In their cheeky social satire COUP! Co-directors Austin Stark & Joseph Schuman 
drop us into an isolated seaside estate 
during the 1918 Spanish Flu. The estate belongs to a wealthy couple, an entitled journalist, Jay (Billy Magnussen) and his socialite wife, Julie (Sarah Gadon).The couple hires a mysterious grifter as a their private cook, Floyd (Peter Sarsgaard). When the plague finally 
descends on the island, the wily cook rouses his fellow staff to rebel and take over the mansion. Their wealthy employer suspects the cook’s coup is part of a more sinister agenda, and mind games between master and servant escalate into boisterous class warfare. With a terrific cast, stars Peter Sarsgaard (currently on Apple+ hit series Presumed Innocent), 
Billy Magnussen (Road House remake), and Sarah Gadon, the film also stars Skye P. Marshall, Faran Tahir, Kristine Nielsen and Fisher 
Stevens. Co-directors and co-writers Austin Stark and Joseph Schuman joins us to talk about the tonal challenge of presenting this satirical tale that leans into the comedy of menace while embracing the themes of the class divide and revolution, as well as bringing Peter Sarsgaard into the project to play Floyd and to be the film’s Executive Producer.
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For more go to: greenwichentertainment.com/film/coup
About the filmmaker – Director / Writer Austin Stark is a NewYork-based writer, director, and producer best known for films that explore social issues. His latest film, COUP!, starring Peter Sarsgaard and Billy Magnussen, premiered in the Giornate degli Autori section of the Venice Film Festival and will be released by Greenwich Entertainment in 2024. In 2015, Austin made his directorial debut with THE RUNNER, a political drama starring Nicolas Cage, Sarah Paulson, and Peter Fonda, which was released theatrically by Alchemy. In 2021, Austin followed that up with THE GOD COMMITTEE, a medical thriller starring Kelsey Grammer, Julia Stiles and Colman Domingo. The film debuted at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival and was released by Vertical Entertainment. In addition to his career as a writer director, Austin has produced a number of films, including: Sony Pictures Classics’ INFINITELY POLAR BEAR, which earned Mark Ruffalo a Golden Globe nomination; Tony Kaye’s DETACHMENT 2012 Sundance Opening Night Film HELLO, I MUST BE GOING; 2010 Sundance Audience Award winner HAPPY THANK YOU MORE PLEASE; and Werner Herzog’s MY SON, MY SON, WHAT HAVE YE DONE.
About the filmmaker – Director / Writer Joseph Schuman majored in English literature at Columbia College and studied film at NYU. Currently CEO of Crew Mobile Technologies, a software and IP licensing startup he founded, he has published numerous patents in the media and communication space. His true passion remains cinematic storytelling, and COUP! is his directorial debut.
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“A jaunty class-war comedy.” – Variety
“…wonderfully assured in its boldness and swagger, and has the feel of far more seasoned and experienced filmmakers, reverberating with the echoes of everyone from Joseph Losey to Paul Thomas Anderson.” – Erin Free, FILMINK (Australia)
“Exuberant.” – The Guardian
“Joseph Schuman and Austin Stark create a giddy and darkly comic examination of class struggles in endlessly delightful Coup!” – Andrew Murray, The Upcoming
“Fun! Amusing! Radical!” – The Hollywood Reporter