The Eulogist
by Greg Nussen
Greg Nussen
Follow
The Eulogist
by Greg Nussen
Greg Nussen
Follow
In the aftermath of a tragedy, a lost and confused author finds a new way to cope by crashing funerals and giving eulogies for people he never knew. This is a comedy about the way we grieve, about finding ourselves in our twenties, and the distinct ways we all choose to remember the dead.
In the aftermath of a tragedy, a lost and confused author finds a new way to cope by crashing funerals and giving eulogies for people he never knew. This is a comedy about the way we grieve, about finding ourselves in our twenties, and the distinct ways we all choose to remember the dead.
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Story
Mission Statement
The Eulogist is a film about mental health. It's written by a self-harm survivor committed to normalizing the conversation around depression and suicide, at a time when 800,000 people are taking their lives each year. We are excited to add to the conversation with this unique (and hilarious!) short.About The Project
This is Jeremy.
Jeremy has an obsession.
Jeremy likes to give eulogies.
For people he doesn’t know.
What is This About?!The Eulogist is a single-camera, character driven comedy drama that asks the question, “if a eulogy brings comfort to those who mourn, does it matter if it’s true or not?” It’s a fast-paced, narrative-based short written for the digital space. It’s a show that blends poignant, earnest drama with classic sitcom style. We're looking to make a short that can stand on its own but work as a proof of concept for a larger series down the line - each new episode has a new mourner and thus a new persona for Jeremy to try on. Think of it as having the tonality of Six Feet Under meets Harold and Maude with the structure of High Maintenance!
In the short, we meet Jeremy a few months removed from a personal tragedy. He has been crashing funerals and giving eulogies for people he doesn’t know, all the while neglecting his original aspirations as a novelist. Meanwhile, his twin sister, a wunderkind in the baking world, deals with the grief in her own way. Just as it seems Jeremy has it all figured out, someone from his past comes back to haunt him - as well as a mysterious cemetery employee who might have an even darker view of the world than him.
Where Does This Come From?!
I grew up in Los Angeles, California, in the relatively isolated community of solidly upper class conservative Judaism. My family found ways to be simultaneously well-integrated into Angeleno culture and closed off from the secular world. We’d bring Kosher for Passover food to Dodgers games; my brothers and I went to a technically Catholic school while missing classes for Jewish high holidays.
My grandparents were Holocaust survivors, fighters and travelers, and, being much older, started dying before most of my friends grandparents did. When I was twenty-five, the last one died, and just like I had for the previous three, I gave a eulogy. Afterwards my mother’s friend told me: “This is what you were meant to do.” I understand now that she was clunkily trying to tell me I was a skilled writer, but I couldn’t stop laughing in the car on the way home from the cemetery about the idea of a man doing eulogies professionally.
Funerals are a strange, oddly comic affair. There’s showmanship from those that speak and mourners must prove they are despondent. One funeral I went to featured a Bar-Mitzvah-style slideshow set to Phil Collins and an extensive buffet. There was even a dance floor. And that’s where the spirit of The Eulogist comes from. It’s a comedy about how we grieve. It’s about learning about the world outside through the world of mourning, and about the distinct ways we all choose, when the moment comes, to remember the dead.
This is where The Eulogist gets its spirit.Incentives
$10
Shout Out!
Thank you so much for contributing! We’ll give you a special shout out across all social media platforms so that everyone knows you’re an incredible philanthropist committed to promoting art. Social media famous!
$20
The Wake
At this level, you'll get a private link to the film before anyone else!
$30
Obituary
In addition to the above, Greg will write a fun, hilarious and heartwarming obituary for you, based on three fun facts you supply!
$50
Eulogy
In addition to the above, Greg will film a short eulogy about you! Morbid and hilarious. Now you don’t have to wonder what people will say about you when you’re gone.
$100
Greg’s Will
In addition to the above, Greg sends you some of his favorite things. Like he died and you got to raid his stuff! A book, a film, an album, etc!
$300
Biopic
In addition to the above, Greg will film a one minute, incredibly moving and Oscar winning biopic about you. Released on Instagram and sent to you for download!
$500
Celebration of Life
In addition to the above, you and a plus one are invited to the wrap party! Come hang out with everyone involved as we toast you. Additionally, Greg takes you on an LA Day! Full of his favorite activities.
$1,000
Executor of Greg’s Will
In addition to the above, we name you an Associate Producer on this project. This is your shot at Hollywood, baby!
$5,000
Winner of Life
In addition to the above, we name you an Executive Producer on this project. You are now the King of Hollywood!!
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Wishlist
Use the WishList to pledge cash and loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an incentive directly.
$10
Shout Out!
Thank you so much for contributing! We’ll give you a special shout out across all social media platforms so that everyone knows you’re an incredible philanthropist committed to promoting art. Social media famous!
$20
The Wake
At this level, you'll get a private link to the film before anyone else!
$30
Obituary
In addition to the above, Greg will write a fun, hilarious and heartwarming obituary for you, based on three fun facts you supply!
$50
Eulogy
In addition to the above, Greg will film a short eulogy about you! Morbid and hilarious. Now you don’t have to wonder what people will say about you when you’re gone.
$100
Greg’s Will
In addition to the above, Greg sends you some of his favorite things. Like he died and you got to raid his stuff! A book, a film, an album, etc!
$300
Biopic
In addition to the above, Greg will film a one minute, incredibly moving and Oscar winning biopic about you. Released on Instagram and sent to you for download!
$500
Celebration of Life
In addition to the above, you and a plus one are invited to the wrap party! Come hang out with everyone involved as we toast you. Additionally, Greg takes you on an LA Day! Full of his favorite activities.
