We Are Your Friends | |
---|---|
Directed by | Max Joseph |
Screenplay by |
|
Story by | Richard Silverman |
Produced by | |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Brett Pawlak |
Edited by |
|
Music by | Stewart Copeland |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures (United States) StudioCanal (International) |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 96 minutes [1] |
Countries |
|
Language | English |
Budget | $2 million [2] |
Box office | $11.1 million [3] |
We Are Your Friends is a 2015 drama film directed by Max Joseph (in his feature directorial debut) and with a screenplay by Joseph and Meaghan Oppenheimer, from a story by Richard Silverman. The film stars Zac Efron, Emily Ratajkowski and Wes Bentley, and follows a young Los Angeles DJ trying to make it in the music industry and figure out life with his friends.
The film was released in the United States by Warner Bros. Pictures on August 28, 2015. Its financier, StudioCanal, distributed it internationally, including France, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand. The film received mixed reviews and grossed $11 million.
Cole Carter, a former track star, college dropout, and struggling 23-year-old DJ in the electronic dance music (EDM) scene, dreams of becoming a major record producer. Cole books a gig to DJ at a local nightclub, where he meets the headliner, a once-innovative DJ, James Reed. James invites Cole to a party, where Cole hallucinates because a joint they shared contained Phencyclidine (PCP). The morning after, Cole wakes up at James' house, where he is introduced to Sophie, James' girlfriend and personal assistant, who drives him home.
Later, James calls Cole to DJ at his house party, a paid gig. Cole's friends Dustin Mason, Ollie, and Squirrel show up, and after a party goer insults Mason, Mason gets in a fight with him and has to be pulled out of James's pool. Despite his background and friends, James sees potential in Cole and takes him as his student. After listening to Cole's original song, James criticizes Cole for imitating other well-known producers, and he suggests using organic sounds for an original vibe. They write a song using the original vibe technique and vocals from Sophie, which is well received at a local nightclub. Next, Cole and his friends head to Las Vegas for a music festival, where he meets up with Sophie, whom James ditched. Sophie gives Cole MDMA, and they sleep together, spending the night at a hotel.
Back in San Fernando, James invites Cole over to watch an MMA fight with him and Sophie. An awkward moment ends up with Sophie telling Cole to accept what happened and leave it alone, and James gives Cole a new MacBook Pro and the opportunity to open for him at a popular music festival. One day, Cole and Paige meet up with Tanya Romero, whose house is being foreclosed. During the negotiation, Paige buys her house and rents it back to her, intending to sell it quickly for a substantial price, which angers Cole. While James' alcoholism begins to affect Sophie, he and Cole go to a strip club for his birthday. Cole gets sick, and James finds out about Cole's relationship with Sophie, and severs ties with him. Returning to his three friends, it is revealed that Squirrel has been looking for better jobs, and Mason has rented a house for all of them. Following intense partying, Squirrel is found unconscious and dies from an overdose. After the funeral, the remaining friends begin to question their future, and go their separate ways after Mason blames Ollie for the drugs that killed Squirrel. Cole visits James, whose alcoholism has completely consumed him, to let him know of Squirrel's death and that it could possibly have been his fault. James consoles him and also tells him that Sophie moved to the San Fernando Valley and works at a local coffee shop, where he later visits her.
While taking a run, the battery of Cole's phone goes dead, causing his music to stop playing. Upon closer observation, he listens to his surroundings, which inspires him to record samples and integrate them into his long-awaited track. Cole then calls and tells James that he has something for Summer Fest, and James gives him another chance. The festival is set outside the American Apparel building in Los Angeles. Cole releases his track, which contains snippets of his conversations with Sophie and Squirrel, and he later uses Squirrel's quote "Are We Ever Going To Be Better Than This?" as a hook before the beat drop. When the song ends, Cole is met with enthusiastic acclaim from the audience and James. The film concludes with Sophie going back to college, Ollie reading for an audition, Mason handling the nightclub, and Cole remaining positive about his future and creating a proper relationship with Sophie.
In the mid-credits scene, Tanya opens her front door to an Adidas box that Cole has been saving all of his earnings in throughout the film.
On June 6, 2014, Efron entered negotiations to star in an untitled film about a DJ, which was set to be directed by Max Joseph. [4] The film is Joseph's debut. On July 31, 2014, Ratajkowski joined the cast of the film, which by then had been given the title We Are Your Friends, and had a start date of August 18 announced for principal photography. [5] The name came from the 2006 Justice vs. Simian song "We Are Your Friends". [6] Jon Abrahams joined the cast on August 5, [7] Alicia Coppola on August 14, [8] and Wes Bentley on August 18. [9] By that point, Jonny Weston, Shiloh Fernandez, and Alex Shaffer had also signed on to star. [5] [7] In late September, the film cast background actors. [10]
Principal photography began on August 18, 2014, in the San Fernando Valley. [9] Joseph co-wrote the adapted screenplay with Meaghan Oppenheimer, based on a Richard Silverman story. Working Title Films partners Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner co-produced the film, which was financed by StudioCanal. Silverman was an executive producer. [5] StudioCanal is the worldwide distributor. [11] The promotional tour for the film included stops in London, Paris and 6 North American cities (Toronto, Miami, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco). [12]
A critically noted scene in the film involves animation depicting Cole's PCP hallucinations at a swanky LA art gallery. Rotoscoping was used to achieve this effect.
