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Production Information

Whether it’s a casual status update, a shared family photo or a short video to a group of

friends, modern communication has made our on- and offline lives virtually indistinguishable.

And while the majority of the hourly stream of digital media we receive and distribute is

welcome and exciting content, some of it is deeply, deeply disturbing.

And some of it can be deadly.

Ushering in a new era of horror, Unfriended follows what happens when a seemingly

innocent online prank starts a sequence of events that spirals out of control. A first-person

exploration of the terror that can emerge when our connected experiences transform into our

deadliest fears, the film unfolds over a teenager’s computer screen as she and her friends are

stalked by an unseen figure who seeks vengeance for a shaming video that led a vicious bully to

kill herself a year earlier. On the anniversary of her death, the very same friends who thought

there would be no consequences to their actions will find out just how deadly wrong they are.

It’s an average school night as Blaire (SHELLEY HENNIG of Ouija) and her boyfriend,

Mitch (MOSES STORM of Hulu’s The 4 to 9ers: The Day Crew), start a somewhat intimate

video chat. Suddenly, they’re interrupted by their friends, Jess (RENEE OLSTEAD of TV’s The

Secret Life of the American Teenager), Adam (WILL PELTZ of Men, Women & Children), Ken

(JACOB WYSOCKI of Pitch Perfect) and Val (COURTNEY HALVERSON of HBO’s True

Detective), who are ready to launch into a group chat session. Before long, the group is joined

by a user known only as “Billie227.” They think it’s just a glitch and go about their

conversation…until Billie begins typing. What comes next devolves into their worst nightmare.

As Blaire begins receiving messages on Facebook and e-mails from someone or

something claiming to be Laura Barns (HEATHER SOSSAMAN of TV’s NCIS: Los Angeles)—

the girl who killed herself exactly one year ago—she frantically tries to figure out who has

intruded into their group chat. Meanwhile, Billie’s games force the friends to confront their

deepest, darkest secrets and lies. If they find out who posted the shaming video of Laura that led

Unfriended_Production Information 2

to her death—even if that means these friends suffer in the process—they will appease their

tormentor and survive the night.

Stories once thought to be hidden are exposed and relationships are tested to the ultimate

degree as the group is tormented by an evil spirit who will not let them free…until it gets the

ultimate revenge.

The thriller was developed and conceived by visionary filmmaker TIMUR

BEKMAMBETOV (Wanted, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter). Directed by LEO

GABRIADZE (Lucky Trouble), Unfriended is written by NELSON GREAVES (TV’s Sleepy

Hollow) and produced by Bekmambetov and Greaves.

They are joined by a key behind-the-scenes crew that includes co-producer ADAM

SIDMAN (TV’s Auction Hunters), who also serves as director of photography, production

designer HEIDI KOLETO (Daddy), editors PARKER LARAMIE (Lowlands) and ANDREW

WESMAN (Down by the Promised Land) and costume designer VERONIKA BELENIKINA.

The film’s co-executive producers are ALAN KHAMOUI (The Monstrosity) and COUPER

SAMUELSON (Ouija).

JASON BLUM (Ouija and Paranormal Activity, The Purge and Insidious series) serves

as executive producer of the film for Blumhouse Productions.

The release of Unfriended marks the fifth feature-film collaboration between Universal

and blockbuster producer Blum’s Blumhouse Productions. From the terrifying films of this

partnership—including the speculative thrillers of The Purge series, 2014’s breakout Ouija and

this year’s hit The Boy Next Door—Blum continues to push the boundaries of the thriller,

suspense and horror genres. Through it all, he manages to deliver to audiences the types of

pulse-pounding films they have grown to associate with his banner.

As executive producer of Unfriended, Blum continues this mission to cultivate voices of

new filmmakers and provide maximum theatrical exposure to their work, while infusing the

material with the signature style he’s brought to such new classics as the films of his Paranormal

Activity and Insidious series.


ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

Creating a New Genre:

Unfriended Begins

A new genre in the world of horror has a fascinating origin...

Producer Timur Bekmambetov’s penchant for innovative, intelligent and sophisticated

filmmaking elevates the horror genre to an unexpected level with Unfriended. A filmmaker who

splits his time between the U.S. and Russia, running companies in both countries, Bekmambetov

is almost always on his computer, which is how the idea for Unfriended came to life. For 15

years, the thought kept coming up: “Somebody’s got to make a movie about the part of our lives

we spend digitally connected.”

Bekmambetov elaborates: “Over the years, I’ve shared this idea with many filmmakers,

trying to find someone to help me make this movie. I was shared this idea, hoping it would

spark something inside them. It was hard to convince anyone to take a break from traditional

filmmaking and take a risk like this. I knew that the only way to achieve this movie would be to

stop thinking and just do.”

