Soon after Zach Braff’s Wish I Was Here reached its funding goal on Kickstarter, and even before the project was officially funded, Anna Kendrick was one of the first cast members added alongside Braff’s leading character, set to star as a Cosplay enthusiast / love interest for Braff’s brother, played by Josh Gad.
Now Braff has taken to Kickstarter to tell his pledges that Kendrick’s schedule unfortunately conflicts with the film’s shooting dates, thus forcing her to exit the project.
But he has good news as well, announcing that Ashley Greene has come on board in her place.
Perhaps best known for her role as Alice Cullen in The Twilight Saga, Braff notes that he’s known Greene for a couple of years now, emphasising that she’s every bit as hilarious as she is talented and beautiful, which is naturally encouraging with her character being a Cosplayer.
“WISH I WAS HERE” tells the story of Aidan Bloom, a struggling actor, husband and dad who at 35 is still trying to find his true place in life. He and his wife are barely getting by financially, and Aidan passes his time fantasizing about being the futuristic Space Knight he always dreamed he’d be as a little kid.
When his ailing father can no longer afford to pay for private school for his two kids, and with the only available public school on its last legs, Aidan reluctantly agrees to attempt to home-school them. The result is chaos, until Aidan decides to scrap the traditional academic curriculum and come up with his own. Through teaching them about life his way, he gradually discovers the parts of himself he couldn’t find.
Braff also notes that Scrubs alums Bob Clendenin, Matt Winston, and Alexander Chaplin have joined the cast as well, which is great news.
Braff will now be leading the cast alongside Kate Hudson, with Josh Gad, Ashley Greene, Mandy Patinkin, Joey King, Pierce Gagnon, Jim Parsons, and Donald Faison starring alongside them. Braff is directing from a script he co-wrote with his brother, Adam.
Wish I Was Here is set to start shooting on August 5th out in LA, with Braff previously talking of eyeing a Sundance debut in January, ahead of a theatrical release in the autumn/fall next year.
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