In November 2014, Warner Bros. Pictures acquired the film's North American distribution rights. [13] Two weeks later, StudioCanal announced that international distribution had been sold in several markets. [14] On April 28, 2015, Warner Bros. set the film for an August 28, 2015 release. [15] The film was only released on DVD on November 17, 2015, in North America. [16] The Blu-ray was only released in region B (UK, Europe, Oceania, Middle East, Africa) on December 17, 2015. [17]
We Are Your Friends grossed $3.6 million in North America and $7.5 million in other territories for a total gross of $11.1 million. [3]
It made $1.8 million in its opening weekend, finishing 14th at the box office. Box Office Mojo reports with a 2,333 theater count, the film grossed an average $758 from each venue, making it the fourth worst debut for a film with a 2,000+ theater average. It was surpassed later in the year by Rock the Kasbah ($731 average) and Jem and the Holograms ($570), both of which opened on October 23, 2015. [18]
We Are Your Friends received mixed reviews from critics, although Efron's performance and the soundtrack were praised.
Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the film an approval rating of 39% based on 136 reviews, with an average rating of 4.93/10. The site's consensus reads, "We Are Your Friends boasts magnetic stars and glimmers of insight, but they're lost in a clichéd coming-of-age story as programmed as the soundtrack's beats." [19] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 46 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [20] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale. [21] [22]
The Hollywood Reporter named Efron's performance as Cole Carter their 2nd-favorite film performance of 2015, behind only Christopher Abbott as the title character of James White . The magazine stated, "And while the picture's box-office returns didn't exactly pump up the volume, this 28-year-old Tyrone Power clone increasingly ranks among the most exciting American actors of his generation." [23] Bilge Ebiri of Vulture.com noted that Ratajkowski's role takes a back seat to the love triangle's central Efron/Bentley relationship. [24]
The movie is the subject of the third season of the podcast The Worst Idea of All Time , in which two New Zealand comedians watch the same movie every week for a whole year, and discuss it each week. [25]
Jon Avery Abrahams is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in several films such as Sonny Poncelet in Dead Man Walking (1995), Bobby Prinze in Scary Movie, Denny Byrnes in Meet the Parents, and Dalton Chapman in House of Wax (2005).
"We Are Your Friends" is a song credited to Justice vs. Simian, and is French duo Justice's remix of the track "Never Be Alone" by Simian. It was released as a single in 2006. It reached number 20 in the UK Singles Chart.
Offspring Entertainment is a production company owned by producers Adam Shankman and Jennifer Gibgot. The company was established by the siblings in 2004 after their work together on the film The Wedding Planner, which Gibgot produced and Shankman directed.
Zachary David Alexander Efron is an American actor. Efron began acting professionally in the early 2000s and rose to prominence as a teen idol for his leading role as Troy Bolton in the High School Musical trilogy (2006–2008). During this time, he also starred in the musical film Hairspray (2007) and the comedy film 17 Again (2009).
David John Franco is an American actor and filmmaker. He began his career with small roles in films such as Superbad (2007) and Charlie St. Cloud (2010). Following a starring role in the ninth season of the comedy series Scrubs, Franco had his film breakthrough as a supporting role in the buddy comedy film 21 Jump Street (2012).
Emily O'Hara Ratajkowski is an American model and actress. Born in London to American parents and raised in Encinitas, California, she signed to Ford Models at a young age. Her modeling debut was on the cover of the March 2012 issue of the erotic magazine treats!, which led to her appearance in several music videos, including Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines", which catapulted her to global fame.
Easy Money is a Swedish crime thriller film directed by Daniel Espinosa that was released on 15 January 2010. It is based on the 2006 novel of the same name by Jens Lapidus. Joel Kinnaman stars in the lead role of Johan "JW" Westlund, a rather poor man living a double life in the upper class areas of Stockholm. After meeting a wealthy girl, he is enticed into the world of organized crime and begins to sell cocaine to afford his expensive lifestyle. Easy Money was well received by critics and was a hit at the box office.
Alex Shaffer is an American actor, best known for his role as Kyle Timmons, a troubled kid and a wrestling prodigy, in the 2011 film Win Win.
Nick Rotteveel, professionally known as Nicky Romero or Monocule, is a Dutch DJ, record producer and remixer from Amerongen, Utrecht Province. He has worked with, and received support from DJs, such as Tiësto, Fedde le Grand, Sander van Doorn, David Guetta, Calvin Harris, Armand van Helden, Avicii and Hardwell. He currently ranks at number 20 on DJ Mag's annual Top 100 DJs poll. He is known for his viral hit song "Toulouse".
