Bobby Cannavale, Robert De Niro, Rose Byrne, Vera Farmiga, Rainn Wilson & Whoopi Goldberg Board Tony Goldwyn-Directed ‘Inappropriate Behavior’

Bobby Cannavale, Robert De Niro, Rose Byrne, Vera Farmiga, Rainn Wilson & Whoopi Goldberg Board Tony Goldwyn-Directed ‘Inappropriate Behavior’

Tony Goldwyn has set an all-star cast for his newest feature Inappropriate Behavior, with two-time Emmy winner Bobby Cannavale (Blonde), two-time Oscar winner Robert De Niro (The Comeback Trail), two-time Emmy nom Rose Byrne (Physical), Oscar nom Vera Farmiga (Five Days at Memorial), three-time Emmy nominee Rainn Wilson (Weird: The Al Yankovic Story), EGOT winner Whoopi Goldberg (Till) and William Fitzgerald signing on for roles.


The film, in which Goldwyn also appears, follows Max Bernal (Cannavale), a formerly successful late-night comedy writer turned not-so-successful stand-up comic, and his brilliant, complicated 11-year-old son Ezra (Fitzgerald), who is autistic. Having recently blown up both his career and his marriage, Max is now living with his father, Stan (De Niro). Max, profoundly at odds with his ex-wife Jenna (Byrne) about how to address their son’s needs, decides to kidnap Ezra and take him on a cross-country odyssey, with hilariously disastrous results.

Tony Spiridakis scripted the film, going into production this month, which is being co-financed and produced by Closer Media and Wayfarer Studios, as the former company’s first feature. William Horberg is producing on behalf of Closer Media, along with Jon Kilik, Spiridakis and Goldwyn. Zhang Xin is exec producing on behalf of Closer Media, alongside Wayfarer Studios’ Steve Sarowitz, Justin Baldoni, Manu Gargi and Andrew Calof, as well as Jason Pinardo, Cannavale and Lois Robbins. CAA is handling domestic sales, with Mister Smith Entertainment repping the film on the international front.


“Tony Spiridakis is a spectrum father, and he wrote a script whose lived-in truth, humor and grace are evident on every page,” said Closer Media’s Horberg. “Tony Goldwyn has always been drawn to great material, as an actor, producer and filmmaker, going all the way back to our days working together on “Ghost” at Paramount. Seeing this story that celebrates neurodivergence come together with this amazing cast and team makes us feel incredibly fortunate and thrilled to be making this as our first film at Closer Media.”


“After hearing the initial idea, Wayfarer Studios felt strongly connected to it,” added Wayfarer Studios’ President, Jamey Heath. “We have a duty to ensure everyone feels they are represented in storytelling, and this unique story showcases those who are differently abled. These stories are crucial to the growth and acceptance of all people and having the opportunity to reach global audiences with this film speaks to our core mission, and we are incredibly proud to partner with Closer Media, who share our same vision.”

Closer Media is a New York-based production company and financier recently founded by Xin. Under the leadership of Emmy-winning veteran producer Horberg, the company is looking to develop and produce scripted and unscripted films and series, with a diverse group of domestic and international filmmakers, for a global audience.


Wayfarer Studios is an independent production studio co-founded by Baldoni and Sarowitz, which is led by Heath. The company recently announced its plans to develop a live-action Pac-Man feature and in 2020 released the critically acclaimed Clouds, the first feature-length movie launched on Disney+, which Baldoni directed. Other upcoming projects in development include The Senior and Empire Waist. In 2021, Wayfarer entered a first-look partnership with Procter & Gamble spanning film, TV and new media, with their first project being the Webby-nominated The Man Enough Podcast.