ISN’T IT ROMANTIC (2019) About The Director and Cast
Todd Strauss-Schulson, Rebel Wilson, and Liam Hemsworth
TODD STRAUSS-SCHULSON (Director), REBEL WILSON (Natalie / Executive Producer), and LIAM HEMSWORTH (Blake)
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TODD STRAUSS-SCHULSON (Director) has been a one-man movie-making machine ever since his grandfather gave him a video camera for his bar mitzvah (after years of relentless pestering).
Born and raised in Queens, he attended Emerson College, where he won numerous awards, including Panavision's prestigious New Filmmakers prize. Upon graduating, Strauss-Schulson moved to Los Angeles. It wasn't long before he was helming high-concept music videos for major label artists. His music video work led to a six-month stint in China and Thailand, where he wrote and directed "MTV Whatever Things," with an all-western cast. It became the most popular show on MTV Asia with an international audience of over 250 million.
Back in the States, Strauss-Schulson has directed short films and TV shows with comic greats like Stephen Colbert, Amy Schumer, Seth MacFarlane, Jeffrey Tambor, Jimmy Kimmel, Ellen DeGeneres, Lewis Black, Patton Oswalt, Thomas Middleditch, Adam Devine, Eric Andre, Laura Silverman, Natasha Leggero and Damon Wayans. Strauss-Schulson's personal project "Mano-a-Mano" was a selection of the 2008 SXSW Film Festival. In 2009, SXSW invited Strauss-Schulson back to premiere his new short film "Big Pussy," which was subsequently selected to screen at the world famous Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal.
At age 29, he helmed his first feature film, "A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas." The film-which was released in 2011 in stereoscopic 3D (the first stoner movie ever shot in 3D and the first Christmas movie ever shot in 3D and arguably the first comedy ever shot in 3D and this is the longest sentence to ever use the term 3D this many times)-boasts a comedic cast including Kal Penn, John Cho and Neil Patrick Harris. His sophomore effort, "The Final Girls," for Groundswell Productions, had its world premiere on Friday the 13th at SXSW's opening night. It won the Audience Award at the Stanley Film Festival, was a Gala Premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival, and was the closing night film at the 2015 Midnight Madness series at the Toronto Film Festival. In the years since, it has amassed cult status-counting Stephen King, Sam Raimi, and Quentin Tarantino as vocal fans.
Strauss-Schulson is currently developing a number of feature films at his company, Ulterior Productions.
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REBEL WILSON (Natalie / Executive Producer) has several films upcoming this year, including "The Hustle," which she stars in with Anne Hathaway and is also producing; "Jojo Rabbit," with Sam Rockwell and Scarlett Johansson; and Tom Hooper's long-awaited screen adaptation of the musical "Cats," as part of an all-star cast, also including Idris Elba, Taylor Swift, Jennifer Hudson, Ian McKellen, James Corden and Judi Dench.
Wilson is well known for her role in the successful "Pitch Perfect" franchise. For her breakout performance as Fat Amy in the first "Pitch Perfect," Wilson received an MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance and a Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress: Comedy. "Pitch Perfect" also won an MTV Movie Award for Best Musical Moment; a Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie: Comedy; and an American Music Award for Favorite Soundtrack.
Reprising her role in the sequel, "Pitch Perfect 2," Wilson received three MTV Movie Award nominations, for Best Comedic Performance, Best Ensemble Cast, and Best Kiss; as well as several Teen Choice Award nominations, including Choice Movie Actress: Comedy, Choice Movie: Liplock for her on-screen kiss with Adam Devine, and Choice Music Group: Female for The Barden Bellas. She also earned a People's Choice Award nomination for Favorite Comedic Movie Actress. "Pitch Perfect 2" received a Teen Choice nomination for Choice Movie: Comedy; two People's Choice Award nominations, for Favorite Movie and Favorite Comedic Movie; and a Grammy Award nomination for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media. The film grossed more than $287 million worldwide. In 2017, Wilson returned to the role of Fat Amy in "Pitch Perfect 3."
Wilson also starred in Christian Ditter's comedy "How to Be Single," opposite Dakota Johnson. Additionally, she starred in Louis Leterrier's "The Brothers Grimsby," alongside Penelope Cruz and Mark Strong, and made a cameo appearance in "Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie," written by Jennifer Saunders. In 2014, Wilson starred opposite Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, and Ricky Gervais in the third installment of Shawn Levy's "Night at the Museum" series, "Secret of the Tomb," which grossed more than $360 million worldwide.
Wilson made her American comedy film debut in Paul Feig's "Bridesmaids," alongside Kirsten Wiig. The film, produced by Judd Apatow, was named one of AFI's top ten films of 2011, received a Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Comedy, and grossed over $288 million worldwide. Her other film credits include Michael Bay's "Pain & Gain" with Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson; "Struck by Lightning"; "What to Expect When You're Expecting"; and "Bachelorette," with Kirsten Dunst, Isla Fisher, and Lizzy Caplan.
In addition to her work on camera, Wilson lent her voice to the animated feature "Ice Age: Continental Drift," which grossed over $877 million worldwide.
In 2013, Wilson hosted and was the Head Writer on the MTV Movie Awards, which experienced a significant 45% spike in ratings from the previous year.
Wilson holds a double degree in Law and Arts (BA/LLB) from the University of New South Wales and trained as an actor at the Australian Theatre for Young People. She got her start in entertainment writing and performing on Sydney's stages and on the beloved Australian cult comedy series "Pizza."
Wilson wrote and starred in two additional television series, "The Wedge" and "Bogan Pride," before moving to the United States.
She is a long-term supporter of the School of St. Jude in Tanzania, which fights poverty through education.
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LIAM HEMSWORTH (Blake) has established himself as a talented leading man with film credits that balance both big budget studio films and character-driven independent movies.
Hemsworth starred in one of the most successful film franchises in history, "The Hunger Games" film tetralogy, which grossed more than $2.9 billion combined. He also starred in two worldwide action hits: "The Expendables 2" and the sci-fi sequel "Independence Day: Resurgence."
Over the course of his career, Hemsworth has worked alongside some of cinema's biggest names in a wide range of movies. He has had leading roles in such films as the high-stakes thriller "Paranoia," opposite Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman; the thriller "Empire State," with Dwayne Johnson and Emma Roberts; the crime thriller "Cut Bank," alongside Billy Bob Thornton and John Malkovich; the comedy-drama "The Dressmaker," opposite Kate Winslet; and the Western revenge thriller "The Duel," with Woody Harrelson.
Hemsworth's upcoming films include the crime drama "Arkansas," with John Malkovich and Vince Vaughn, and the action thriller "Killerman."
