Coming off of its biggest hit, Everything Everywhere All At Once, A24’s next movie, Funny Pages, retains the earlier movie’s obsession with comic-book-like worlds. That said, the new trailer looks a lot more like Ghost World than Spider-Man: No Way Home. And it’s leading character, Robert (Daniel Zolghadri), is far more interested in becoming the next Robert Crumb than living in a world with superheroes.
As seen in the trailer, Robert is so self-assured of his own talent that he really believes it when someone tells him that he’s already a professional artist. However, his comics lack a lot of basic understanding of the sequential art form and his figure work needs a lot of refinement. Regardless, he doesn’t let that stop him from telling his parents that he’s dropping out of high school to pursue a career in comics.
Unfortunately for Robert, this is all easier said than done. That’s why he befriends Wallace (Matthew Maher) and convinces him to work on his craft. Wallace is a former color separator for Image Comics, a real company that had no idea that this film was coming, according to a report on Bleeding Cool. However, Wallace is not a comic book artist and doesn’t hide his own humble beginnings. Yet in the pursuit of his dreams, Robert has hitched himself to the wrong wagon this time.
Miles Emanuel also stars in the film as a character who is also named Miles, with Maria Dizzia as Jennifer, Josh Pais as Lewis, Marcia Debonis as Cheryl Quartermaine, Stephen Adly Guirgis as Katano. Michael Townsend Wright as Barry, Cleveland Thomas Jr. as Steven, Ron Rifkin as Grandfather, Tony Hassini as Richard, Andy Milonakis as George, Shane Fleming as Gabe, and Rob M. Anderson as Comic Shop Clerk.
Owen Kline wrote, directed, and edited Funny Pages, which will get a limited theatrical release on Friday, August 26.
