Mark Duplass Joins Alex Kurtzman's Directorial Debut 'Welcome To People'

Briefly: Add one more to the increasingly intriguing cast of Alex Kurtzman's directorial debut Welcome to People. Chris Pine and Elizabeth Banks lead the cast in a story where "a young man (Pine) is directed by his father's will to deliver $150,000 to a sister (Banks) he didn't know he had." That's actually more detail than we'd previously known, and it still isn't a lot. Now actor/writer/director Mark Duplass will play a neighbor who is interested in Elizabeth Banks' character. Olivia Wilde and Michelle Pfeiffer are in the cast as well.

Alex Kurtzman has made a career out of big budget, high-concept stuff so far, but when I spoke to his co-writer Roberto Orci on the set of Cowboys & Aliens (which they wrote and produced) Mr. Orci said they were looking to do something a bit different when one or the other segued into directing. This picture was no doubt already in the works, but I'm glad to see the pair (who both wrote this script along with Jody Lambert) making good on their intent to develop their own cinematic vocabulary. [Variety]