‘Welcome To The Dollhouse’ Highly-Anticipated Sequel ‘Wiener-Dog’ Cast Revealed
Welcome to the Dollhouse was Todd Solondz’s first attempt at directing a movie, and it quickly became a critically-acclaimed cult film. Now an accomplished independent film director, Solondz is returning to his filming roots for his next movie, the sort-of sequel to his directing debut nearly 20 years ago with the filming of Wiener-Dog, as Consequence of Sound reported.
Wiener-Dog revisits Welcome to the Dollhouse‘s lead character – Dawn Wiener – as a grown-up in the upcoming film. As Salon reported, in the 1996 production, the lead character, played by Heather Matarazzo – was teased because of her last name and earned the nickname “Weiner Dog.”
Wiener’s story is but one of several tales being weaved by the new film. Originally, the somewhat-sequel to Welcome to the Dollhouse was slated for a production start date in October, 2014, but Todd Solondz decided to expand his cast from his original count. Despite the delay to the original start date, filming has already begun on Wiener-Dog.
The move to expand the cast has paid dividends, with a talent pool possessing a wealth of movie-making experience. The new cast includes Greta Gerwig playing the role of Dawn Wiener. Gerwig is a writer and actress who starred in several independent films herself, including Frances Ha in 2012 and Greenberg in 2010.
In addition, well-known actor Danny DeVito and actress Ellen Burstyn add star-power to this Welcome to the Dollhouse sequel film. According to Variety, also joining these actors in this revisit into Welcome to the Dollhouse film is Julie Delpy, Kieran Culkin, Brie Larson, Zosia Mamet, and Tracy Letts.
The original movie was a critically-acclaimed success. Capturing the Grand Jury’s Prize in 1996 at the Sundance Festival, Welcome to the Dollhouse was the captivating coming-of-age tale of a seventh-grade girl whose life at school and irritating suburban home life combined to give viewers an accurate portrayal of the funny but tough times early teens face in middle school.
Roger Ebert’s review of the Welcome to the Dollhouse paid tribute to the film’s accuracy about the trials pre-teens and newly-minted teenagers face.
“Many movies reconstruct those years as a sort of adolescent paradise; it’s a shock, watching this film, to remember how cruel kids can be to one another, and how deeply the wounds cut.”
20 years later, a follow-up to Todd Solondz's best film, ‘Welcome to the Dollhouse’ http://t.co/NH104D0v3F pic.twitter.com/gsy0fP4tUj
— Tablet Magazine (@tabletmag) July 5, 2015
Heather Matarazzo – the troubled teen lead in the 1996 movie – got her break-through into acting from Welcome to the Dollhouse. Since then, she’s played recurring roles in other well-known shows, including Roseanne in 1997, The L Word in 2007, and Exes and Ohs from 2006-2009. She’s also had parts in successful mainstream movies such as The Princess Diaries (both movies) and Hostel: Part II.
[Photo: Jason Merritt, Mike Windle, Andrew H. Walker / Getty Images]