Entourage is a 2015 American comedy film written, directed and produced by Doug Ellin, and serves as a continuation of the HBO television series of the same name. It stars the principal cast of the show, Kevin Connolly, Adrian Grenier, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara and Jeremy Piven, and follows actor Vincent Chase, who goes over budget on his directorial debut and must ask newly appointed studio head Ari Gold for more money. Like in the series, many celebrity sportspeople and actors appear as themselves, while several supporting cast members from the show reprise their roles.
That Awkward Moment is a 2014 American bromantic comedy drama film written and directed by Tom Gormican in his directorial debut. The film stars Zac Efron, Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Imogen Poots, Mackenzie Davis, and Jessica Lucas. The film had its Los Angeles premiere on January 27, 2014, and it was widely released on January 31 in the United States.
Neighbors is a 2014 American bromantic comedy film directed by Nicholas Stoller and written by Andrew J. Cohen and Brendan O'Brien. The film stars Seth Rogen and Zac Efron with Rose Byrne, Dave Franco, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse in supporting roles. The plot follows a couple who come into conflict with a fraternity that has recently moved in next door, which leads them into an all-out war.
Dirty Grandpa is a 2016 American buddy sports romantic sex comedy film about a lawyer who drives his grandfather to Florida during spring break. The film was directed by Dan Mazer and written by John Phillips. It stars Robert De Niro and Zac Efron in the leading roles, with Aubrey Plaza, Zoey Deutch, Julianne Hough and Dermot Mulroney in supporting roles. It was filmed on location in Atlanta from January 19 to May 9, 2015.
Max Joseph is an American filmmaker and a television and gameshow host.
Death Note is a 2017 American supernatural crime thriller film directed by Adam Wingard from a screenplay by Charles Parlapanides, Vlas Parlapanides, and Jeremy Slater, loosely based on the manga of the same name by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. The film stars Nat Wolff, LaKeith Stanfield, Margaret Qualley, Shea Whigham, Paul Nakauchi, Jason Liles, and Willem Dafoe. The plot follows an American high school student named Light Turner who finds a mysterious supernatural notebook known as the Death Note, which can kill anyone whose name is written on its pages, using it to murder criminals under the alias of Kira, while a secretive detective only known as L seeks to find him.
Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood is a guided walk-through tour of Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, located in Los Angeles, California. Over a two-to-three-hour period, visitors can glimpse behind the scenes of one of the oldest film studios in the world.
Cruise is an American romantic comedy film, written and directed by Robert D. Siegel. It stars Spencer Boldman, Emily Ratajkowski, Lucas Salvagno, Noah Robbins, Gino Cafarelli, Kathrine Narducci and Sebastian Maniscalco. Filmed in 2015, it was eventually released direct-to-video in September 2018, by Vertical Entertainment.
Scoob! is a 2020 American animated mystery comedy film produced by the Warner Animation Group, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is a reboot of the theatrical Scooby-Doo film series and the third theatrical film based on the characters, following Scooby-Doo (2002) and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004). The film is directed by Tony Cervone from a screenplay by Adam Sztykiel, Jack Donaldson, Derek Elliott, and Matt Lieberman, and a story by Lieberman, Eyal Podell, and Jonathon E. Stewart. It stars the voices of Frank Welker, Will Forte, Gina Rodriguez, Zac Efron, and Amanda Seyfried. The film also features the voices of Mark Wahlberg, Jason Isaacs, Kiersey Clemons, Ken Jeong, and Tracy Morgan as other animated Hanna-Barbera characters. Set in a Hanna-Barbera animated shared universe, the film follows Mystery Incorporated working with the Blue Falcon to solve their most challenging mystery behind their mascot's secret legacy and a purpose, which connects with Dick Dastardly's evil plan to unleash Cerberus.
The Greatest Beer Run Ever is a 2022 American biographical war comedy drama film directed and co-written by Peter Farrelly, based on the book of the same name by John "Chickie" Donohue and Joanna Molloy. The film stars Zac Efron and Russell Crowe, and follows the true story of Donohue, who as a young veteran sneaks into the Vietnam War to deliver some beer to his friends, who are serving their duty.
We Are Your Friends (Music from the Original Motion Picture) is the soundtrack to the 2015 film of the same name. Released by Interscope Records on August 21, 2015, the album featured 12 tracks based on electronic dance music, hip hop, electronic rock and alternative rock. All of the tracks were selected by the music supervisor, Randall Poster, with contributions from DJs producing the album. A deluxe edition of the album featuring six more additional tracks also unveiled on August 28, the same date as the film. Although the film received mixed reviews, the soundtrack topped the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums selling over 2,000 copies.
its "C+" Cinemascore suggests that Zac Efron might