Jason Blum, the film’s executive producer whose company, Blumhouse, is presenting the

film, said about the idea: “What is so fun and scary about Unfriended is that the filmmakers

came up with a new way of making a movie that actually elevates and serves the story.”

One night, writer/producer Nelson Greaves and co-executive producer Alan Khamoui,

another executive from Bekmambetov’s production company, Bazelevs, were sitting around the

office spitballing ideas for new projects with their boss, and the idea for Unfriended came back

around. Greaves shares: “We said: ‘What if this was a horror movie?’ At that point, the idea

clicked with me. Found-footage films are frightening because of the constraints and limits.

What’s more limiting than being trapped on your computer as you’re attacked and terrorized?”

Greaves, who was an assistant at the time, needed a reason to still be employed at the

company after his supervisor had left, so he jumped into the dark and fleshed out a story that

could thrive in this world and still be grounded and relatable. After he wrote the script, he

handed it off to Bekmambetov. A colleague of Bekmambetov’s, director Leo Gabriadze, just


happened to be in Los Angeles at the time filming a commercial, and the Russian producer knew

he’d take to the material.

Greaves recalls: “Timur physically handed the script to Leo and told him to read it. Leo

went next door and, for the longest two-and-a-half hours of my life, he read the script while I sat

there nervous. Good news is that he loved it.”

After getting the thumbs-up from Gabriadze, Greaves reached out to a former classmate

and roommate, Adam Sidman, who was working in unscripted television production. As soon as

Greaves walked him through the story line, Sidman came aboard and wore every production hat

possible—production coordinator, locations manager, hiring the crew, director of photography,

creative producing, you name it—and Sidman, Greaves and Gabriadze shot a test of the script.

Soon after, Bekmambetov gave it his seal of approval and green-lit production.

Still, one challenge that presented itself right away was geography. Bekmambetov was in

Russia for most of the production and, coincidentally, the majority of his involvement had to

take place over Skype. He met the actors, visited the set and even spent hours editing with the

team, all over Skype. Bringing it fullcircle, when the movie finally premiered at the Fantasia and

SXSW film festivals, Bekmambetov also greeted audiences via this medium.

The production of Unfriended was no small feat for a group that started with three

people. Gabriadze shares: “We had a very small team. In the beginning, it was only Timur,

Nelson and me. We were all on the same page of bringing the story to the big screen. It was

quite a challenge, but we all strongly believed in the vision. The team grew but still stayed small

and engaged. Timur helped and supported us, from day one. Nelson is a man of great energy

and devotion—a gifted writer and a producer. He was the driving force of our production.”

Bekmambetov returns the kind words: “Nelson and Leo made a great team for the movie.

Leo has the wisdom and experience, and Nelson is young and hasn’t yet learned what’s

‘impossible.’ They worked together with Adam, who served as the responsible adult, allowing

Leo and Nelson to dream big and try new things.”

One area in which Bekmambetov challenged the team was to discover this new language

of filmmaking through trial and error. He reflects: “Normally, when I make movies, I can draw

on references from a long history of moviemaking. For this, we were completely on our own.

We had to invent. We had to try and fail and try again. We had to have discipline to stay within

the limitations we had set for ourselves, and trust that people would connect with it.”


Throughout the process, Bekmambetov continued working with the team to keep the

concept in check. Greaves provides: “Whenever we would have a moment of doubt, Timur

reminded us to be brave, be bold and just go for it.”

In presenting Unfriended, Blum was excited to push the envelope once again with

moviegoers. He notes: “The best horror films speak to audiences’ primal fears, and Unfriended

goes deep into the exploration of those fears in an extremely innovative manner of filmmaking.

Here, a group of teens who think they’re immortal begin to realize the consequences of actions

they were so flippant about only one year earlier. When they are tested, will they stand together

or will their group be torn apart by the very decisions that once brought them so close?”

Want to Play a Game?

Casting Unfriended

The principal cast of Unfriended consists of six characters who become trapped in a game

of cat and mouse, as Billie torments them with secrets they thought would never be uncovered

and pushes them into horrifying actions. Working on tight time constraints, casting director

JOHN MCALARY brought talented actors in for auditions, but, as the performers would soon

learn, they weren’t average auditions.

In the beginning, the team had actors read in the room with them, but it soon became

quite clear that they needed to audition in front of a computer. So, the casting process took place

just that way, in two different rooms, via video chat, and the cast was chosen based upon those

auditions. Once they assembled their top choices, Gabriadze and his key crew conducted a mix

and match of sorts, in which they took different groups of six people and had them do a scene

together. In this, each was asked to find their character’s personality and place in the group.

Indeed, it was crucial that each actor was comfortable with improv and quick changes. After

that, the final group of six was chosen.

