Dave McCary and Kyle Mooney, the creators of Brigsby Bear, met in the fourth grade and were rival class clowns in the fifth.
Mooney, who stars in and co-wrote the film, recalls: “He was in the popular kids’ class and I was with the nerds. Over time, we grew to get along and we kind of have a short hand on set.”
“It’s very surreal because the movie really is about falling in love with filmmaking and doing it with your best friends,” said McCary, who directed. “There’s a real meta and so many things have gone full circle.”
McCary and Mooney began performing together a decade ago as the comedy group Good Neighbor along with Nick Rutherford and Beck Bennett, who are also in the film.
McCary is a segment director on “Saturday Night Live” and the others are cast members.
The film is about a man who was kidnapped as a baby and rescued 25 years later. His kidnappers, played by Mark Hamill and Claire Danes, have told him nothing about the world, aside from creating a fictional TV show.
“I loved the script,” said Matt Walsh, who plays the father of Mooney’s character. “You read a bunch every year and it was the one I remember. It wound up being the quintessential Sundance experience where we stayed at a condo and got a sale.”
Ryan Simpkins, who portrays the sister of Mooney’s character, was still stunned by the standing ovation “Brigsby” got at the 2017 Sundance Film Fest, where it had premiered.
“It’s a weird indie film,” she recalled. “I was there for two weeks in Utah and I was amazed by the world. So I’m incredibly proud and I didn’t expect to be. I was just doing it for fun.”
Brigsby Bear will be released by Sony Classics July 28.