$1,000
Executor of Greg’s Will
In addition to the above, we name you an Associate Producer on this project. This is your shot at Hollywood, baby!
$5,000
Winner of Life
In addition to the above, we name you an Executive Producer on this project. You are now the King of Hollywood!!
- Updates
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Current Team
About This Team
Greg Nussen is the creator and writer of The Eulogist. He’ll also be playing the main character, Jeremy. Greg grew up in Los Angeles, got his undergraduate degree from Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts and his MFA in Acting from Columbia University in New York.
Greg has acted Off-Broadway with Classic Stage Company in productions of The Tempest and the original work Four-Letter Word, which also went to the World Event Young Artists festival in Nottingham, England in 2014. He wrote and performed in the play The Diary, a solo adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s short story The Diary of a Madman at New York’s Theater for the New City.
In Los Angeles, Greg has been the co-host of Moron That Later, a podcast, since 2014. An NPR parody, the show has featured such guests as writer and TV personality Dave Holmes, comedian Drew Droege, rapper Watsky, author Steven Rowley and more. He improvises at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade and The Groundlings and was a co-Literary Director for Theatre of NOTE, one of Los Angeles’ oldest and most prestigious intimate theaters, for two years. At NOTE, Greg performed in the west coast premieres of D Deb Debbie Deborah, Red Helen, Year of the Rooster and assistant directed the acclaimed production of Welcome To The White Room. For more, please visit him digitally at www.gregnussen.com
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Nathan Caywood is our Director! Nate is also a writer and actor working in Los Angeles. Performing on a house sketch team at the Upright Citizens Brigade not only gave him the great opportunity of directing sketches, but to meet a community of talented writers and performers, who he has been able to collaborate with. Find more of his work at www.nathancaywood.com
Caroline Lindy plays Madeleine, Jeremy’s twin sister! Caroline is also a director, writer, and actor in LA. She has created branded content, short films and web series that have been featured on Time.com, screened at established festivals, and have racked up hundreds of thousands of views on Youtube. She has been on TV shows, including a recurring role on CASUAL (Hulu), THE AFFAIR (Showtime), and commercials for OLD NAVY, FORD, TOYOTA. Recently, she made a film, KINDRED SPIRIT, which just won "Best Romcom" at the Discover Film Festival in London. Caroline also just won a grant through the organization, Women in Film, to direct a film starring Tommy Dewey and supported by Blumhouse.
Inger Tudor grew up in Cincinnati, OH and Valencia, CA and attended Harvard College and Harvard Law School, where she enjoyed pursuing the arts and political and cultural activism. After law school, she joined the prestigious firm of Widett, Slater & Goldman in Boston as a litigation associate. After an attempted merger and subsequent dissolution of the firm, Inger decided to pursue acting professionally and relocated to New York, where she performed in off-Broadway and regional theatre and toured internationally with the Gospel musical, “Mama, I Want to Sing!”
With a desire to learn more about theatre, Inger moved to England for a year to study classical theatre at The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Upon finishing her course, she returned to New York and then moved to Los Angeles where she has been blessed to play numerous roles on television and in film and theatre, including productions at Mark Taper Forum, Geffen Playhouse and A Noise Within. She is a company member at the award-winning Theatre of NOTE and Rogue Machine theatres, and a guest artist with Antaeus Ensemble.
Her recent television and film credits include recurring roles on "Goliath" (Amazon) and “The Trial” (Adult Swim), the female lead in the period piece “Voodoo Macbeth” (Warner Brothers), plus supporting roles in the feature films "Elizabeth Blue" and “Lemon” released in September, as well as the lead in the highly acclaimed HBO short film, "On Time." Inger is also a voice-over actor with credits including work as the announcer on “Divorce Court,” radio plays with Los Angeles Theatre Works, audiobooks with Deyan Audio, and descriptive narration for the blind for film and television. In addition to acting, she directs and produces theatre, is President & CEO of High Priest Productions where she is currently working on the scripts for a short film and television pilot, and is a proud member of Maranatha Community Church.
Jenna Bryce Shaw is playing Ari! Jenna* was born and raised in Orange County and will always have a deep love for No Doubt. She went through the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and just finished Advanced Writing Lab at The Groundlings. She previously was on a house improv team at iO West. She has a pug named Arlene and is taking a break from cheese (05/01/19 she overdid it in the consuming of cheese department.)
*Her glasses are real.
Alex Vaughan is our producer! Alex is also an actor and writer in Los Angeles. He's an idiot, but tries to pass that off as comedy at The Pack Theater.
You've seen him on TV (Ghosted, Townies, Ctrl Alt Delete), in indie films (International Falls, Delivery, Bad for the Boats) and sort of in the background of that one Wendy's commercial two years ago.
When he's not writing, or pretending, or pretending that he's writing, Alex is a student of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, which makes him hella cool, right? ...right?
Nathaniel Miller is our Director of Photography! The son of a commercial photographer, Nathaniel Miller grew up watching the world through a camera lens. Sailing on Long Island Sound, backpacking deep in the Adirondack Mountains, and running all over New York City, Nathaniel dragged his dad’s Olympus OM-1 everywhere he went, shooting everything he saw, and learning all along the way.
Nathaniel studied Film and Broadcast Communications at SUNY Plattsburgh and San Francisco State University. Working on indie features, blockbuster movies, network television, and innumerable broadcast commercials over the past fifteen years, Nathaniel has had the opportunity to learn from the best. First-hand experience working with renowned cinematographers such as Caleb Deschanel, David Tattersall and Stephen Goldblatt, has had a powerful influence on Nathaniel, and he has developed a depth of wisdom in his work that far exceeds his age.
Nathaniel lives in Los Angeles with his beautiful wife and daughter, and has never stopped shooting on that OM-1.
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