In auditioning actresses for the role of Blaire, the team knew the moment they saw

Shelley Hennig that she was their Blaire. For Hennig, the chance to engage in improv was a

primary draw for her. She shares: “The audition was totally unconventional, compared to other

projects I’ve auditioned for. I was in an office, Skyping with an actor in a separate room, while

John [McAlary], Nelson and Leo watched us from their monitor. They let us be free to


improvise, which made it much easier to connect and build chemistry with the actors I was

auditioning with. That process instantly hooked me, and went on to be how we actually shot the

entire film.”

Hennig, who is well-known for her role as Malia Tate on TV’s Teen Wolf, walks us

through a quick description of Blaire: “She’s that girl in high school who makes it a priority to

do the right thing, and keep life pretty simple. She’s usually satisfied to spend her time hanging

out with her crew on Skype, and being totally in love with her high-school sweetheart, Mitch.”

Of his leading lady, Gabriadze commends: “When we met Shelley, we all agreed she

would make the perfect Blaire, as she is an extremely talented and hardworking actress. We also

arranged a couple auditions to see how other actors got along together. Dynamics among them

were very important for us, as they all are close friends in the movie. From that, we felt that

Shelley and Moses would make a perfect couple on screen.”

As they never actually make physical contact throughout the film, it was important that

Blaire and Mitch have palpable chemistry. After seeing several actors for the role of Mitch, the

core team found him in Moses Storm. The performer, who will star in and is writing his

directorial debut, #ModernMillennial, shares his experience: “What drew me to the project was

how innovative the concept of the film was. I’d never seen anything like it using this format. It

seemed like a challenge, almost impossible to do, and the concept is what sparked my interest.

During the casting process, I was in a long-distance relationship where our only contact was

through Skype, so that definitely aided in the audition process and drew me to this as a unique

way to tell a story.”

Renee Olstead, known for her co-starring role on the critically acclaimed coming-of-age

series The Secret Life of the American Teenager, landed the role of the lovable-but-dim-witted

Jess. Olstead shares what intrigued her the most about being part of the film: “What I love about

this movie is that we flesh out every possible scenario. Initially, something scary happens, and

in every other scary movie, the audience would say: ‘Well, why don’t they just shut off their

computer?’ That’s something we show right off the bat, exactly what happens when someone

tries to leave the conversation. The filmmakers did their homework and created something that’s

authentically scary.”

For the role of tech-savvy Ken, who is arguably the biggest joker in the group, the team

selected actor/comedian Jacob Wysocki. Much to the friends’ terror, Ken finds out firsthand


what happens when you disobey Billie. On what attracted him to the project, Wysocki gives:

“The concept was something that had never been attempted. In the audition process, they said

there was room for improv—and I come from a background in that—so it was tantalizing to be

part of something that was pitched as a play that never cuts.”

The actor shares that he drew inspiration from one of film’s most recognizable hacker

characters. He divulges: “My inspiration for the character of Ken was Samuel L. Jackson’s Ray

Arnold in Jurassic Park.”

Actor Will Peltz, who recently starred in Men, Women & Children, was selected for the

role of the crass, hard-partying Adam. Peltz, too, felt the relevance of the film and was intrigued

with the manner in which the script put a twist on a contemporary topic. The actor shares his

experience: “Auditioning over Skype is something I’ve never done before. Using Skype in that

way helped inform my character because it gave me a real-life experience that I could draw on

during production. Almost everything we shot was done at our own little stations, except for a

few select scenes.”

For the role of Val, the production chose actress Courtney Halverson, who will next be

seen on HBO’s groundbreaking series True Detective. Halverson shares: “Val is that friend you

have in your circle that you don’t necessarily like hanging out with, but you have such a history

together that it’s hard to get rid of her. She’s bossy, opinionated and can be a bit abrasive.”

Much like the others, Halverson was excited about the new take on the horror genre. She

shares: “When I came back in for a callback, we were each placed in separate rooms, given

laptops and asked to improv a scene. I loved being able to play around in the audition process

because it can get a bit stale having to deliver the same lines. This felt very fresh and new.”

Rounding out the cast in the role of Laura Barns, a fellow classmate who committed

suicide after she was ridiculed over an embarrassing video of her passed out at a party, is Heather

Sossaman (TV’s Days of Our Lives).


Mastering Improv:

Pushing Their Limits

With the six cast members locked-in and ready to go, the Unfriended director and

producers realized that the script, as written, wasn’t taking on the life that they needed and

translating on screen. Therefore, they decided to push it further toward what they wanted it to

be: a bunch of friends chatting on Skype and being terrorized by some otherworldly entity in the

form of a cyberbully. To do that, they needed to tap deeper into the cast’s improvisation skills.

Before principal photography began, the cast rehearsed at Bekmambetov’s Bazelevs

production offices, sitting in a circle and going through the script. As it became the norm with

this production, the cast, Greaves and Gabriadze began noting where they could truly improvise.

