The Skeleton Twins

PRODUCTION NOTES

Starring

Bill Hader

Kristen Wiig

Luke Wilson

Ty Burrell

Boyd Holbrook

Joanna Gleason

Directed by Craig Johnson

Written by Craig Johnson and Mark Heyman

Produced by Stephanie Langhoff, Jennifer Lee, Jacob Pechenik

Executive Producers Mark Duplass, Jay Duplass, Jared Ian Goldman

A Duplass Brothers Production

A Venture Forth Production

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The Skeleton Twins

Cast

Milo Dean Bill Hader

Maggie Dean Kristen Wiig

Lance Luke Wilson

Rich Ty Burrell

Billy Boyd Holbrook

Judy Joanna Gleason

Carlie Kathleen Rose Perkins

Dr. Linda Essex Adriane Lenox

Crew

Director Craig Johnson

Screenplay Craig Johnson and Mark Heyman

Producer Stephanie Langhoff

Jennifer Lee

Jacob Pechenik

Executive Producer Mark Duplass

Jay Duplass

Jared Ian Goldman

Director of Photography Reed Morano, ASC

Production Designer Ola Maslik

Editor Jennifer Lee

Music Nathan Larson

Music Supervision Randall Poster

Meghan Currier

Costume Designer Kaela Wohl

Casting Avy Kaufman, CSA

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The Skeleton Twins

Logline

When estranged twins Maggie and Milo feel they‟re at the end of their ropes, an unexpected

reunion forces them to confront why their lives went so wrong. As the twins reconnect, they

realize the key to fixing their lives may just lie in repairing their relationship.

Short Synopsis

After many years of estrangement, twins Maggie and Milo lead separate lives on opposite sides

of the country. When both feel that they're at the end of their ropes, an unexpected reunion forces

them to confront how their lives went so wrong. For Maggie, that means re-examining her

marriage to sweet “nature frat boy” Lance and her own self-destructive tendencies, while Milo

must face the pain of an early heartbreak he never quite got past. As the twins‟ reunion

reinvigorates them both, they realize the key to fixing their lives just may lie in accepting the

past and mending their relationship with each other.

Long Synopsis

As children, Maggie and Milo Dean seemed inseparable. But tragedy hit their family as

teenagers when their father died, sending them on different paths, and ultimately leading to a

decade-long estrangement. Now in their thirties, another set of near-tragedies brings them

together. Melancholic Milo (Bill Hader), a frustrated actor with no prospects, decides to accept

his sister‟s offer to return to their hometown in bucolic upstate New York. However, he‟s

unaware that Maggie (Kristen Wiig) herself is barely holding it together, secretly unhappy

despite her loving husband Lance (Luke Wilson).

At first, the bond between the twins is tentative: A surprise visit from their mother (Joanna

Gleason), a new-age practitioner who refuses to recognize her children‟s pain, only seems to

amplify just how little Maggie and Milo have recovered from the events of their childhood.

Secretly Maggie and Milo separately seek out relationships that are destined to go nowhere.

Maggie enjoys the flirtatious attention of her hunky Australian SCUBA instructor (Boyd

Holbrook) a little too much, sabotaging her interest in having a baby with Lance.

Meanwhile, Milo meets up with his first love, Rich (Ty Burrell). After their father‟s death, Milo

(as an older teenager) had an affair with Rich, his high-school English teacher – a scandal that

drove brother and sister apart. At first, Rich is seemingly happy with a girlfriend and grown son

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and resents Milo‟s sudden return. Desperate to get his former lover‟s attention, Milo pretends to

be successful and happy, which is enough to get Rich to consider rekindling their romance.

With painful wounds that only the other can understand, Milo and Maggie grow closer as they

try to guide each other through this newest set of secrets. But as the hurt from the past catches up

to the confusion in the present, their special bond is put to the test once again. They bring out not

only the best in each other, but also the worst, and they are each desperate to avoid owning their

own mistakes. Eventually Milo and Maggie grow to understand that living truthfully and sharing

their lives with each other, pain and all, is the only way they can move forward and reclaim the

happiness they once enjoyed together.

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Director’s Statement

The Skeleton Twins is about a brother and sister and their strange, messy, beautiful, funny,

volatile relationship. At its core, it's a love story: Maggie and Milo meet essentially as strangers

and then discover, or, in this case, re-discover their love for each other. But what interested me

most about this story were the small ways in which brothers and sisters interact, reflect each

other and connect – specifically through humor.

I am very close to my sister and, even though we are wildly different people, we share an offbeat

sense of humor. My sister can make me laugh in almost any situation, light or dark, and I wanted

that sensibility to infuse Maggie and Milo‟s relationship. More than their common history, more

than the mutual feeling that they've screwed up their lives, more than their shared taste in 80s

music, it is their ability to crack each other up, often in the face of tragic circumstances, that

bonds them together.

This bittersweet dynamic is key to the tone of the film. I wanted the The Skeleton Twins to feel

like real life in all its messiness and unpredictability. That means it needed to be both funny and

sad, often within the same scene. These kinds of contradictions help to humanize the characters

and create a film world that is recognizable – perhaps painfully so.

Maggie and Milo are damaged, prickly, sardonic, and self-obsessed. But they are also passionate,

generous, hopeful, and full of love. And, most of all, they‟re funny. The moment we are about to

judge them, they come through with acts of grace and humor that disarm us – and remind us not

only of our own brothers and sisters, but of ourselves. We're all struggling against life in our own

ways, and if you can't face the darkness and chuckle, you're done for.

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The Skeleton Twins

About the Production

Poet Maya Angelou writes “I don‟t believe accident of birth makes people sisters or brothers.

Sisterhood and brotherhood is a condition people have to work at.”

