Amazon is about to launch its third pilot season and has attracted its biggest names yet for its last addition to the new season. Directors Steven Soderbergh and David Gordon Green are both working on Red Oaks, the Internet retail giant announced today.
Red Oaks will be produced by Soderberg, an Oscar winner for Traffic and the helmer of hits like Behind the Candelabra, Magic Mike and Oceans 11. Green, who recently directed Joe and whose television work includes Eastbound & Down, will direct the comedy.
In addition to the all star behind-the-scenes screw, the actors in front of the camera will be well-known to viewers as well. Paul Reiser, Richard Kind, Jennifer Grey, Oliver Cooper and Craig Roberts will star in the comedy.
Gregory Jacobs (The Knick) and Joe Gangemi (Eliza Graves) wrote the pilot. Roberts will star as David, a tennis pro at the titular country club in 1985 New Jersey.
“To be able to collaborate with Steven, David and Greg, three of the most highly-regarded creators in Hollywood, is an absolute pleasure,” Roy Price, Director of Amazon Studios, said in a statement. “Red Oaks brings together not only top-notch talent, but also a hilarious and wonderfully written script that we think our customers will enjoy seeing come to life later this year.”
Soderberg said that Jacobs told him about Red Oaks while filming Behind the Candelabra. “Then, while we were on the set of The Knick he gave me the script he wrote with Joe Gangemi and I said, ‘This is ready to go, let's find a director.’ We very quickly agreed to approach David because the humor was sharp without being mean, and we felt he would understand and appreciate that,” Soderberg said.
Red Oaks will debut on Amazon Prime Instant Video, where users will be able to watch it and then review it. Based on the reviews, Amazon will decide whether or not to pick it up for a full season.
While Soderbergh has kept his promise on retiring from film directing, he has expanded further into the television realm. In addition to HBO’s Behind the Candelabra, he also helmed Cinemax’s The Knick, which stars Clive Owen and will premiere next month.
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