EXCLUSIVE: We hear that 11x Portlandia Emmy nominee Jonathan Krisel is coming aboard to direct Universal’s feature take of the Simon Rich New Yorker short story Everyday Parenting Tips. Rich did the first pass as we first told you, but we understand now that Travis Braun is adapting. Ryan Reynolds is still looking to possibly star in what is described as a four-quadrant family film.
The entire package is produced by Lord Miller’s Phil Lord, Chris Miller and Aditya Sood, who have a first look at Uni, as well as Maximum Effort Productions’ Ryan Reynolds and George Dewey. Rich is also producing.
In Rich’s essay, a father offers advice on what to say when their child says they believe a monster lurks under the bed — that is at a time when an ongoing Monster Uprising is actually occurring on the globe. The creature pandemic has unleashed the likes of Gorgog the Annihilator, Ctharga the Eater of Souls and a “giant, swirling portal in the sky that looks like a screaming mouth” that is simply called Drain of Ga.
Krisel co-created, wrote, starred and EP’s Portlandia. He’s also the co-creator of the FX Zach Galifianakis and Louie Anderson comedy series, Baskets as well as Showtime’s Moonbase 8. He began working with the comedy duo Tim & Eric in 2006 on their animated series Tom Goes to the Mayor as an animator, producer, and senior editor. He also worked as director, writer, co-EP, and senior editor on their sketch comedy series Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! from 2007 to 2010. Krisel is repped by UTA, Mosaic, and Yorn Levine Barnes etc.
Braun created the Disney Junior series Pupstruction, co-created the studio’s T.O.T.S. series, and wrote on Turbo Fast. The writer is repped by UTA, Echo Lake Management, and Greg Trye Ramer etc.
Lord Miller brought Everyday Parenting Tips to Universal shortly after hearing Rich’s pitch based on his article, led by LM president Sood. The studio moved quickly to secure the rights, and Rich sold the rights in a pre-emptive deal. Universal’s SVP Production Sara Scott is overseeing the project on behalf of Universal.
Universal had no comment about today’s news.