That‟s definitely the case for twins Milo (Bill Hader) and Maggie Dean (Kristen Wiig). An

almost impossibly close bond as children brought them together through very dark times

surrounding their father‟s death. But that same bond was shattered as the events of the

subsequent few years made them realize that truly being there for each other in the most critical

moment can be an impossible task, even for the closest of siblings. After a decade of not talking

to each other, circumstances bring them back together in a poignant and painfully funny drama

that director and co-writer Craig Johnson calls “a love story between a brother and a sister.” The

Skeleton Twins delicately balances two lifetimes of pain, regret, and loss with a buoyant and

joyful celebration of two people rediscovering themselves and each other just at the right time.

It also features eye-opening and powerful dramatic performances from several actors better

known for their comedic abilities. Inspired by the witty and emotionally resonant real-life dramas

of filmmakers like Alexander Payne, Lisa Cholodenko, and Noah Baumbach, Johnson and co-

writer Mark Heyman knew they wanted to tell a story that would make audiences both laugh and

cry while identifying with familiar and flawed characters. It was nearly a decade ago when, as

graduate students at NYU‟s Tisch School of the Arts film program, the idea first occurred to

them. “We‟d written kind of a broad, dopey comedy, and really enjoyed the process of working

together,” says Johnson. “We sat down in a coffee shop and said, let‟s write a movie that is real

and sad and funny and unique, and we started throwing around ideas.”

The germ of the screenplay would come from Heyman‟s suggestion to revisit an incident from

his own teenage life in New Mexico, when one of his peers alleged to have had a relationship

with a teacher. “It was clearly inappropriate,” Heyman remembers, “but the student was almost

eighteen and the teacher was very young, so it was just on the edge of „almost acceptable,‟” he

says, explaining how he thought the situation might make for a compelling backstory.

The idea quickly resonated with Johnson, whose parents had both worked as teachers. But in

order to flesh out the situation, they needed more. “We came up with the idea that there had been

a sibling who interfered in the relationship,” says Johnson. “Eventually, we realized we were

more interested in that brother-sister relationship, and the affair with the teacher became

secondary.”

The screenplay went through several drafts over the course of a few years and was put aside to

gestate as Johnson and Heyman both continued on their individual journeys as film

professionals. Johnson made his first feature, True Adolescents, starring actor/writer/producer

Mark Duplass, while Heyman worked as an executive for filmmaker Darren Aronofsky, co-

producing The Wrestler and writing Black Swan.

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But neither forgot about The Skeleton Twins, and Johnson eventually asked Duplass to come

aboard as an executive producer. “He loved the script and agreed to help produce, and that really

legitimized the project.” One of Duplass‟ first choices was to bring aboard Avy Kaufman, one of

the industry‟s busiest, best connected, and shrewdest casting directors. “We always knew that

we‟d need a significant cast to get this movie off the ground,” says Johnson, acknowledging that

the sometimes-sensitive subject matter set the project apart from the usual Hollywood fare.

Kaufman suggested Bill Hader to play the part of Milo. “Bill had not been on my radar,”

remembers Johnson. “Of course, I loved him but I knew him from Saturday Night Live and all of

the very broad comedies he‟d made. I‟d never seen him do anything that was subtle. Fortunately,

Avy had just seen him do a table read of a film with Kate Winslet and Paul Dano, and she said

Bill was one of the most effective and nuanced actors there.” Once Hader, Johnson, and the

film‟s producers met in New York, a decision was made very quickly. “When I met Bill, I

instantly had this image of Milo as a sweet, shy nerd who really wanted to be an actor. We talked

about how Milo is gay, but how that is really secondary to his identity after his failed ambitions

and trouble with his sister. By the time we left the meeting, we all felt unanimously that Bill was

the one we wanted.”

Hader knew that the screenplay required actors with strong comedic instincts – there are scenes

where Milo tries to cheer up his sister with an elaborately choreographed lip-synch, and where

they crack each other up while huffing nitrous oxide at the office where Maggie works as a

dental hygienist. But the opportunity to frame those funnier moments in the context of two

family members going through so much emotional turmoil was what really attracted him to the

project. “No one knows more about you than your siblings, and Milo and Maggie have this great

tragedy together,” says Hader, who admits that he drew upon the character‟s emotional life from

his own close relationship to two sisters. “At the beginning of the film, he‟s just in this incredibly

lonely place and he wants to reach out to his sister without asking.”

Knowing how easily the story‟s balance of serious drama and hopeful comedy could be

disrupted, Johnson and the film‟s producing team rounded out the cast with several actors who

are known as powerhouses in the comedy world. “I find that comic actors are able to transition to

drama much easier than dramatic actors can do comedy,” says Johnson. “Some of my favorite

movies are the ones where comedic actors are recontextualized, like Adam Sandler in Punch

Drunk Love or Jim Carrey in The Truman Show.”

Their search for an actor to play the complicated role of Maggie ended with Kristen Wiig, one of

the industry‟s most in-demand actresses due to her brilliant instincts, comic precision, and strong

writing abilities.

Before Wiig had even been approached, Hader had excitedly told his SNL colleague about the

script. “I loved how Bill described the character and the story,” remembers Wiig today. “I read it

and instantly knew I wanted to do it. Maggie is half got-it-together, half total train wreck. She

has a difficult relationship with her mom, because of her father‟s death, she looks at the world a

certain way, and she hasn‟t spoken to her brother in ten years. So she‟s had loss after loss after

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loss. Now she‟s with Lance because on paper he is perfect and she loves him, but mentally she

has some things to figure out before she can stay with someone.”

Despite their tenure together on SNL, Wiig and Hader still managed to surprise each other on set.

“It has been a dream – Bill and I had been working together for seven years, but this film is so

completely different, and I‟ve seen a side of him I‟ve never really seen,” says Wiig. “Before we

did this we were very close. I always considered him like a brother, so being able to play these

two complicated people has been very rewarding.”

