Is there anything more amusing than the end of the world? Improv comedy troupe The Vacationeers believe not, making it the hook for their second feature It's a Disaster**, set to star Julia Stiles and America Ferrera.
The film sounds a bit like Couples Retreat with an armageddon-y twist. The premise is that four couples meet for a nice quiet Sunday lunch, but end up stuck in the house indefinitely as the apocalypse apparently looms outside.
"It's a crazy story and I was convinced Julia and America would think I'm crazy too, but I'm thrilled they get my sense of humour. I'm excited to have them on board," says Vacationeer Todd Berger. Stiles has just been working with Neil LaBute; she probably needed a laugh.
The Vacationeers are Berger, Kevin Brennan, Jeff Grace and Blaise Miller. They've been performing together since 2006, but are all reasonably successful under their own steam too. Their stand-up soon progressed to online shorts, and eventually to their debut feature film, the indie festival favourite The Scenesters.
All four troupe members will star in It's a Disaster, which by our reckoning means two more female leads yet to be announced. Berger wrote the screenplay and will direct, and shooting starts in LA in the early autumn.