Peltz shares: “The shape of everything changed so much during the process of rehearsals,

as well as during filming. Being able to create these moments on-the-fly became an exciting

journey. It’s cool to see this era that we live in come to life in a dark, twisted way.”

The way the film was shot, the cast members were completely separate from one another,

each operating from a desktop in a separate room in a house in Santa Clarita, California. Still,

they had to react to each other as though they were in the same space, which meant that each take

was a little different. It was a bit like filming a live play, and each had only one camera pointed

at him or her. As there weren’t clear cuts, some takes went on for almost an hour and a half.

Sidman, who also served as director of photography, created a special network for the crew and

actors to interact and film with their GoPros.

Greaves walks us through his process: “The script is structured like an 85-minute play, so

we did long takes, including a few that were the full length of the movie. We have these actors

who are trapped in separate rooms for this period of time, not speaking to anyone—except into

the GoPro. You get to a place of truth that is so beyond what you could get if we did it in

multiple takes and breaks. At the end of 85 minutes, the cast is seeing these things happen and

they’re so in the moment that these reactions couldn’t have happened otherwise.”

Hennig describes the moment in which she suggested an attempt at filming the entire

movie in one sitting: “Once we began shooting, I was becoming confused as to why we weren’t

running the script from start to finish, since all of our rooms were well-lit for it. I ultimately

suggested it to Nelson and Leo, and they loved the idea. I wasn’t sure what I’d gotten myself


and the rest of the cast into, but it wound up being one of the most satisfying experiences of my

career. I have to give major credit to rest of the cast—I don’t think it would have worked if

everyone involved weren’t great improvisers, including Leo and Nelson, who played ‘Laura’ for

us, on earpieces, as we shot in real-time.”

In addition to the lengthy takes, another innovative aspect of the filmmaking process was

that each cast member had an ear piece in his or her ear, for Greaves and Gabriadze to

communicate line changes or offer suggestions for certain reactions as the scenes unfolded.

Halverson discusses this process: “During filming, each of us had headphones in, with

Nelson and Leo giving live notes and instructions for different ways to play the scenes. I would

get little sentences in my headphones like ‘Try to pick a fight with Jess,’ or ‘Act like you can’t

stand being online with the rest of them,’ and I had to try to implement them live.”

Every time Gabriadze and his team would change their minds on a scene or certain

dialogue, it wasn’t because they were uncertain of themselves; it was because they were inspired

by a particular actor’s movement or reaction to something that had just occurred. Storm

elaborates: “The filmmakers kept us in the dark about a lot of elements of the movie because it

was somewhat improv-based, so we were all finding out the information at the same time the

audience is.”

The only contact that the cast had with the outside production was via the actual desktop

and the earpiece. A result was that they would sometimes forget they were on a movie set,

which allowed them to embrace the organic nature of the project. Halverson explains: “You’re

alone in a room filming all day, but it was kind of cool because you start to believe you’re this

character and this is your room, but you also have people in your ear telling you things in real

time, so concentration was key.”

Even though each cast member was secluded in a different room, whenever they took

breaks, they would reconvene and discuss what to do differently. Even during filming, any time

there’d be a small break, the cast would stay plugged in on their computers, which allowed them

to get to know each other. Peltz shares: “We’d show up to set every day and have breakfast

together and then we all went to our separate rooms, talking to each other over the computer.

That’s where we really got to connect, because we’d be spending nearly 10 hours a day in front

of the computer. Then, we’d all come back together in reality over lunch. Then it was back up

to the computers.”


Throughout the filming, the cast understood and embraced that cooperation, from all

aspects of production, was key. Wysocki gives: “The best part was the collaboration. Nelson

and Leo listened to our thoughts and ideas, and it was a supportive environment. They were

down with bold choices.”

Trapped Inside:

Editing, Locations and Design

The production assembled a stellar below-the-line team to bring this vision to life.

Production designer Heidi Koleto crafted varying looks for each room, while director of

photography Sidman was tasked with making sure each camera captured intricate moments for

editors Parker Laramie and Andrew Wesman to assemble.

Editing

The filming of Unfriended is unconventional in that each cast member was his or her own

camera operator. Each was individually recorded by the GoPro attached to his or her computer.

The key to bringing the vision of Unfriended to the screen was in the editing hands of Laramie

and Wesman.

This began with Laramie’s unrivaled skills working with AVID, a digital nonlinear

editing system. Greaves shares: “This is a very unusual movie in that you can look at it as one

giant animation. We gave up trying to do it ourselves and brought Parker on board. He designed

the most complicated AVID timeline that we have ever seen; it blew everyone away. He

designed a functionality for making this movie that is so intensely intuitive. It could’ve never

happened without that. It’s a strange movie in that, because of the layering, you make the

majority of it in postproduction.”