Hader, for his part, thinks the same of Wiig. “Working with Kristen, she just makes you better,”

Hader says. “It‟s just not fair how talented she is. We‟ve known each other for years so once she

was cast, we didn‟t have to do too much – that nitrous oxide scene, embarrassingly, is pretty

much how Kristen and I are around each other all the time. She‟s essentially my sister. But just

watching her work, it‟s amazing that I‟ve known her for so long and she can still do things that

surprise me. I will watch her and say „Wow, you can do that? I thought I knew all your moves,

and I don‟t!”

The chemistry between Wiig and Hader was crucial for Johnson, who is very close to his own

sister. “My sister isn‟t that much different from Kristen Wiig in terms of temperament or sense

of humor, and we‟ve always connected through our very strange, shared sense of humor. I think

that‟s become one of the most present elements of the movie, how a brother and sister can

connect through humor. Bill and Kristen are such dear friends in real life that they have a

brother-sister type relationship, and that‟s not something a director can manufacture.”

While Johnson believes in sticking closely to a script, casting performers with strong comedic

backgrounds allowed him to give them room to bring their own sensibilities and interpretations

to the dialogue. “Even in scenes where I wanted them to do the script very much as written, I‟d

always want them to riff on the lines, to embellish them, to throw in their own stuff, because it

makes the movie feel more authentic and natural – and much, much funnier,” he says.

Perhaps no one exemplifies this more in The Skeleton Twins than Luke Wilson, who chose to

play the part of Maggie‟s husband Lance like “a Labrador retriever – upbeat, friendly, you can

yell at him and two minutes later he‟s forgotten that you‟re mad.” Lance‟s presence is largely

humorous counterpoint in the story – his exuberant love of life, food, and his wife seem almost

ridiculously naïve given the tragedy shared by the other characters. But Wilson appreciates the

important part Lance plays in the twins‟ difficult journey. “Lance is smart enough to know that

he‟s lucky to be with Maggie, but not quite sharp enough to know that he‟s not giving her what

she needs. He‟s smart enough to know that Maggie and Milo have a deep bond, but that they are

totally different people from the kind he‟s used to.”

Wilson‟s comedic instincts wowed everyone on set – including his co-stars Wiig and Hader.

“Luke blew Bill and Kristen‟s mind just a little bit – from an improv comedy perspective, he

matched them with bells on,” says Johnson. “Luke is amazing,” agrees Wiig. “He‟s got such a

sweet, genuine, „I love life‟ vibe, which is very much like Lance.” “Working with Luke Wilson

is like a dream, because like a lot of people I‟ve been a huge fan of his since Bottle Rocket,” says

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Hader. “He‟s taken this part and made it his own thing – he‟s constantly improvising and making

it fresh, constantly inventing, constantly trying things out.”

The producers faced a tougher casting challenge with the very serious role of Rich, the onetime

high school teacher whose life was changed when he and a teenaged Milo fell in love. “It was

crucial that we find someone who could bring an innate compassion and humanity to a character

audiences might otherwise be very quick to condemn,” says Johnson. “What Rich did was

inexcusable, but we didn‟t want to just paint him in black and white.” Though now known for his

acclaimed role as Phil Dunphy on the award-winning sitcom Modern Family, Ty Burrell‟s

resume features work in all genres, so the producers knew that he‟d bring great care to the part of

Rich. For Burrell, the challenge of playing a man whose misguided passions for a minor almost

ruined him was impossible to resist. “I‟ve played repressed characters before,” he says, “but

never anyone who was quite so scared. And that combination scared me as an actor, which is

always a good sign. Rich is a good person and I think his view of what makes a good person is

very locked into religion and his upbringing. He wants to be a good person, he is very well-

intentioned, but he wants to treat Milo well, so he‟s kind of trapped.”

Burrell was also drawn to working with the cast. “Bill Hader is a genius,” he enthuses. “I‟d seen

him in enough things aside from Saturday Night Live to know that he‟s a really good actor, really

smart and subtle, and he‟s so good in this movie, it‟s incredible. It doesn‟t surprise me but it will

be a cool thing for people to see.” Hader was equally enthused about working with Burrell, but

for slightly different reasons. “Working with Ty is a huge honor, and how he played the part was

so great,” says Hader.

One of the film‟s other critical supporting roles is that of Judy, the twins‟ mother and a new-age

devotee living in Sedona. Heyman says the inspiration for Judy came from growing up in Santa

Fe, which has an active new-age community. “My mom ran a company that put on „insight

seminars,‟ something that Judy is doing in the film,” he says. “My mom is not very much like

Judy, but my childhood was filled with people like that, very huggy, but with a hollowness.”

Tony Award-winning actress Joanna Gleason brought the character to life with precision and bite

in a crucial scene early in the film. “Joanna just nailed it in terms of the kinds of minds those

people have,” says Heyman. “She even corrected the script regarding a line about which chakra

the character was talking about. She really understands people in that world.” Johnson agrees,

also crediting her theater background for breathing life into the character: “Joanna has this

professional, performative-sounding voice, and that‟s perfect for the character. She‟s trying to

perform the role of this loving and healing mom, but she‟s also a deeply selfish woman. Joanna

elevated the character in a way that was needed for her to come across as real.”

Judy‟s vocal display of her spirituality seems to negate the pain that her children have suffered,

bringing Maggie and Milo into even sharper focus. Scenes that show their moments of

reconnection suggest shared coping mechanisms from their past. One of the biggest depictions of

this dynamic comes in the form of a lip-synch performance Milo uses to pull Maggie out of a

particularly dark mood. “I knew that we needed that moment to reflect a time when they were

kids and did crazy stuff together like lip-synch uplifting pop anthems,” explains Johnson. The

problem came when Kristen Wiig was cast in the film – because the song that Johnson and

Heyman initially chose was “Hold On” by Wilson Phillips, which is featured very prominently in

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Wiig‟s blockbuster hit Bridesmaids. “I had to spend a very funny 48 hours listening to every pop

ballad from the 80s, and I was lip-synching all of them in the mirror to try to get an idea of what

it would look like,” remembers Johnson with a laugh. Eventually, he settled on “Nothing‟s

Gonna Stop Us Now” by Starship: “It‟s the perfect song lyrically, but it‟s also a duet between a

man and a woman, so it gives Milo all of this time to try to get Maggie to sing along with him

and sing the Grace Slick part. He needs a full two verses to amp up his game and we really see

her struggle before she finally joins in.”

