Is there anything Neil Patrick Harris can’t do? The guy stars on a hugely successful television show, How I Met Your Mother – maybe you’ve heard of it? He’s hosted both the Emmys and the Tonys, starred in his self-directed one-man show, directed a production of Rent at the Hollywood Bowl, lent his voice to the upcoming Smurfs movie, belted out silly villainous tunes in Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog, and played that hilarious NPH doppelganger in all of the Harold and Kumar movies. He’s an actor, comedian, thespian, all around awesome guy and now Harris is going to add feature film director to that list.
His directorial debut is an indie romantic comedy called Aaron and Sarah written by two Pushing Daisies vets, Chad Gomez Creasey and Dara Resnik Creasey. It-girl Emma Roberts and Josh Hutcherson will play the two leads – a popular girl and the geek whose friendship deepens over their four years in high school.
Roberts is one lucky girl, she’s really making her way through the Hollywood rounds – she got to pal around with half of the Hollywood A-list for Valentine’s Day, she stars alongside Zach Galifianakis in It’s Kind of A Funny Story, and now she’s working with NPH on his directorial debut. It pays to be Julia Roberts’ niece, I guess. (And it probably doesn’t hurt that she’s so freaking adorable.) You may recognize Hutcherson from the recent comedy, The Kids Are Alright, and a slew of kids’ movies. Together they’re just about the cutest – seriously.
As for Harris, he’s by no means an experienced director, but he’s got to start somewhere. His production of Rent in Los Angeles drummed up some hum-ho reviews (almost all laced with “but we still love you!”), with most of the issues being attributed to his lack of experience. Even so, you’ve got to give him some credit; he may not have hit a home run with Rent, but he’s ready to get back out there and keep trying. Plus, he’s already taken over the director’s chair for a few episodes of How I Met Your Mother, so maybe he’s learned enough to get this romantic comedy off the ground.
We’ll just have to wait and see what he can really do with the film, but at least he’s got a good set-up: good writers, cute concept, and a super-charming cast. At the very least the movie will end up being adorable, but maybe Harris will hit his stride and bring something a little extra to the plate.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