With the unique filming style, video footage was used in a way that few other

productions could. Any video glitching or nonsynching sounds would be a disaster anywhere

else, but with the subject matter of Unfriended, the filmmakers were able to use all “mistakes” to

their advantage.

Laramie shares how he joined the project: “They had a rough cut before I came on, which

was basically a six-screen split of just the webcams. The naked performances were so raw and


casual; I could tell Leo and the cast really got it. They understood what this needed to be. It

reminded me of the first act of Alien, the way everybody talked to each other with such

familiarity and ease.”

The editors weeded through six video layers from the GoPros, with Blaire’s desktop as an

additional layer. The audience sees the film primarily through Blaire’s perspective, so it was

important that everything be timed perfectly. Laramie and Wesman ended up mixing and

matching from different takes to ensure the tension was maintained.

Wesman provides why the work was so incredibly meticulous: “The film is essentially

one big 90-minute visual-effects shot, which is difficult because no nonlinear editing software is

designed for that task. On the other hand, it was liberating how much control I had in

postproduction to craft new moments from on-the-spot computer-screen captures, which allowed

us to think up additional moments or plot elements and have them quickly visualized.”

With all the challenges presented in bringing the film to life, there were also many good

surprises with the manner in which the film was shot. Wesman, for one, was surprised by how

much character a computer mouse can actually have. He shares: “The ‘performance’ of the

mouse could determine one’s entire reaction to a scene, in the most subtle of ways. Things like

how long the mouse hovered over a certain word or the speed with which the mouse moved from

one button to the next can tell an intimate story in a way that is totally unique to this medium.

“A good story features an active character constantly making decisions,” he continues,

“and this film lets the viewer become a voyeur into Blaire’s decision-making process. Every

time she types a word or deletes it, you not only read what she types, but also the subtext of what

she deleted, which fascinated me. Initially, it was challenging to create a sense of dread and

horror on a computer screen, but I soon realized that the experience of using a computer is so

relatable and so personal that it connects readily with our everyday fears of exposure or the

unknown.”

Describing his process of working with Greaves, Bekmambetov and Gabriadze, Laramie

shares: “These three are patient, tenacious and talented. The vision they had for such an off-the-

wall film still baffles me. From day one, they were all so inviting and earnest. They have such a

profound and passionate relationship with the creative process. Nelson has a great eye for the

bizarre and off-kilter, and yet never forgets everything you need to get from A to B. Leo treats

everything so delicately. A film with this much detail would never have gotten done without it.


Timur is on a different wavelength. He was always seeing things we couldn’t, which unlocked

the movie for us.”

Locations and Design

For a film taking place in various rooms in the homes of six teenagers, utilizing one

location was the most reasonable way to shoot the movie.

The house, located in Santa Clarita, California, is an actual residence. During their

search, Greaves and Gabriadze knew they had to have a place that could accommodate the crew,

as well as have separate rooms for each cast member. To create the illusion that each room was

in a different location in the teens’ fictitious town, these rooms needed to be designed differently.

As the production’s man of many talents, Sidman worked with production designer Koleto to

take the lead on locations and find the perfect house.

Koleto explains her process of designing for the feature: “I focused on dressing the walls,

since that was the bulk of scenery in the shots with the GoPros. I approached the design by

breaking down each of the characters and creating a personality for their rooms. I also worked

with Adam and Leo to get a feel of how they saw each character. Once you figure out what a

character likes, it’s easy to start to picture what they would fill their room with or how messy or

neat they would be.”

As were all aspects of production, this process was not without its complexities. Filming

in only one location, the issues were aplenty. Greaves explains: “The challenges were cabling

and sound…and us. We had to have video village somewhere. So, for most of the shoot, we

were actually in the living room with Will Peltz, hanging big sheets of duvetyn and hiding

behind them. But, what was nice about being in one location was the ease of production. We

would never have gotten the level of truthful performances had that not been the case, because

moving around from location to location gets actors out of character and the headspace we

needed.”

Still, the challenges only strengthened the cast and crew. Gabriadze shares: “Filming in

one location made us all feel as a family and helped the cast to open up and act freely without

burdens. We were lucky to get to know each other closely and bring deep emotions into the

movie, as well as have the ability for the cast to incorporate improv.”


Koleto also worked to hide the basic architectural elements of the house to ensure that

each room looked like a different location. Additionally, the production designer and another

team member had to provide all of the lighting in the room through practical lighting. Because

the 360-degree shots would show the entire room, stage lighting couldn’t be used.

The house, which became home base for Hennig, Storm, Olstead, Peltz and Halverson,

had five rooms to accommodate each person. But Wysocki wasn’t as fortunate.

He divulges: “Everyone else was in the air-conditioned, gorgeous house. My room was

in a shed in the backyard, which we called ‘the sweat box.’ In addition, there was a nest of birds

that was living in the shed that I could not disturb because there were baby birds in it. So, I

definitely got the short end of the stick.”

