Casting Aubrey Plaza in Mystery Team

Question: Aubrey Plaza isn't a member of Derrick Comedy. How did you go about casting her? She hadn't really been in anything at the time you made this, but Mystery Team is coming out at a time when she is really taking off with her performances in Parks and Recreation, and Funny People.

Dan Eckman: Actually, I knew Aubrey Plaza back in film school. She was in film school at the time. I had a weird, creepy roommate. And he stalked her. I knew her. She was a comedian around the scene. When we auditioned for Mystery Team, she really wanted the part. I was dead set against casting a comedian. I thought it was the one serious role in the film, and that it should be done by a serious actress. But everyone they brought in was too serious in a bad way. Aubrey was always great. We made her audition three or four times, and she kept nailing it. While we were on the set, my brother taped her audition for Funny People. They did that in the Lumber Yard. She got the part, and we thought, "That was the best decision we ever made in our entire lives." She is amazing in everything. And she deserves everything that is coming to her. When we took this film to Sundance, most of the cast was unknowns. Now a lot of them are emerging. The cast is moving on up. It's hilarious. We can't take credit for it, either. We are just riding the wave. Its not like Mystery Team came out, and then they got famous from that. We are benefiting from the fact that these guys are all very talented, and now people can see them here.

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http://www.movieweb.com/news/NEIuRPLML8ZaMQ