It is no secret that Shonda Rhimes knows how to cast her series with talented people, so it is no surprise that during their hiatus from their ABC series, they get cast in other projects. But when three of Shondaland’s performers wind up working on the same film, it is definitely a happy accident.
The film in question is MarVista Entertainment’s Loserville, which stars Scandal‘s Darby Stanchfield, How to Get Away with Murder‘s Matt McGorry, and has Grey’s Anatomy alum Sara Ramirez as a producer.
“It was offered to me by the director and the producers,” Stanchfield told Parade.com. “They came to me with the script. I didn’t learn about it through Sara. I came on board through this offer. She was collaborating with them around the same time, or maybe before, and then about the same time, Matt McGorry came on. When I found out about that, too, I was thrilled to be working with him.”
Loserville takes place during Chuck MacDonald’s (Chris Bellant) senior year in high school, which isn’t living up to even his limited expectations. He is humiliated because his mom Evelyn (Stanchfield) is dating his gym teacher, Coach Casey Harris (McGorry). His true love, Melissa (Natalie Hall), barely acknowledges his existence. And his plan to win Melissa over by befriending her sister, Mary (Sarah Jes Austell) gets complicated by a sex tape that’s the talk of the school.
“It is a really unique take on the teen movie genre, and it’s full of laughter,” Ramirez tells Parade.com of the film that marks her producing debut. “It’s very funny, and while it’s full of laughs, it’s also tackling really important issues like bullying, identity, and self-expression faced by teens today. I think it really will resonate, and it’s a very inclusive cast, I’m proud to say, and so I’m just really excited about it.”
Bullying is a subject that is not unknown to the stars of the film.
“I think bullying happens anywhere and everywhere, especially with the extra component of social media these days,” Stanchfield says. “I certainly witnessed bullying as a teen in both a small and a big school setting. I feel like it is a universal topic.”
Stanchfield recalls being on the awkward side when it came to high school, but she got lucky in the sense that by moving around and changing schools, she was able to reinvent herself.
“I got to start over and it got easier because I got contact lenses and started to fill out a little bit in my body,” she recalls. “I really related to Chuck because he had a couple of friends, but he becomes empowered by reaching out and connecting with people and becoming at home with who he is. I feel like his journey is done in a very real way, and I connected to that in terms of challenges I had in high school.”
Loserville, currently in theaters and available on VOD, in partnership with Pacer’s Bullying Prevention Center, will celebrate the 10th anniversary of National Bullying Prevention Month this October.
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