Principal photography lasted for 22 tightly scheduled days. “Even with 22 days, it was an

absolute dream shoot,” remembers Johnson. “It was so much fun that after day two or three, I

thought to myself „Wow, things are really going okay!‟ I didn‟t dare say it out loud, but by the

last couple of days we were all saying it!” “It‟s a dream,” says Hader. “It‟s only Craig‟s second

movie, it‟s a low budget movie on a tight schedule, but you‟d never know it. It‟s so relaxed and it

all comes from the top down. The whole crew has been joyous, it‟s like you never want it to

end.” Luke Wilson agrees: “Craig is really thoughtful and funny and I think there‟s a certain

power that comes with being laid back – that calmness that comes from being confident, which

he definitely has.”

For Hader, Johnson‟s passion for the characters are what made the process so gratifying. “He

cares so much about these two people,” says Hader. “He hates watching scenes where we fight,

hates seeing the characters when they are down. And it means the world when Craig comes up to

me after a scene and says „you nailed that.‟”

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The Skeleton Twins

About the Cast

BILL HADER (Milo)

Actor, writer, comedian, producer, and repertory player, Bill Hader performed for eight seasons

as a regular cast member on NBC‟s venerable comedy institution Saturday Night Live. Originally

from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Hader earned two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor

in a Comedy Series.

On screen, Hader‟s many hits include Judd Apatow‟s Knocked Up and the Apatow-produced

Superbad, both released in 2007. The following year he appeared in Forgetting Sarah Marshall

with Jason Segel, Pineapple Express with Seth Rogen, and beside a manic Tom Cruise in Ben

Stiller‟s blockbuster Tropic Thunder. He reunited with Stiller to appear in Night at the Museum:

Battle of the Smithsonian, and then with Superbad director Greg Mottola and SNL castmate

Kristen Wiig for Adventureland. His third film with Mottola was Paul with Wiig, Rogen, and

Simon Pegg. Hader also co-starred with Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in Men in Black 3,

and appeared in You, Me, and Dupree and Hot Rod.

Hader has also voiced several animated characters. Films include Cloudy with a Chance of

Meatballs and its sequel; Turbo; Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs; Doogal; and Hoodwinked

Too! Hood vs. Evil. He will be heard next in Pixar‟s The Good Dinosaur and Inside Out.

In 2013 Hader appeared in the CBS Films comedy The To Do List, written and directed by his

wife Maggie Carey, and co-starring Andy Samberg, Rachel Bilson, and Aubrey Plaza. Hader

was also seen recently opposite Larry David in HBO‟s Clear History. As a producer on Comedy

Central‟s South Park, he won an Emmy Award in 2009. A Second City Los Angeles alum,

Hader currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife and their two daughters.

KRISTEN WIIG (Maggie)

One of the most sought-after actresses of her generation, Kristen Wiig can most recently be seen

in The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty, in which she stars opposite director Ben Stiller. In 2014, Wiig

will star in the comedic IFC television miniseries, The Spoils Of Babylon, written and directed by

Matt Piedmont and Andrew Steele, produced by Funny or Die, and executive produced by Will

Ferrell. Wiig co-stars opposite Tobey Maguire, Tim Robbins, and Michael Sheen.

This spring Wiig will also star in the IFC dramatic film Hateship Loveship, directed by Liza

Johnson and starring Guy Pearce, Nick Nolte, and Hailee Steinfeld. She recently wrapped

production on Welcome To Me, directed by Shira Piven, and Sebastián Silva‟s Nasty Baby.

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In 2012, Wiig finished her seventh and final season as a cast member on NBC‟s revered show

Saturday Night Live. During her time on SNL, Wiig received four Emmy nominations for

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, playing such memorable characters as the

excitable Target Lady, Lawrence Welk singer Doonese, the irritating one-upper Penelope, House

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Suze Orman. In 2013 Wiig was also nominated for Outstanding

Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her return as guest host.

In 2011, Wiig starred in the critically acclaimed breakout film Bridesmaids, which she co-wrote

with Annie Mumolo, and for which she was nominated for an Academy Award, Writers Guild of

America Award, and BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay. Directed by Paul Feig and

produced by Wiig and Judd Apatow, Bridesmaids is Apatow‟s highest-grossing production and

is the top R-rated female comedy of all time. Wiig was also nominated for a Golden Globe for

Lead Actress in a Comedy or Musical, and the film was nominated for Best Motion Picture –

Comedy or Musical. The film also received a SAG nomination for Outstanding Performance by

a Cast in a Motion Picture.

Other film credits include Apatow‟s smash-hit comedy Knocked Up; Girl Most Likely, directed

by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini; Friends With Kids, written and directed by

Jennifer Westfeldt; Greg Mottola‟s Paul and Adventureland, with Ryan Reynolds, Kristen

Stewart, Jesse Eisenberg, and Bill Hader; All Good Things with Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst;

MacGruber; Mike Judge‟s Extract with Jason Bateman, Ben Affleck, and Mila Kunis; Drew

Barrymore‟s Whip It!, starring Ellen Page; David Keopp‟s Ghost Town with Ricky Gervais; and

Jake Kasdan‟s Walk Hard, another Apatow-produced film in which she starred opposite John C.

Reilly. Voice acting credits include the Cartoon Network's reboot of The Looney Tunes Show and

the animated feature films Despicable Me with Steve Carell and Jason Segel; Despicable Me 2;

and How To Train Your Dragon with Gerard Butler and Jay Baruchel. Wiig has also guest-

starred in the Emmy-winning NBC series 30 Rock, HBO‟s Bored To Death, and The Flight Of

The Conchords.

