Sartaj Singh
Greg Coolidge has stepped on board his first feature in around five years! The director is set to direct ‘Guys Night’ next. The film is gearing up to start principal photography in August in New Jersey. Coolidge is helming the project based on a screenplay by Christopher Baldi.
The plot revolves around a group of middle-aged guy friends who are at various stages of mild happiness and misery in their relationships and dead-end jobs. When they notice that their friend Jeff is in need of a boost, they concoct a plan for an epic guys’ night out to reignite his spark. Their destination? The legendary Applejack Island. The group seeks to recapture the carefree spirit of their youth in the clandestine enclave of wild and uninhibited revelry tucked away in the depths of New Jersey.
Born in New Jersey, Coolidge is a writer and director who has helmed films such as ‘The Turkey Bowl,’ ‘The Troop,’ and ‘Employee of the Month.’ He works prolifically as a writer, with recent projects including Peacock’s ‘The Continental,’ a crime-action series he developed with Kirk Ward and Shawn Simmons as a spinoff and prequel to the Keanu Reeves-starrer ‘John Wick‘ franchise. Coolidge served as a writer and executive producer of YouTube Premium’s ‘Wayne.’ He also wrote the story and co-wrote the screenplay of ‘Ride Along,’ starring Ice Cube and Kevin Hart.
When writing comedy for his films, Coolidge tries to maintain a political balance and create something everyone can enjoy. “One of the things that we try to do as writers, coming from Oklahoma, living in a liberal place like California, is we try to create things that are equally good for red states, blue states, so none of that stuff matters,” he said in an interview. “So, everyone’s gonna think it’s for them; that’s sort of the trick,” the screenwriter added.
Christopher Baldi’s previous credits include ‘Bixler High Private Eye’ and Lifetime’s ‘Jim Henson’s Turkey Hollow.’ The script for ‘Guys Night’ was initially picked up by Millennium Films in 2011. The movie was set to begin filming, with director Andrew Fleming of ‘Hamlet 2’ on board to helm the production. For unknown reasons, the project was delayed and has now gained new life with Coolidge at the helm.
Applejack Island is a fictional place invented for ‘Guys Night’ and maritime locations in New Jersey will stand in for the region. The state is home to several prominent films and shows shooting in its territory. Alec Baldwin’s cop thriller ‘Blue Blood’ is expected to film in the region between July and August. Other projects being lensed in New Jersey include Timothée Chalamet’s ‘A Complete Unknown,’ Claire Danes’ Netflix series ‘The Beast in Me,’ Stephanie Laing’s ‘Tow,’ Paul Mescal’s ‘The History of Sound,’ and Jennifer Lopez’s ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman.’
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