Having just wrapped a small role opposite Jenny Slate in Joe Swanberg’s new movie, “Veep” star Timothy Simons has joined the cast of Sony’s “Goosebumps,” which has also added actress Amanda Lund, TheWrap has learned.
Rob Letterman is directing the film, which is based on R.L. Stine’s popular book series.
Dylan Minnette (“Prisoners”) plays a teen named Zach Cooper, whose family moves to a new home where his new neighbor is a mysterious author, played by Jack Black. When a demonic ventriloquist’s dummy unleashes the author’s creepy creations, it’s up to his niece Hannah (Odeya Rush) and Zach to battle the evil forces and save their town.
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Oscar-nominated actress Amy Ryan (“Gone Baby Gone”) will play Minnette’s mother, while Jillian Bell (“Workaholics”) will play his aunt, as TheWrap first reported. It’s believed that Black will also voice the demonic dummy Slappy.
“Goosebumps” will find Simons playing an inept cop, while Lund (pictured left) will play his partner, who proves equally useless when monsters begin to invade their small town.
Neal H. Moritz (the “Fast & Furious” franchise) is producing “Goosebumps” with Deborah Forte of Scholastic Entertainment. Sony executives Hannah Minghella and Elizabeth Cantillon will oversee the movie for the studio.
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“Goosebumps” is one of the most popular children’s book series ever, surpassed only by the “Harry Potter” novels in total sales, with more than 300 million copies sold worldwide. The series has been published in over 32 languages and was successfully adapted as a TV series by Scholastic Entertainment for the Fox Kids Network, where it was rated #1 for four seasons and aired in over 100 countries. It also spawned a video game from Scholastic Interactive.
Simons, who is best known for playing Jonah Ryan on HBO’s “Veep,” recently appeared in Ivan Reitman‘s “Draft Day” and the acclaimed indie drama “Beneath the Harvest Sky.” He’ll soon be seen in Paul Thomas Anderson‘s “Inherent Vice,” the Seth Rogen-James Franco comedy “The Interview” and Swanberg’s “Digging for Fire,” which stars Jake Johnson and Rosemarie DeWitt.
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Lund recently appeared on the sitcoms “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” and “Friends With Better Lives,” as well as the indie comedy “Someone Marry Barry” starring Tyler Labine, Damon Wayans Jr. and Thomas Middleditch.
Simons is represented by UTA, Brillstein Entertainment Partners and attorney Derek Kroeger, while Lund is repped by WME and 3 Arts Entertainment.