A native of Rochester, New York, Wiig worked as a Main Company Member of the Los

Angeles-based improv/sketch troupe The Groundlings. She currently resides in New York City.

LUKE WILSON (Lance)

Born in Dallas and the youngest of three brothers who would go on to make careers in film, Luke

Wilson discovered his love of acting while a student at Occidental College. In 1993, the brothers

Wilson collaborated with Wes Anderson to make “Bottle Rocket,” a 13-minute short that

premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. After attracting the attention of James L. Brooks, the

short became a full-length feature film. Afterwards, Wilson moved to Hollywood, setting up

house with his two brothers and Anderson.

Wilson‟s dozens of credits since include the indie classic The Royal Tenenbaums; the Legally

Blonde films with Reese Witherspoon; the Charlie’s Angels films; Old School; Blades of Glory;

Anchorman with Will Ferrell; Mike Judge‟s Idiocracy; the western 3:10 to Yuma; and Neil

Labute‟s Death at a Funeral.

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On television, Wilson appeared in several episodes of That 70’s Show and recently co-starred

with Laura Dern in the acclaimed HBO series Enlightened. His upcoming projects include Dear

Eleanor, directed by Kevin Connolly; Ride, written and directed by Helen Hunt; and the

animated Tibetan Rock Dog. In 2005, Wilson wrote, starred in, and co-directed (with his brother

Andrew) The Wendell Baker Story co-starring Jessica Alba and Seymour Cassel.

TY BURRELL (Rich)

With a range of performances across television, contemporary film, and classic theater, award-

winning Ty Burrell continues to prove himself as one of the finest and most versatile actors

today. He is currently starring in the fifth season of ABC‟s Emmy Award-winning hit Modern

Family as Phil Dunphy. For his work on the show, he has won an Emmy Award (with four total

nominations), the Monte Carlo International Television Festival Award, a Critic‟s Choice

Award, a Comedy Central Award, and four SAG Award Nominations. The show has also earned

SAG Awards for Outstanding Ensemble three years in a row.

Burrell will next lend his voice to a whale named Bailey in the Disney/Pixar sequel Finding

Dory opposite Diane Keaton and Ellen DeGeneres. He also recently wrapped production voicing

the lead role in the DreamWorks Animation 3D feature Mr. Peabody and Sherman. Recently he

appeared with Ricky Gervais, Tina Fey, and the Muppets in Muppets Most Wanted. He is

currently working with ABC on a new show, which he is writing and co-executive producing

with his brother Duncan.

Previous screen credits include Butter with Jennifer Garner; Christopher Neil‟s Goats; Morning

Glory with Harrison Ford and Diane Keaton; The Incredible Hulk with Edward Norton; National

Treasure 2 with Nicolas Cage; Fur with Nicole Kidman and Robert Downey Jr.; Nicole

Holofcener‟s Friends with Money; Finn Taylor‟s The Darwin Awards; Down in the Valley with

Norton and Evan Rachel Wood; the Weitz‟ brothers‟ In Good Company; Ridley Scott‟s Black

Hawk Down; the remake of Dawn of the Dead; and Ivan Reitman‟s Evolution. Previous

television credits include the Fox sitcom Back to You with Kelsey Grammar; the CBS sitcom Out

of Practice with Stockard Channing; and guest appearances on Damages, The West Wing, Law

and Order, and Comedy Central‟s Key and Peele.

Stage credits include rave reviews for the Royal Court Theatre‟s London production of Caryl

Churchill's Drunk Enough to Say I Love You. Burrell‟s extensive Broadway and Off-Broadway

theater credits also include the highly acclaimed Signature Theater production of Burn This

opposite Edward Norton, Catherine Keener, and Dallas Roberts; Lord Buckingham in the Public

Theater‟s production of Shakespeare‟s Richard III opposite Peter Dinklage and directed by Peter

DuBois; and starring opposite Debra Monk and Judy Greer in Paul Weitz‟s Show People,

directed by Peter Askin at Second Stage Theater.

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BOYD HOLBROOK (Billy)

Quickly amassing an impressive resume of diverse roles, Boyd Holbrook has starred opposite

some of the most well-respected actors in Hollywood. He will next be seen in Sara Colangelo‟s

Little Accidents opposite Elizabeth Banks and Chloe Sevigny. He is currently in production on

Universal Pictures‟ A Walk Among the Tombstones with Liam Neeson and directed by Scott

Frank. Holbrook is also set to star opposite Terrence Howard and Thomas Hayden Church in the

indie drama Cardboard Boxer.

He recently completed work on David Fincher‟s Gone Girl; Jane Got a Gun, with Natalie

Portman and Ewan McGregor; and Terrence Malick‟s Untitled Project, opposite Ryan Gosling,

Christian Bale, Michael Fassbender, Portman, and Rooney Mara. Other credits include Scott

Cooper‟s Out of the Furnace with Christian Bale and Zoe Saldana, Andrew Niccol‟s The Host;

Very Good Girls with Elizabeth Olsen, Dakota Fanning, and Peter Saarsgard; Vera Farmiga‟s

Higher Ground, and Gus Van Sant‟s Milk.

In television, Holbrook had a prominent role in Steven Soderbergh‟s acclaimed Liberace biopic

for HBO, Behind the Candelabra, opposite Michael Douglas and Matt Damon. Other television

credits include Kevin Reynold‟s Hatfields & McCoys, and Showtime‟s The Big C.

Holbrook is also an avid sculptor and has exhibited at various locations, including the Rare

Gallery in New York.

