Disney buys Eisenberg’s “dream” film but critics strike down his bigfoot vision

Jesse Eisenberg sold his movie trips to disney for 10 million dollars this Sunday, while his second film at the Sundance festival, an eschatological bigfoot story, caused the public to abandon it.

The actor, known for his portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg in “The social network” which earned him an Oscar nomination, has had a busy weekend at the Utah independent film festival, where he is also emerging as a director.

Tape “A Real Pain” It is Eisenberg’s second as a filmmaker and the first in which he co-stars alongside Kieran Culkin, who has just won an Emmy last weekend for the hit series “Succession”.

The heartfelt comedy about two American cousins ​​visiting Poland to honor their late grandmother, who survived the Holocaust, was inspired by Eisenberg’s own Polish family history.

“I think if I wrote something that wasn’t (personal), I wouldn’t feel anything about it, and it probably wouldn’t be as good,” Eisenberg told AFP. “Or maybe I’d be happier and wouldn’t feel nervous about everything! Don’t know”, he added.

Less than 24 hours before its premiere, “A real pain” was purchased by Disney’s Searchlight in what becomes the festival’s best deal yet and will hit theaters in the coming months.

Eisenberg and Culkin play very different cousins ​​who reunite during the trip.

Eisenberg’s role, David, is happily married and successful, while Culkin’s Benji is unemployed and aimless.

However, David is nervous and distant, while Benji’s open charisma makes him sympathize with everyone around them.

“I connected with the character immediately, which almost never happens,” Culkin says.“I think that has happened only three times in my life.”added the actor when also mentioning his role as Roman Roy in “Succession”.

During the trip they take a luxurious all-inclusive guided tour of Polish Jewish sites, which contrasts with the heartbreaking ancestral trauma of visiting a Nazi concentration camp.

Eisenberg said a trip he took to Poland in 2008 raised questions such as “What if I lived here? What if there had been no war? What if history hadn’t changed so drastically and I was here… what would I be doing?”.

Filming in places “where my family is from, places that I find really beautiful in Poland… the film is like my dream come true”he assured.

“Ability to endure”

On the other hand, in his presumably less personal film at Sundance “Sasquatch Sunset”Eisenberg and Riley Keough step into furry bodysuits and don makeup to play two big-footed family members.

The 90-minute film consists mainly of seeing these ape-like creatures mating or dying in bloody circumstances.

At the press presentation, which was attended by AFP, at least a dozen spectators left the room in the first half hour.

“Your ability to laugh, appreciate or endure ‘Sasquatch Sunset’ will depend on your tolerance for slapstick humor.” the Hollywood Reporter wrote in a review. The Sundance Film Festival will take place until January 28.