Jon Favreau was best known for indie roles in movies like MADE and SWINGERS before he became known as the man who ushered in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with IRON MAN. As a director, Favreau has ventured from indie to big budget fare like ELF, COWBOYS AND ALIENS and ZATHURA, but his first post-IRON MAN 2 directorial effort will feature nothing in the way of science fiction, comic books, or CGI effects.
Premiering at the SXSW Festival, Favreau’s CHEF is a very different movie than we have seen from him in a long time. The comedy-drama will be a much smaller, character focused film about a man rebuilding his life. The first clip definitely showcases a good deal of humor that we have come to expect from him.
Chef Carl Casper (Jon Favreau) suddenly quits his job at a prominent Los Angeles restaurant after refusing to compromise his creative integrity for its controlling owner (Dustin Hoffman), he is left to figure out what’s next. Finding himself in Miami, he teams up with his ex-wife (Sofia Vergara), his friend (John Leguizamo) and his son to launch a food truck. Taking to the road, Chef Carl goes back to his roots to reignite his passion for the kitchen — and zest for life and love.
Favreau also wrote the script for CHEF and made sure to call in a top notch cast that includes some of his IRON MAN 2 cast-members. CHEF stars Sofia Vergara, John Leguizamo, Bobby Cannavale, Dustin Hoffman, Oliver Platt, Emjay Anthony, Scarlett Johansson, and Robert Downey, Jr.
I am definitely interested to see if Jon Favreau‘s time with huge budgets has taught him any new tricks that he could use on a small film like this. Either way, we are certainly in for a fun time based on this new clip. CHEF hits theaters on May 9th.