JOANNA GLEASON (Judy)

Joanna Gleason‟s credits range from Broadway to feature films to television series. On

Broadway, she was the recipient of a Best Actress Tony Award, A Drama Desk Award, and an

Outer Critic‟s Award for her performance in Stephen Sondheim‟s Into the Woods. She also

received Tony nominations for her performance in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Joe Egg. Notable

televisions credits include recurring roles on The West Wing, Friends, ER, How to Make it in

America, King of the Hill, and The Good Wife. Her feature film credits include Woody

Allen‟s Crimes and Misdemeanors and Hannah and her Sisters, as well as Boogie Nights, My

Sassy Girl, and The Wedding Planner. Most recently, she can be seen in Last Vegas.

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The Skeleton Twins

About the Filmmakers

CRAIG JOHNSON (Director / Screenplay)

Craig Johnson‟s first feature film True Adolescents, starring Mark Duplass and Melissa Leo,

premiered at the 2009 SXSW Film Festival. He has written two films for 20th Century Fox and

was a member of the inaugural Fox Writer's Studio. He holds an MFA from New York

University‟s graduate film program and a BA in Theater from The University of Washington.

The Skeleton Twins is his second feature.

MARK HEYMAN (Screenplay)

Mark Heyman was born and raised in Santa Fe. After attending NYU‟s graduate film program,

he worked as the director of development for filmmaker Darren Aronofsky. He was a co-

producer on The Wrestler and writer on Black Swan. He currently resides in Los Angeles, and is

working on an adaptation of the novel Syndrome E for Indian Paintbrush and an original

screenplay, Look At Me, which will mark his feature directing debut.

STEPHANIE LANGHOFF (Producer)

Stephanie Langhoff is producing partners with Jay and Mark Duplass. Together they have

worked on the brothers‟ films Jeff, Who Lives at Home and The Do-Deca Pentathlon, as well as

Colin Trevorrow‟s Safety Not Guaranteed. Currently the team is in production on season one of

Togetherness, which the brothers are writing and directing for HBO. Langhoff is a former

executive at Revolution Studios in New York, where she served as a producer on Perfect

Stranger, American Girl on the Home Front, and An American Girl Adventure. Prior to her

career in film, Langhoff worked as an investment banker after graduating from the University of

Virginia.

JENNIFER LEE (Producer / Editor)

A producer with an editor‟s eye, Jennifer Lee uses her deep knowledge of story to guide creative

choices that span from script development to technical finish. Film and TV editing credits

include Union Square, Arcadia, True Adolescents, Small, Beautifully Moving Parts, Gun Hill

Road, and DL Hughley: The Endangered List, which won a Peabody. A graduate of Columbia

University, Lee is a former editor for Marvel and DC Comics. She lives in New York with her

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husband, comics illustrator Cliff Chiang, and their son.

JACOB PECHENIK (Producer)

Jacob Pechenik is the Founder and President of Venture Forth, a production and finance

company that supports high-quality and impactful independent films. Jacob collaborates at all

stages in a project‟s life cycle, offering tailored financing options as well as developing films

from the ground up. His credits include Richard Linklater‟s Before Midnight and the upcoming

Black and White, starring Kevin Costner and Octavia Spencer, and Rock the Kasbah, starring

Bill Murray.

MARK DUPLASS & JAY DUPLASS (Executive Producers)

After a series of micro-budget Sundance shorts in 2003 and 2004, Jay and Mark Duplass

premiered their first feature The Puffy Chair at Sundance in 2005. The film was nominated for

two Independent Spirit Awards, won the Emerging Vision Award at the SXSW Film Festival,

and was jointly distributed by Roadside Attractions and Netflix. The brothers‟ second effort

Baghead was distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. In 2010, Fox Searchlight released their

Jonah Hill and John C. Reilly dramedy Cyrus, which was followed by the 2012 Paramount

Vantage release of Jeff Who Lives At Home, starring Jason Segel, Ed Helms, and Susan

Sarandon. 2012 also saw the Fox Searchlight release of The Do-Deca-Pentathlon.

Under their Duplass Brothers Productions banner, Jay and Mark have also produced several

acclaimed and award-winning films: Colin Trevorrow‟s Safety Not Guaranteed, Katie Aselton‟s

Black Rock and The Freebie, Jacob Vaughan‟s Bad Milo, and the upcoming films The One I

Love, Creep, and Brother’s Keeper. Currently the Duplasses are producing, writing, and

directing the HBO show Togetherness, which will premiere in early 2015.

JARED IAN GOLDMAN (Executive Producer)

Jared Goldman‟s recent features include Brother's Keeper, directed by Ross Katz and starring

Rose Byrne, Nick Kroll, and Bobby Cannavale; Rob Reiner‟s And So It Goes starring Michael

Douglas and Diane Keaton; and John Krokidas‟ Kill Your Darlings starring Daniel Radcliffe and

Dane DeHaan. Other projects include Jonathan Levine‟s The Wackness starring Sir Ben Kingsley

and Manda Bala (Send A Bullet) directed by Jason Kohn. Goldman worked at GreeneStreet

Films and Miramax Films. He is a member of the PGA, DGA, and a graduate of the University

of Pennsylvania.

REED MORANO, ASC (Director of Photography)

Reed Morano is one of only eleven female members of the distinguished American Society of

Cinematographers. She was the recipient of the Kodak Vision Award for Cinematography and

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named one of Variety‟s “10 Cinematographers to Watch.” Credits include Kill Your Darlings,

The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete, Little Birds, Shut Up and Play the Hits, For Ellen, Rob

Reiner‟s The Magic of Belle Isle, and Frozen River, which was nominated for two Academy

Awards and seven Independent Spirit Awards. Upcoming works include War Story, starring

Catherine Keener and Sir Ben Kingsley, Reiner‟s And So It Goes, and the new original HBO

series Looking, directed by Andrew Haigh.

