Jonathan Levine has found a way to balance comic and tragic tones in each of his films, but the shining example of it was the cancer dramedy, 50/50. Now he's taking on the subject of illness once again with Home is Burning, and he's bringing along Whiplash star Miles Teller to star.
Levine will direct Teller in Home is Burning, which is an adaptation of Dan Marshall's memoir hitting store shelves this October. Levine and Teller will also produce with Marshall adapting the screenplay about his return home to take care of his ailing parents. Here's the book synopsis:
Dan’s mom has always had cancer. First diagnosed when he was only ten years old, she was the model of resilience throughout his childhood, fighting her disease with tenacity and a mouth foul enough to make a sailor blush. But just as she faces a relapse, her husband, a successful businessman and devoted father, is diagnosed with ALS. He is told that, in a few months’ time, he will be unable to walk, eat or breathe on his own. Dan, a recent college craduate living the good life in Los Angeles, has no choice but to return home to help.
Reinstated in his parents’ basement, Dan is reunited with his siblings. His older sister Tiffant is resentful, having stayed closer to home to bear the brunt of their mother’s illness. Younger brother Greg comes to lend a hand, giving up a journalism career and evenings cruising Chicago gay bars. Younger Sister Michelle is a sullen teenager experimenting with drinking and flirting with her 35 year old soccer coach. And baby sister Chelsea, the oddest duck in a family of misfits, can only think about dance. Together they form Team Terminal, going to battle their parents’ illnesses and cracking plenty of jokes along the way.
This looks like a solid fit for both. Levine knows how to handle this kind of material, and Teller has plenty of experience bringing levity to otherwise serious films. Plus it will be a welcome break from the blockbuster-sized films he's been part of lately, such as Fantastic Four and The Divergent Series. Levine's last project was the zombie romance, Warm Bodies, and he's currently shooting a Christmas comedy with Seth Rogen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Anthony Mackie.
