of the house
and meet some ladies – and have sex with them.”
On the surface, Jamarcus is kind of
an odd duck, but he may prove to be a secret weapon in the looming battle
against the forces threatening the neighborhood. Levy says it was
Ayoade’s “idiosyncratic energy” that made him perfect for the role. “He’s
wildly inventive and completely strange in the best possible way. You never
know what you’re going to get next with Richard.” “Richard is the one the
audience isn’t expecting, so he can sucker-punch them…with lovable jokes,”
Schaffer concurs.
Beyond the R-13 rated hilarity lies
a story about four guys who were not complete, or their best selves, until they
joined forces. As Bob admits to Evan: “You took a ragtag group of misfits
and taught us there was something bigger than a few beers and some
bro-time. You taught us about community and how important it is.”
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