Production has begun in Sydney on the relationship comedy feature Scoby, directed by Claudia Dzienny (Frisky) and written by the film’s star Emma Leonard (800 Words).Â
Scoby is described as the uproarious story of Maddie (Emma Leonard) and Leo (Ryan O’Kane), an aspirational millennial couple, who, while trying to decide between children and a career, become unwitting custodians of a sentient kombucha strain.
Writer and star Emma Leonard called Scoby a ‘bold genre-bending comedy from the heart’, and said that she had been developing projects and finding a comedic voice with director Claudia Dzienny for over a decade, culminating in the ‘cheeky package’ of Scoby.
‘As friends we’ve often found comfort and humour in the vast swathe of conundrums this stage in life presents us with,’ said Leonard. ‘Our balance of pre-parenthood and new-parenthood perspective has brought genuine nuance to the story throughout our development process together.
Director Claudia Dzienny is also known a comedy actor and Frisky creator, Claudia Pickering. She said: ‘Emma Leonard’s script hilariously nails the conundrum of career vs family that has plagued me as a new mum.
‘Fear of missing out and totally buggering it up at both ends, mostly. Would I be terrible at it? Would I lose the independence that I had built my career and identity on? Who would I become? My sense of self would be intrinsically linked with my children and partner. That was scary but exciting and something that I had always longed for. I have learned that in motherhood, the only way forward is together. Maybe giving ourselves a chance to relinquish some of that inner lone wolf and lean into a little symbiosis, we can grow happier in unexpected ways.’
ScreenHub: New films coming to Australian cinemas November 2024
Starring alongside Leonard and O’Kane are Brigid Zengeni (Prosper), Shakira Clanton (Summer Love), Australian acting icon Gary Sweet (The Clearing), Jackie Van Beek (The Breaker Upperers), Johnny Nasser (Thor: Love and Thunder), Michelle Langstone (Power Rangers: SPD), Stephen Madsen (Heathers: The Musical), Danny Adcock (The Tourist), Stephen Hunter (Children of the Corn), Jo Turner (The Doctor Blake Mysteries) and Duncan Fellows (Deadloch).
Key creatives on Scoby include Director of Photography Calum Riddell and Production Designer Emily Jansz.
Dzienny and Leonard also produce, with Danielle Redford, through their companies Boobytrap Entertainment and Contra Stories.
Maslow Entertainment will distribute in Australia and New Zealand. Executive Producers are Maslow’s Marc Wooldridge, Spectrum Entertainment’s Josh Pomeranz, Folklore Sound’s Sam Gain-Emery and Thom Kellar, and Bevan Dally. Scoby is financed with the assistance of Mind the Gap, Spectrum Films and Folklore Sound.
Maslow Entertainment’s other Australian films on the radar now include Kriv Stender’s The Correspondent (premiered at Adelaide Film Festival, releasing Boxing Day) and Jon Bell’s The Moogai, releasing 31 October.
Scoby will be in cinemas in 2025.