Greaves pauses, then laughs: “I’m glad he has forgiven us.”

****

Universal Pictures and Blumhouse present a Bazelevs production: Unfriended, starring

Shelley Hennig, Moses Storm, Renee Olstead, Will Peltz, Jacob Wysocki, Courtney Halverson,

Heather Sossaman. The film’s casting is by John McAlary, CSA, and it is edited by Parker

Laramie, Andrew Wesman. Unfriended’s director of photography is Adam Sidman. The film’s

co-producer is Adam Sidman and the co-executive producers are Alan Khamoui & Couper

Samuelson. The executive producer is Jason Blum. The thriller is produced by Timur

Bekmambetov& Nelson Greaves. Written by Nelson Greaves, the film is directed by Leo

Gabriadze. © 2014 Universal Studios. www.unfriendedmovie.com

ABOUT THE CAST

SHELLEY HENNIG (Blaire), a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, was most recently

seen in Ouija, opposite Olivia Cooke.

After being crowned Miss Teen USA in 2004, Hennig was awarded a full scholarship to

The New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts, where she fell in love with acting. She worked

relentlessly for two years to hone her natural talent. Two months prior to graduation, Hennig

was vacationing in Los Angeles when she received a last-minute audition and landed the role of

the feisty character Stephanie Johnson on NBC’s long-running hit daytime series Days of Our

http://www.unfriendedmovie.com/


Lives. For her role in the series, she earned two Daytime Emmy Award nominations for

Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series.

After departing Days of Our Lives in 2011, Hennig entered into her first pilot season.

Within a matter of weeks, she landed a leading role on the CW drama The Secret Circle, from

executive producer Kevin Williamson (Scream, TV’s Dawson’s Creek), on which she starred

opposite Britt Robertson and Thomas Dekker as Diana Meade, the head of the coven. That same

year, Hennig secured a recurring role on the MTV comedy Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous,

opposite comedian and creator Bo Burnham. In the multi-episode arc, she portrayed Christy

Ackerman, the eccentric, camera-loving, high school “it girl.” In this role, Hennig was able to

showcase her comedic ability.

Since wrapping The Secret Circle, Hennig has guest starred on the critically acclaimed

FX drama Justified, as Jackie Nevada, Timothy Olyphant’s love interest; the CBS sitcom Friend

Me, from executive producers Eric and Kim Tannenbaum (TV’s Two and a Half Men), alongside

Nicholas Braun and Christopher Mintz-Plasse; and CBS’ highly successful drama Blue Bloods,

which stars Tom Selleck, Donnie Wahlberg and Bridget Moynahan.

In 2013, Hennig filmed the indie feature Scout, opposite Nikki Reed, Danny Glover and

Jane Seymour. She finished the year off strong, landing a recurring role as “werecoyote” Malia

Tate on MTV’s hit series Teen Wolf, which soon led to a series regular role. Hennig recently

completed filming the coming-of-age indie feature Still Life, opposite Carter Jenkins and Matt

Shively.

Hennig currently resides in Los Angeles.

MOSES STORM (Mitch) is a talented writer and performer who can be seen starring on

the Hulu series The 4 to 9ers: The Day Crew. Storm was recently seen on NBC’s About a Boy

and in a digital campaign for StubHub. He will next be seen as the host of the new MTV pilot

Throwback Thursday, produced by Maverick TV and All3Media.

Storm is a gifted stand-up, host and sketch comedian, and currently co-hosts and

produces a bi-monthly live show at Nerdist Showroom at Meltdown Comics called This Show Is

Your Show with Matt and Moses. Guest performers on the show have included John Mulaney,

Thomas Middleditch, T.J. Miller and Neal Brennan. Additionally, Storm is an acclaimed

storyteller, having recently won The Moth’s GrandSLAM in Los Angeles.


In addition to his live shows, Storm gained a large social media following from his viral

video “Terminaly Chill Birthday” and social media posts detailing how he tried to throw his own

birthday party at the Chili’s Too at LAX. His newest social experiment, “#ModernMillenial,”

which began as a Kickstarter campaign that became fully funded, had him living full-time at an

art installation in downtown Los Angeles in September 2014. Storm’s adventure was

documented on his Tumblr page and was featured in LA Weekly. A trailer for

“#ModernMillenial” can be viewed on Storm’s YouTube page.

RENEE OLSTEAD (Jess) has amassed more than nine seasons of television

appearances as a cast member of ABC Family’s The Secret Life of the American Teenager, as

well as the hit CBS sitcom Still Standing, opposite Mark Addy and Jamie Gertz. At age 12,

Olstead signed to Warner Bros. Records, releasing two critically acclaimed albums produced by

16-time Grammy Award winner David Foster. Her incredible vocal prowess, stage presence,

versatility and songwriting skill make her a complete entertainer.

