A pile of new actors have been added to the cast of Goats, the upcoming comedy from Red Crown Productions, Elliptical Films, and Sandia Media, which is set to begin filming next month.

Joining the cast is David Duchovny (Californication, The X-Files), Vera Farmiga (The Departed, Up in the Air), Keri Russell (Felicity, Waitress), Minnie Driver (Good Will Hunting, Grosse Point Blank) and Will Arnett (SNL, Arrested Development). The movie is directed by Christopher Neil, the nephew of legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola.

The movie is based on the Mark Jude Poirier novel of the same name, which is a comical coming-of-age tale of a teen boy (played by Graham Phillips) who’s on his way to prep school, leaving behind perhaps the most influential figure in his life: a free spirit type known as Goat Man (Duchovny), who was brought in by the boy’s mother to do odd jobs around the house in exchange for food, shelter, and a place to keep his goats.

Daniela Taplin Lundberg, a producer on the film, said of the castings “Goats” is that wonderful combination of hilarious and poignant, and we’re so thrilled that actors as distinguished as this ensemble have responded to the script with such passion.”

DESCRIPTION:

In Goats, first novelist Mark Jude Poirier brings us an oddly compelling story of two men, one a teenager, the other about 40, both committed adolescents. Fourteen-year-old Ellis lives with his mom in suburban Tucson, Arizona.

Goat Man is, for lack of a better definition, their pool man. He takes care of the pool and the garden, and in exchange, Ellis’s languid mother Wendy gave him food, the pool house, and a meager salary. She also provided him with a place to keep his goats. When he’s not caring for his herd, Goat Man spends his off hours growing pot and getting high. And every so often, he heads into the desert for a trek with the goats, walking at night in the cool dark. In many of these pursuits–especially the getting high part–he is joined by the confident, easygoing Ellis. This apprenticeship is interrupted only when Ellis heads off to Gates Academy, the Pennsylvania prep school attended by his absentee father. The novel then follows him as he journeys from his unconventional home into the real world.