The Leisure Class, the end product of this season’s Project Greenlight, HBO’s docu-reality series which takes a revealing, uncensored look at the challenges facing a first-time director, debuts same time as the US Tuesday, November 3 at 11am on HBO with a same day primetime encore at 9pm.
The eight-episode fourth season of Project Greenlight, with two parts premiering back to back October 30 to November 2, from 10pm on HBO Signature, began with a digital competition, as thousands of aspiring filmmakers submitted three-minute short films via a Facebook page. The pool of 5000 contestants eventually narrowed to 13 finalists, each of whom was given a scene to direct for their final project, based on a script provided to them. Jason Mann bested the competition and was chosen the winner. In addition to making his directorial debut, Mann co-wrote the screenplay of the film with Pete Jones.
The Leisure Class and season four of Project Greenlight will also be available on HBO GO.
The Leisure Class revolves around William, a debonair Englishman celebrating his imminent marriage to Fiona, the beautiful daughter of a U.S. senator and prominent East Coast family. But William is a con man; his identity is fake and his intent is to embezzle funds from the senator’s charitable organization. Unexpectedly, William realizes he has true feelings for Fiona and now regrets his predicament.
On the eve of the wedding, the sudden arrival of William’s unstable, estranged brother, Leonard, threatens to expose both William’s true identity and his scam. Unable to convince Leonard to leave, William watches helplessly as his brother insinuates himself into the family and the wedding festivities. A long night ensues, during which Leonard’s reckless behavior not only calls into question the true nature of William and Fiona’s relationship, but also reveals disturbing, long-hidden truths about Fiona’s family.
The cast of The Leisure Class includes Ed Weeks (“The Mindy Project”) as the groom-to-be con man, William Rooney; Tom Bell (“Humans“) as William’s estranged brother, Leonard; Bridget Regan (“Jane the Virgin“) as William’s bride-to-be, Fiona Langston; Scottie Thompson (“The Blacklist“) as Fiona’s sister Allison; Melanie Zanetti (“Battle of the Damned“) as Fiona’s youngest sister, Carolyn; Christine Lakin (“Family Guy”) as Leonard’s new friend; Rory Knox Johnston (“Comedy Bang! Bang!“) as the family butler; with Brenda Strong (“Dallas”; two-time Emmy® nominee for “Desperate Housewives”) as Fiona’s mother, Charlotte Langston, and Bruce Davison (Best Supporting Actor Oscar® nominee for “Longtime Companion”; Golden Globe winner for “Short Cuts” and “Longtime Companion”) as Fiona’s father, U.S. Senator Edward Langston.
The Leisure Class is an HBO Films presentation in association with Adaptive Studios, Pearl Street Films and Miramax, in association with Duly Noted, Inc.; directed by Jason Mann from a screenplay by Pete Jones and Jason Mann; executive produced by Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly, Jennifer Todd, TJ Barrack, Perrin Chiles and Marshall Lewy; produced by Effie T. Brown and Marc Joubert.