To date Mark Webber may be best known for his moody portrayal of Stephen Stills, the lead singer of Sex Bob-omb in the nerd-adored romance-adventure Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. As the movie bombed—or bob-ombed—it's a dubious distinction at best, yet Sundance may change Webber's label, as the multi-talented actor is earning plenty of notice for three separate efforts at this year's film festival. He's featured in not one but two female-fronted comedies that tackle friendship with a raunchy sense of humor: Ari Graynor and Lauren Anne Miller's phone sex comedy For a Good Time, Call…, and Lizzy Caplan and Alison Brie's wedding-blues rom-com Save the Date.
Beyond riding the Bridesmaids wave, Webber is winning praise for his work as a writer-director and dramatic actor in his sophomore effort The End of Love. The film, which stars Webber as an actor overwhelmed by parental responsibilities following the death of his infant son's mother, has already been nominated for Sundance's Grand Jury Prize. And things continue to look up for Webber as THR reports he has just signed on to star opposite Big Love's Chloe Sevigny in Adam Bhala Lough's Panarea.
Webber has previously played in Lough's directorial debut Bomb the System as a rebellious graffiti artist, and co-starred in his second feature, the violent crime-drama Weapons. This time around, he'll play Paul, a modern American who finds himself disconnected from "what it means to be a man." Sevigny is set to play his wife and Jim Jarmusch adds even more indie cred as Panarea's producer.
While plot details are scarce, Panarea is being described as a drama. However, as its script is penned by Adam Mansbach, who wrote the wickedly funny lullaby book Go the F*ck to Sleep, it seems likely a dark streak of humor may inform this exploration of modern masculinity.
Panarea is expected to shoot this summer.
