Nicholas Braun, Stephanie Koenig and Debby Ryan Join Zac Efron in Celebrity Thriller ‘Famous’ for Black Bear (EXCLUSIVE)

Nicholas Braun (“Succession,” “Saturday Night”), Stephanie Koenig (“English Teacher,” “Lessons in Chemistry”), Debby Ryan (“Insatiable,” “Shortcomings”), Mekki Leeper (“Jury Duty,” “St. Denis Medical”) and Cory Michael Smith (“Saturday Night”, “May December”) have joined Zac Efron and Phoebe Dynevor in celebrity thriller “Famous.”

The LA-set film — from director Jody Hill (“Observe & Report,” “Eastbound & Down”) and exploring the dark side of celebrity — began production last week in Los Angeles, comes from Esmail Corp. (“Leave the World Behind,” “Mr. Robot”) and Caviar (“Sound of Metal,” “Bad Sisters”).

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A24 is set to release “Famous” in the U.S., reuniting with Efron after last year’s “The Iron Claw,” which grossed $45M worldwide. Black Bear is repping international rights. WME Independent and CAA Media Finance brokered the sale. 

In “Famous,” Efron stars in dual roles, playing both overzealous fan, Lance Dunkquist, and Hollywood heartthrob, James Jansen. The film is based on the acclaimed novel by New York Times bestselling author Blake Crouch and is adapted for the screen by Chad Hodge, who also adapted Crouch’s Wayward Pines trilogy into a series.

The story follows Dunkquist, who has one asset that’s about to change his life — he has the face of a movie star. And not just any movie star — Lance is the spitting image of a Hollywood icon, James Jansen. As per the description, “Lance is about to travel to Los Angeles to make his dream come true. Lance is going to be famous, no matter what it takes.”

“Famous” is being produced by Sam Esmail and Chad Hamilton for Esmail Corp. and Michael Sagol for Caviar. Executive producers include Nick Krishnamurthy for Esmail Corp and Allison Hironaka and Bert Hamelinck for Caviar.

Black Bear launched sales on a number of projects at the recent AFM, including the action-packed “Hammer Down, starring Idris Elba, from producer Charles Roven and director Simon Hatt, and “Pendulum,” from writer-director Mark Heyman and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The company’s upcoming slate features David Ayer’s “Levon’s Trade,” starring Jason Statham; David Mackenzie’s “Relay,” starring Riz Ahmed and Lily James; Clint Bentley’s “Train Dreams” starring Joel Edgerton and Felicity Jones; Osgood Perkins’ “The Monkey,” starring Theo James; the Sydney Sweeney-led untitled Christy Martin boxing project from director David Michôd; and Gregg Araki’s “I Want Your Sex,” starring Olivia Wilde and Cooper Hoffman.

Braun is represented by UTA, Brillstein Entertainment Partners, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner Auerbach Hynick Jaime LeVine Sample & Klein. Koenig is repped by Paradigm Talent Agency, Green Management, and Ziffren Brittenham. Ryan is represented by UTA, Amplified, and Hirsch Wallerstein Hayum Matlof and Fishman. Leeper is repped by WME Entertainment, Mosaic, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner Auerbach Hynick Jaime LeVine Sample & Klein. Smith is repped by UTA and Circle Management + Production.