Producer Susan R. Rodgers (“Dahmer”), founder of Indiana Girl Productions, announced today the casting of Jason Jones (“The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”) and Rachael Harris (“The Hangover”) as leads in the satirical comedy, GATES OF EDEN. Both Jones and Harris are represented by United Talent Agency. Lin Shaye (“There’s Something About Mary,” “Kingpin”) co-stars. The feature-length indie is produced by Rodgers and marks the first film under her Indiana Girl Productions banner. GATES OF EDEN is the theatrical directorial debut of David Morgasen, is written by John Stansifer, and Gina Rugolo is co-producer. Leonard Shapiro, an executive at Echo Bridge Entertainment, serves as a consultant on the film and will oversee worldwide distribution sales. GATES OF EDEN starts production on location in Los Angeles this fall.
GATES OF EDEN is a twisted comedy about life, love and the occasional mountain lion. On the surface, Noah Glasscock (Jason Jones) seems to be living the typical American Dream with his wife Iris (Rachael Harris), two kids, two cars, a job at the mall and a beautiful home in the exclusive gated community of Eden Estates. But the monotony of this existence has begun to take its toll. Struggling to find a new way out of his mid-life crisis, Noah has a revelation when his obnoxious pool guy drowns. Oddly, all the unfavorable people infecting his life befall accidental deaths, which lift Noah’s burdens and create more profound revelations. As the body count rises, the police, the media and especially the neighbors suspect Noah to be a serial killer. In a scathing indictment of society and its need for rules and order, GATES OF EDEN is a skewed look at the daily routine and the impact of progress on the individual, the community and nature as a whole, with side trips into the importance of family, friends and religion.
Said Rodgers, “I’m ecstatic about landing Jason Jones and Rachael Harris as two of our leads. I knew Jason from the ‘The Daily Show,’ but when Dave and I saw him audition we immediately knew he was our Noah. Our first choice for Iris has always been Rachael, who is hilarious and we are thrilled to be working with her. I am confident that putting Dave on set with these two wonderful comedic actors and John’s extraordinary script will create magic.”
About Indiana Girl Productions
Indiana Girl Productions is a production company whose main focus is the creation of independent feature films. Founded by veteran producer Susan R. Rodgers, whose eye for talent, aesthetic vision and proven abilities in the trenches of independent filmmaking led to a string of commercially successful, and critically acclaimed feature films, including the psychological thriller, “Dahmer,” starring Academy Award® nominee Jeremy Renner in one of his first breakthrough roles. She has received several awards throughout her career, most recently winning Best Picture awards for “Reach for Me,” starring Seymour Cassel and Alfre Woodard, from multiple film festivals. Rodgers has a first look deal with Echo Bridge Entertainment. Their most recent collaboration was the Lifetime film, “Taken in Broad Daylight,” starring James Van Der Beek, which garnered high ratings for the network.
In addition to GATES OF EDEN, Indiana Girl Productions has three feature films in various stages of development:
GETWELL ROAD — A true story about a boy, his mother and Elvis Presley.
LURE — A true story set in the Old West about a woman’s plight during the California Gold Rush.
UNITITLED DAVID JACOBSON PROJECT – A true story about German POWs and Japanese-American prisoners clashing in an internment camp on American soil. Director David Jacobson (“Dahmer,” “Down in the Valley”) is attached.
“Susan has all the tools to succeed in the movie industry and she’s great with discovering new talent both in front of and behind the camera,” said Shapiro, who executive produced two of Rodgers’ previous films, “Dahmer” and “Gacy.” “For example, during the casting process on ‘Dahmer,’ she pushed very hard for Jeremy Renner when he was an unknown. With the launch of Indiana Girl Productions and the casting of Jason and Rachael in ‘GATES OF EDEN,’ I have no doubt Susan will continue her streak of producing high quality, character-driven feature films.”
Rodgers other producing credits include: the comedy “My Best Friend’s Wife” starring John Stamos, the drama “Day on Fire” starring Martin Donovan and Olympia Dukakis, the fantasy/thriller “The Dead One” starring Wilmer Valderrama, and the drama “Otis E.” starring Kevin Durand.
About Jason Jones
Jason Jones is a very, very, very . . . very busy actor. Currently, Jason can be seen on “The Daily Show” and will soon be appearing alongside Ms. Congeniality. His film work is extremely important to him, so he chooses to adopt only the finest roles. His gems include the taut, straight-to-video psychological thriller “After Alice” (playing the highly coveted part of Rookie Cop) and the award-winning television masterpiece “Terminal Invasion,” in which aliens in human disguise commandeer a rural airport during a snowstorm. And who could forget the unforgettable 13 minutes of screen time Jason had in the SciFi Channel’s original film “Webs,” when his character (Junior) and a local team of wacky electricians, led by Sir Richard Greico, teleport to a parallel universe where human-looking alien spiders run amok? But beyond all the glitz and glamour of those prestigious projects, Jason is most proud of the trilogy of “based on a true story” films from which he has been cut: “America’s Prince: The JFK Jr. Story,” “All-American Girl: The Mary Kay Letourneau Story” and the Meg Ryan box-office bonanza “Against the Ropes: The Jackie Kallen Story,” in which he shared absolutely no screen time with Meg Ryan.
About Rachael Harris
Rachael Harris recently starred in “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” and had a key role in the 2009 comedy blockbuster “The Hangover” and in “The Soloist.” Her film credits also include the comedies “For Your Consideration,” “Evan Almighty,” “License to Wed,” “Kicking and Screaming,” “The Haunted Mansion,” “Starsky & Hutch,” “Best in Show,” “A Mighty Wind” and “After the Sunset.” Harris is perhaps best known for her appearances on the critically acclaimed comedy newscast “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” More recently, she played Cooper in the ABC comedy series “Notes from the Underbelly” and appeared in Lifetime’s “Matters of Life & Dating.”
About David Morgasen (Director)
GATES OF EDEN is the theatrical directorial debut of Morgasen, a former director for “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” whose video shorts for the show included popular pieces such as “Briefcase Joe” starring Eminem and “Sabertooth Tiger Town” with Cloris Leachman. Prior to “Kimmel”, David directed a series of virals that have become YouTube classics, including two installments of the “David Blaine Street Magic” spoof and “McCain-Obama Dance-off!”, the election-year sensation in which the candidates realistically appeared to be break-dancing. Each has generated views in the tens of millions.
