High school kids who like to party hard have been Miles Teller's stock in trade for a while now. He's lived the Andrew WK philosophy through Project X, The Spectacular Now and 21 And Over (where he seemed to be mainlining the obnoxious-fast-talker schtick of Vince Vaughn). But it seems he's now ready for a change and a return to his Rabbit Hole roots, taking a role opposite JK Simmons in the indie drama **Whiplash.
Whiplash was originally a short, which won a BAFTA/LA award at the Aspen Shortsfest and a Jury Prize at Sundance this year for "wicked sense of humour, fantastic ensemble acting and razor sharp directing". The plan was always that it would lead to a feature. So hey, it worked. Damien Chazelle, who penned The Last Exorcism Part II, was the writer/director and will take up the same mantle for the long version.
Pitched as "Full Metal Jacket at Juilliard", the film sees Simmons playing a brutal jazz orchestra teacher who focuses his ire on Teller's freshman drummer. His harsh mentorship then sends Teller down his own dark path, ruthlessly pursuing his dream of becoming the best jazz skinsman in the country, even if it means a turn for the monstrous in his personality. All similarities to Ginger Baker are completely coincidental. But if you haven't yet seen the amazing Beware Of Mr Baker, let this be a reminder that you should do so right now.
Jason Reitman and Jason Blum are among the producers, and shooting is set to start in September. We'll next see Teller in the sci-fi Divergent, with Kate Winslett, Ray Stevenson, Ashley Judd and Maggie Q, out in the UK next March. Presumably **The Spectacular Now **will one day also hit our shores, although there's no release date set yet. He's also got more teen comedy on the way, with Two Night Stand and the Zac Efron-starring Are We Officially Dating?