Olstead has appeared on Today, Late Show With David Letterman and performed on The

Oprah Winfrey Show. She performed at the “Live 8” concert in Berlin, along with other

performers, including Paul McCartney, Madonna and Sting. She was nominated for Best

Original Song in a Motion Picture at the 2006 Golden Globe Awards and a Grammy Award for

Best Arrangement for “Summertime,” from her self-titled debut. She has also performed live

with recording-industry legends, such as Billy Joel, Elton John, Brian Wilson and Celine Dion.

Olstead’s feature film work includes 13 Going on 30, opposite Jennifer Garner; The

Insider; End of Days; and The Midnight Game. Olstead recently shot a pilot for ABC Family

titled Work Mom, on which she stars as Heather, a recently promoted woman who hires her

unemployed mother. For music, she continues to tour internationally and makes regular live

vocal appearances.

Olstead’s talent is complemented by her poise, maturity, sense of humor and

extraordinary professionalism. She is eager to share her unique talents with ever-expanding

audiences.

Olstead resides in Los Angeles.


WILL PELTZ (Adam) will next be seen in the independent feature The Outskirts,

opposite Victoria Justice, due out this summer. Peltz was most recently seen alongside Adam

Sandler and Jennifer Garner in Jason Reitman’s Men, Women & Children, and in Paranoia, with

Liam Hemsworth, Gary Oldman and Amber Heard.

Peltz’s previous films include As Cool as I am, opposite Claire Danes and James

Marsden, and Lionsgate’s Abduction, with Taylor Lautner.

A native of Lomita, California, JACOB WYSOCKI (Ken) landed his first professional

acting job with a recurring role on the ABC Family series Huge. Wysocki followed this up with

a critically acclaimed turn in the 2011 Sundance Film Festival standout Terri, in which he starred

in the title role opposite John C. Reilly. For his role in the film, Wysocki received a Gotham

Award nomination for Breakthrough Actor and was highlighted by The Huffington Post as one of

2011’s Fresh Faces in Movies.

Wysocki next starred in Matthew Lillard’s directorial debut Fat Kid Rules the World,

which had its world premiere at the 2012 SXSW Film Festival, where it won an Audience

Award. He was seen in the hit Universal Pictures a cappella comedy Pitch Perfect and the short

film NSFW, which premiered at the 2013 Santa Barbara International Film Festival. This year,

he will be seen in the Hulu series Resident Advisors.

Wysocki regularly performs with the ComedySportz improv troupe at the National

Comedy Theatre in Hollywood and is a member of the viral video sketch group Bath Boys

Comedy. He also performs on the UCB’s Team Landlord.

Wysocki can be found on the Web at bathboyscomedy.blogspot.com and on Twitter

(@JacobWysocki).

Southern California-native COURTNEY HALVERSON (Val) began acting as a young

teenager. After completing several independent films, Halverson graduated high school at age

15 and continued to pursue a career in film, as well as television.

Halverson is perhaps best known for her many performances in indie films. She starred

in the feature-film Godspeed, an intense, often-difficult-to-watch thriller filmed entirely in the

Alaskan wilderness. The film showcased Halverson’s gritty performance as a teenage girl

trapped in horrifying circumstances and earned the actress much praise. Following Godspeed,


she appeared in The Hammer, the inspirational true story of Matt Hamill who was the first deaf

wrestler to win a NCAA Wrestling Championship.

Following these performances, Halverson received an invitation to participate in the

prestigious Directors Lab at the Sundance Institute in Park City, Utah. There, she worked

closely with a talented group of mentors, including Ed Harris (Apollo 13), director Elgin James

(Little Birds), Alfre Woodard (American Violet), cinematographer Caleb Deschanel (The

Patriot), Kirk Baltz (Reservoir Dogs) and director Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight).

In addition to her work in film, Halverson has had a successful career in television. She

appeared in recurring roles on HBO’s Big Love, MTV’s Death Valley and veteran soap

opera General Hospital, as well as guest performances on Ghost Whisperer and The Secret Life

of the American Teenager. Halverson also starred in the Hallmark Channel movie Love Finds a

Home. Based on a popular book series set in the late-1800s, the film’s cast included Michael

Trevino (The Vampire Diaries) and Patty Duke (The Miracle Worker).

After working with master horror director Drew Daywalt on the series Death Valley,

Halverson was cast as the lead in his thriller Leprechaun’s Revenge, alongside Billy Zane and

William Devane. The film was shot entirely on location in Louisiana and allowed Halverson to

explore the world of horror films. Her performance was well reviewed, and the film gained a

cult following after airing on Syfy.

Halverson’s current projects include the film 1915, which tells a story of the Armenian

Genocide, and a recurring role on season two of True Detective, for which she is currently

filming alongside Colin Farrell and Rachel McAdams.