OLA MASLIK (Production Designer)

Ola Maslik has been designing sets for theater, television, and narrative features for the past ten

years. Her work was recently featured in May in the Summer, directed by Cherien Dabis, Chris

Nelson‟s Ass Backwards, and Ryan O'Nan‟s Brooklyn Brother Beat The Best. Maslik recently

wrapped on the Untitled Marc Lawrence/Hugh Grant Comedy, starring Hugh Grant, Marissa

Tomei, Allison Janney, and J.K. Simmons. She holds an MFA in Graphic Design from the

Academy of Fine Arts and an MFA from the Yale School of Drama. Originally from Poland,

Maslik was nominated by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage to serve as an expert at

the Polish Film Institute. She lives with her husband in New York City.

NATHAN LARSON (Music)

Nathan Larson is a NYC-based producer, performer, and writer of music and prose. He

cut his teeth on punk rock, and in the 1990s was the guitarist for math-rockers Shudder

To Think. His substantial credits in film include Boys Don’t Cry, Todd Solondz‟s

Palindromes, songs for Todd Haynes‟ Velvet Goldmine, Lilja 4-Ever, Stephen Frears‟s

Dirty Pretty Things, The Messenger, and The Woodsman. Recent projects include Margin

Call, Our Idiot Brother, and God’s Pocket.

KAELA WOHL (Costume Designer)

Kaela Wohl was born and raised in rural Wisconsin. She currently lives in New York and

designs costumes for feature films and television. Recent credits include the upcoming season of

Comedy Central‟s Inside Amy Schumer and the feature film Staten Island Summer featuring

Saturday Night Live cast members Bobby Moynihan, Fred Armisen, and Cecily Strong.

AVY KAUFMAN, CSA (Casting)

Avy Kaufman is a New York-based casting director and proud mother of two sons. She has

worked with directors Ang Lee, Robert Redford, Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott, Michael Mann,

Jodie Foster, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Wong Kar Wai. Films she has cast include Life Of

Pi, Lincoln, Prometheus, The Company You Keep, Keep The Lights On, Shame, Brokeback

Mountain, Capote, The Sixth Sense, Dancer in the Dark, and American Gangster. In 2008

Kaufman won an Emmy for her work on Showtime‟s Damages. The recipient of several Artios

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awards from her colleagues in the Casting Society of America, Kaufman is also featured in

Helena Lumme‟s book Great Women Of Film.

18

The Skeleton Twins

Full Credits

1st Assistant Director Joseph Ciccarella

2nd Assistant Director Anne-Marie Dentici

Associate Producer Roxie Rodriguez

Cast

Milo Dean Bill Hader

Maggie Dean Kristen Wiig

Lance Luke Wilson

Rich Ty Burrell

Billy Boyd Holbrook

Judy Joanna Gleason

Carlie Kathleen Rose Perkins

Dr. Linda Essex Adriane Lenox

Young Maggie Sydney Lucas

Young Milo Eddie Schweighardt

Eric Paul Castro, Jr.

Cullen Benjamin McGowan

Bar Woman Jennifer Smith

Store Manager Genevieve Adams

Security Officer Truck Hudson

Police Officer Cliff Moylan

Stunt Coordinator Chris Barnes

Scuba Dive Instructor Mike Carew

Diver Terry Lorino

Underwater Director of Photography Reed Morano, ASC

Set Decorator Lauren DeTitta

Property Master Jessie Katz

Script Supervisor Leslie Zak

Camera Operator Reed Morano, ASC

A-Camera Operator Afton Grant, SOC

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1st Assistant Camera George Tur

2nd Assistant Camera/Additional Camera

Operator Frank Larson

DIT Charlie Anderson

Sound Mixer Anton Gold

Boom Operator Max Stein

Department Head Makeup Leo Won

Department Head Hair Valerie Velez

Tattoos Designed by Chad Fay

Costume Supervisor Tamika Jackson

Costume Assistants Chanda Young

Sammie Seda

Location Manager Andrew Poppoon

Assistant Location Manager Kara Janeczko

Locations Assistant Samantha Furtado

Parking Coordinator Derek Pastures

Locations Production Assistant Serrantos Madimenos

Production Supervisor Joaquin Prange

Production Coordinator Gilana Lobel

Production Accountant Phil LoGrippo

Production Secretary Benton Ferguson

Office Production Assistant Evan Cathcart

Assistant to Mr. Johnson Zachary Coker

Assistant to Ms. Wiig Taryn Benesta

Assistant to Mr. Wilson Charley Lodi

Gaffer Zach Sullivan

Best Boy Electric Manuel Moreno

Electrician Bert Montanari

Electrician Brigid Swanick

Key Grip Rob Harlow

Best Boy Grip Abraham Altbuch

Dolly Grip Joe Doughan

Art Department Coordinator Emilia Spirito

Assistant Set Decorator Laura Nemesi

Leadman Grant T. Gardner

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Foreman Stephen Phelps

On-Set Dresser Emma McHugh

Set Dressers John Michael Kehoe

Connor Jones

Assistant Property Manager Bridget Rafferty

Set Decoration Production Assistants Ryan Fitzgerald

Keenan Flynn

Art Department Production Assistant Kestrel Michaud

2nd 2nd Assistant Director Dan Gloeckner

Key Set Production Assistant Mike Mushkin

Set Production Assistants Jeri Rafter

Rob Fernandez

Will Durrah

Dylan Charles

Casting Associate Leeba Zakharov

Casting Assistant Jon Goracy

Extras Casting Lee Genick

Dental Consultant Kenneth M. Gewant, D.M.D.

Caterer Edgar Javier Rojas

Chef Steven Mushkin

Craft Service Chris Loughran

Set Medic Michael King

Transportation Captain Joaquin Liddiard

Driver Matt Conklin

Consulting Editor Andy Keir

Associate Editor Hannah Vanderlan

Assistant Editor Emily Freeman

Digital Intermediate by Company 3 New York

Supervising Colorist Tom Poole

Colorist Andrew Geary

Digital Intermediate Producer Colin Davis

Digital Conform John Diesso

Head of Production Nick Monton

Account Executive David Feldman

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Belladonna Productions

Production Executive Linda Moran

Production Legal Services provided by

Gray Krauss Stratford Des Rochers LLP

Jonathan Gray

André Des Rochers

Jesse Fox

Payroll Services Indiepay

Tax Credit Advisory Services Provided by Three Point Capital

Production Insurance provided by Taylor & Taylor, LTD.

