Emily Deschanel, Ryder Allen, Carrie Brownstein & Nick Thune Among New Additions To Coming-Of-Age Dramedy ‘Friend Thing’

EXCLUSIVE: Friend Thing, the indie coming-of-age drama marking the feature debut of writer-director Harry Calbom, has added Emily Deschanel (Bones), Ryder Allen (The Penguin), Carrie Brownstein (Portlandia), Nick Thune (Love Life), musician Holden Jaffe (aka Del Water Gap) and many more to its cast.

Deschanel plays Anne Madsen, mother to two of the film’s central kids. Allen plays Lane Madsen, with Brownstein as Louise McCready, mother of Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready, and Thune as Gil Calder, father to the film’s lead. Production on the film wrapped in Seattle last week.

Friend Thing is set in mid-1990s Seattle, where a sensitive fourteen-year-old boy falls for a magnetic new girl until heartbreak and a family tragedy force him to decide what kind of friend he wants to be.

Other newcomers to the cast include Recker Eans (Wizards Beyond Waverly Place), Milo Maharlika (Vampirina: Teenage Vampire), Kayla Anjali (Paradise), Stella Grace Fitzgerald (Breadwinner), newcomer Krishna Thea, and Dylan Bruce (We Were Liars). They join the previously announced Alfie Williams, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Lewis Black, Adam Ray and Pete Holmes.

Also new news is the fact that the rock band Pearl Jam has granted the project rights to use their music during its anticipated festival run.

Friend Thing is produced by Bryce Cyrier, Honna Kimmerer and Ladd Moore. Casting is by Danielle Aufiero and Amber Horn.

Calbom told us, “I’m humbled by the extraordinary group of people who have said yes to this film. The cast is beyond what I ever imagined, Pearl Jam’s music is woven into the story, and we have an incredible crew bringing it all to life. It’s the dream team I hoped to build around this project.”

Deschanel is repped by Gersh, Principal Entertainment LA, and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller; Allen by Paradigm, LA Talent, and Hansen, Jacobson; Brownstein by UTA, Brillstein Entertainment Partners, and Yorn, Levine, Barnes; Thune by Gersh and Avesta Entertainment; and Jaffe by CAA.