Georgia filmed "The Spectacular Now" to premiere at Sundance

Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller star in "The Spectacular Now"

Last summer, as James Ponsoldt was still riding the wave of acclaim he received for his Sundance hit, "Smashed," he began work on a new film in his hometown of Athens, Georgia. "The Spectacular Now" is adapted from Tim Tharp's much beloved novel by screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber ("500 Days of Summer"). Upon reading the book and being reminded of his own hometown, Ponsoldt set out to change the setting from Oklahoma to Georgia. Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Kyle Chandler, Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Mary Elizabeth Winstead all star in this promising teen romance. The world premiere is Friday, January 18th. I'd love to see this film come back to Georgia for the Atlanta Film Festival in March.

Check out some images (courtesy of The Playlist) and a brief word from Ponsoldt after the jump.

Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller.

Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley.

Sundance synopsis:

Sutter Keely lives in the now. It’s a good place for him. A high school senior, charming and self-possessed, he’s the life of the party, loves his job at a men’s clothing store, and has no plans for the future. A budding alcoholic, he’s never far from his supersized, whisky-fortified 7UP cup. But after being dumped by his girlfriend, Sutter gets drunk and wakes up on a lawn with Aimee Finicky hovering over him. Not a member of the cool crowd, she’s different: the “nice girl” who reads science fiction and doesn’t have a boyfriend. She does have dreams, while Sutter lives in a world of impressive self-delusion. And yet they’re drawn to each other. 

Adapted from Tim Tharp’s novel, The Spectacular Now captures the insecurity and confusion of adolescence without looking for tidy truths. Young actors rarely portray teens with the maturity that Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley display, and they are phenomenal together. Funny, compassionate, and poignant, James Ponsoldt’s third feature again demonstrates his ability to lay bare the souls of his characters.