For Finn Wolfhard, making the leap from child actor to writer/director was much easier with a mentor like Jesse Eisenberg.
After he and Hell of a Summer co-writer/co-director/co-star Billy Bryk worked with Eisenberg on his 2022 directorial debut When You Finish Saving the World, Wolfhard noted the experience “really stuck with me” as he got “tons” of advice from Eisenberg on their parallel trajectories.
“It was so fascinating to watch him work,” Wolfhard told Yahoo Entertainment. “Something that really stuck with me was how light he was on set and how much of a fun environment he created. If we ever wanted to joke around or do something funny, he really gave us the time and ability to do that. He just wanted it to be fun, even though the movie was often quite serious and there were very dramatic parts.”
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Eisenberg even visited the set of Wolfhard and Bryk’s Neon horror comedy, about a masked killer picking off summer camp counselors, during a Canadian road trip with his family.
“There’s footage of it somewhere on a handy cam,” noted Wolfhard. “But he was always so supportive of the movie, ever since the very beginning and the first few drafts. I remember he would read them and he really liked it.”
Now playing in theaters, Hell of a Summer also stars Fred Hechinger, Abby Quinn, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Pardis Saremi, Rosebud Baker and Adam Pally.
In addition to Hell of a Summer, Wolfhard and Bryk are reportedly writing a reimagining of the 1999 teen cult classic Idle Hands, with Jason Reitman attached to produce.
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