TEEN FILM CULTURE WELCOMES FRESH NEW FACES TO THE BIG SCREEN WITH ‘STATUS UPDATE’
As if high school wasn’t torturous enough for some teens, they’re now subjected to the cruelty of believing everyone’s life around them is better than theirs. And it’s all there on display in perfectly filtered pictures. But while social media makes everyone’s lives seems flawless, in truth, without the filters, none are…
STATUS UPDATE follows the usual teen film culture but the film spices up the stereotypical with comedy, fantasy, and a moral lesson. With a combination of talented fresh faces like Ross Lynch and Olivia Holt, the movie is a commentary on the current situation on social media. The film opens up at 33 cinemas around South Africa on 30 November, 2018.
Directed by Scott Speer and written by Jason Filardi, STATUS UPDATE offers a glimpse of what life would be like if your dreams came true every time you updated your status. The film also sees Gregg Sulkin and Courtney Eaton join the cast with a handful of proven actors such as Rob Riggle, Wendi McLendon-Covery and John Michael Higgins, which makes for an exciting and hilarious ensemble.
Watch the trailer here:
Trailer Supplied by Nuts About Movies
The movie features former Disney Channel star, Ross Lynch, as the quintessential California kid Kyle, who is uprooted when his parents split, and his mom takes him and his younger sister cross-country to Connecticut. At Kyle’s new school, he meets the usual suspects – Lonnie, the nerd who becomes Kyle’s best friend; Dani, the girl of Kyle’s dreams; and Derek, the jock and Kyle’s nemesis. As expected, Kyle is a total fish out of water and his first day consists of one humiliating incident after another, resulting in his cell phone being smashed by bullies, led by Derek. But everything changes when he goes to the mall to get his broken phone fixed. There he meets a strange, seemingly insightful cell phone salesman, who introduces him to YOUniverse, a mysterious app that effectively turns his phone into a 21st century Aladdin’s lamp.
Kyle soon discovers that with just one sentence, he can get whatever he asks for – whether it's a visit from his father, the voice to win a part in the school talent show, or the talent to threaten the hockey captain’s dominance on the ice. But with great power comes great temptation, and Kyle begins to want more and more. In a matter of weeks, the new kid turns into the school’s most popular all-rounder – he becomes the person every guy wants to be, and every girl wants to date.
As in life – and every other wish fulfilment film – when something seems too good to be true, it often is. Kyle finds himself the victim of his own desire for acceptance and social media fame. Can he set things straight and make amends with those he hurt?
“The goal was to create a story that was relevant today but had the fun and heartfelt feeling of a John Hughes comedy, a magical, modern day fairy tale not unlike Big or 17 Again, and then bring that story to the big screen. I think the team behind STATUS UPDATE accomplished that and more,”
says Filardi.
STATUS UPDATE is distributed by Filmfinity (Pty) Ltd and will be shown in the following cinemas around the country:
Epic Mall@Reds, Pretoria
Epic Northridge, Bloemfontein
Epic Sun City, Pilansberg
Killarney Cine, Rosebank
Midlands Cine, Pietermaritzburg
Movies@Monte, Fourways
NC Game City, Gaborone
Suncoast Cine, Durban
NM Canal Walk, Cape Town
NM Galleria, Durban
NM Menlyn Park, Pretoria
NM V&A Waterfront, Cape Town
NM Westgate, Roodepoort
Ster-Kinekor Bay West, Port Elizabeth
Ster-Kinekor Blue Route, Cape Town
Ster-Kinekor Brooklyn, Pretoria
Ster-Kinekor Cresta, Northcliff
Ster-Kinekor Forest Hill, Pretoria
Ster-Kinekor Gateway, Umhlanga
Ster-Kinekor Greenstone Mall, Greenstone
Ster-Kinekor Irene Mall, Preotira
Ster-Kinekor Kolonnade, Pretoria
Ster-Kinekor Mall at Carnival, Benoni
Ster-Kinekor Maponya Mall, Soweto
Ster-Kinekor Matlosana Mall, Klerksdorp
Ster-Kinekor Riversquare, Vereeniging
Ster-Kinekor The Zone, Rosebank
Ster-Kinekor Sandton City, Sandton
Ster-Kinekor Secunda Mall, Secunda
Ster-Kinekor Somerset Mall, Cape Town
Ster-Kinekor Southgate, Johannesburg
Ster-Kinekor Tygervalley, Cape Town