Kathy England

Camera Equipment provided by Technological Cinevideo Services, Inc.

Score Produced by Nathan Larson

Score Performed by Nathan Larson

Jon Natchez

Noah Hoffeld

Sarah Lipstate

Score Published by The Music of NATO/BMI

Music Editor Robert Cotnoir, MPSE

Company 3 Executive Producer Stefan Sonnenfeld

Post Sound Services Provided by Great City Post

Managing Director Steve Simons

Project Manager Melissa Kelly

Supervising Sound Editor/Re-recording Mixer Ian Stynes

Sound Designer Matt A. Schoenfeld

Sound Editor Daniel Heffernan

Foley Artist Shaun Brennan

Post Production Accountant/Accounting Clerk Slater Brauns

Post Production Assistant Accountant Karen Cahill

Main and End Titles Designed by Kristyn Hume

Credit Scroll Sean Eno

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“Denis”

Written by Neil Levenson

Performed by Blondie

Published by Minder Music

Courtesy of Capitol Records, LLC under license from Universal Music Enterprises

Selected tracks provided by APM Music

“All Gold”

Written by Alice Russell & Alex Cowan

Performed by Alice Russell

Published by 5mm Publishing

Courtesy of Five Missions More

“Denise”

Written by Neil Levenson

Performed by Randy & The Rainbows

Published by Minder Music

Courtesy of Capitol Records, LLC under license from Universal Music Enterprises

“Easy Baby”

Written by Shana Cleveland, Alice Sandahl, Marian Li Pino, Abbey Blackwell

Performed by La Luz

Published by Phantom Pheelings, Eerie Organ, Marian Li Pino, Abbey Blackwell

Administered by Sub Pop Publishing

Courtesy of Hardly Art

“Nothing‟s Gonna Stop Us Now”

Written by Albert Louis Hammond, Diane Eve Warren

Performed by Starship

Published by Universal Music-MGB Songs on behalf of Ed. Sunset Publ., Inc., RealSongs, Albert Hammond Music

Courtesy of RCA Records Label

By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

“Secret”

Written by Paul David Humphreys

Performed by Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark

Published by BMG Dinsong Ltd. c/o BMG Rights Management (US), LLC

Courtesy of Virgin Records Ltd. under license from Universal Music Enterprises

“The Fog Rose High”

Written by Justin Paul Vallesteros

Performed by Craft Spells

Courtesy of Captured Tracks, LLC

By arrangement with Downtown Records, LLC

“Outer Space”

Written by John Grant

Performed by John Grant

Published by Blue Mountain Music Ltd. / Irish Town Songs o/b/o Showpony Music Ltd.

Courtesy of PIAS Recordings UK Ltd.

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“Life Is For Living”

Written by David Kos Rolfe

Courtesy of Warner/Chappell Production Music

“Swampy Romp”

Written by Peter Neff, Warren Giancaterino

Courtesy of Warner/Chappell Production Music

“Young Hunger”

Written by Hugo Manuel

Performed by Chad Valley

Published by BMG Platinum Songs o/b/o BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd./Happy Hunting Ground Ltd.

All Rights Administered by BMG Rights Management (US), LLC

Courtesy of Cascine

By Arrangement with Terrorbird Media

“Don't Fight”

Music & Lyrics by Donnie Emerson

Performed by Donnie & Joe Emerson

© 1979 Donnie Emerson. Lazy Logger

Worldwide rights administered by Grow Your Own Music, a division of “A” Side Music, LLC

Courtesy of Light In The Attic Records & Distribution, LLC and Don Emerson Sr.

Thank you:

David Christiansson Cornelia Klapper

Jeremiah Cullen Liam Lee

Jennifer Duce LaToya McLean

Beth Foster Kiri McCart

Alicia Gaskin Loan Nguyen

Erica Getto Suzette Reyes

Dani Girdwood Rae Romanski

Taylor Golden Colleen Rushton

Caitlin Hodson Zachary Turner

Kesleigh Jones Sarah Walker

Sara Kelley Mia Weatherall

Keith Adams John L Moore

Stephen Duffy Jas Shelton

Jefferson Hayman

Peter Levin and Barbara Parks

Town of Orangetown, NY

Village of Nyack, NY

Village of Upper Nyack, NY

Westchester Film Office

Town of Clarkstown, NY

Prospect Park

SPECIAL THANKS

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Adam Roberts

Bradley and Heidi Roberts

Steve and Julee Johnson

Cliff Chiang and Baby Parker

Diana Fithian

Thomas Woodrow

Emily Rose

Jessica Lacy

Josh Katz

Naomi Odenkirk

Dan Rabinow

Dikayl Rimmasch

Clay Enos

Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas and Daniel Thomas

Peter Saraf

Matt Walker

Anne Lai

Michelle Satter

Gina Jarrin

Tara Kromer

John Tintori

Maria Cabardo

Stu Pollard

Erik Schietinger

Greg and Cathy Campbell

Jen Gatien

Janice Roland

Shannon Treusch

Joanna Pinker

Julie Chappell

New York State Governor's Office for Motion Picture &

Television Development

This film was supported by the Sundance Institute Feature Film Program.

Filmed on location in and around

Nyack, NY and New York City

Filmed With the Support of the New York State

Governor's Office for

Motion Picture & Television Development

The characters and events portrayed and the names used herein are fictitious. Any similarities between them and

actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or names, are purely coincidental.

This motion picture photoplay is protected under the laws of the United States of America and other countries. Any

unauthorized duplication or exhibition of this motion picture could result in criminal prosecution as well as civil

liability.

Copyright © 2014 Skeleton Twins LLC

All Rights Reserved