HEATHER SOSSAMAN (Laura Barns) was born and raised in Long Beach, California.

Alongside her two sisters, Sossaman began acting at a young age. She immediately landed small

roles on such shows as Beverly Hills, 90210, for which she was handpicked by executive

producer Aaron Spelling when she was just 10 years old. A versatile artist, Sossaman taught

herself to play guitar at a young age, and at age 18, she was featured on MTV for her singing and

songwriting skills. Shortly after, Sossaman attended a mass audition of more than 3,500

performers to join the first-ever Disneyland cast in Paris, France. She was selected as one of

only three girls to spend a year training and performing in Paris.


After visiting more than 16 countries while abroad, Sossaman returned home to focus on

an acting career in Los Angeles. Since then, she has landed guest-starring and recurring roles on

NBC’s Days of Our Lives; NCIS: Los Angeles; Breaking In with Christian Slater; and Hawaii

Five-0, as goddaughter to James Caan’s character. She has also appeared on three CSI series as a

major guest star. Sossaman’s television roles have ranged from strong, comedic roles to intense,

dramatic roles.

Sossaman has played notable lead roles in film over the last few years. In 2014, she was

seen in 10.0 Earthquake, alongside Lost’s Henry Ian Cusick. In January, she was seen in

Desecrated, opposite Haylie Duff, Michael Ironside and Gonzalo Menendez. Unfriended marks

Sossaman’s first wide theatrical release.

Sossaman is a talented and skilled young artist, steadily making a mark with her range in

acting, singing and performing.

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

LEVAN (LEO) GABRIADZE (Directed by) is a Russian-based movie and commercial

director. Since 1995, Gabriadze has worked at Timur Bekmambetov’s production company,

Bazelevs Productions, and has made more than 100 commercials. In 2011, he directed his first

feature, Lucky Trouble. Unfriended is his second full-length film.

NELSON GREAVES (Writer/Produced by) is an American screenwriter and producer,

who was born and raised in Fresno, California. Greaves received a BA in English from Harvard

University before moving to Los Angeles in 2010. He currently writes for FOX’s Sleepy

Hollow. Previously, Greaves worked for Timur Bekmambetov, writing and producing various

projects. Unfriended is his first feature film.

TIMUR BEKMAMBETOV (Produced by) was born in the city of Guryev, in the

former Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic. At the age of 19, Bekmambetov moved to Tashkent,

in the former Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic, where in 1987 he graduated from the A.N.

Ostrovsky Theatrical and Artistic Institute with a degree in theater and cinema set designing.


Between 1992 and 1997, Bekmambetov was one of the directors of Bank Imperial’s

popular “World History” commercials. In 1994, he founded Bazelevs Company, an advertising

and film production, distribution and marketing company.

Bekmambetov’s first feature, 1994’s Peshavarsky Vals (Escape From Afghanistan), was

a violent and realistic look at the war between Russia and Afghanistan. The film was dubbed in

English and released direct to video by Roger Corman in 2002. Bekmambetov next produced

and directed an eight-part miniseries for television titled Our ’90s. Bekmambetov then returned

to directing features with the Corman-produced The Arena (2001). The film was a remake of the

1974 film of the same name. In 2002, Bekmambetov directed and co-produced (with Bakhyt

Kilibayev) the film GAZ—Russian Cars.

In 2004, Bekmambetov wrote and directed Night Watch, a popular Russian fantasy film

based on the book by Sergey Lukyanenko. The film was extremely successful in Russia, and at

the time became its highest-grossing release ever. Making $16.7 million in Russia alone, it

outearned The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, which opened there earlier that year.

The sequel to Night Watch, Day Watch (2006), was likewise written and directed by

Bekmambetov. The two films attracted the attention of Fox Searchlight Pictures.

Bekmambetov followed up Day Watch with the smash hit The Irony of Fate 2 (2007).

This sequel to the famous Soviet film remains one of the most successful films in Russian

history. His Hollywood directorial debut was Universal Pictures’ Wanted (2008), an action

blockbuster about a secret society of assassins, which was based on a comic-book miniseries of

the same name written by Mark Millar and starred Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman and James

McAvoy.

In 2012, 20th Century Fox released Bekmambetov’s most recent U.S. film, Abraham

Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, which starred Benjamin Walker, Dominic Cooper and Anthony

Mackie. Bekmambetov has also produced a number of films in the U.S. and Russia, including 9,

Black Lightning, Apollo 18 and The Darkest Hour. His Russian film company, Bazelevs, is one

of the leaders in the domestic market. In 2013, Bazelevs produced the third installment of its

New Year franchise Yolki, which became the top-grossing comedy in Russia, as well as the

comedy Kiss Them All!, which not only became Russia’s most profitable film of 2013, but also

received nine nominations at the Russian Film Academy Awards.


Bekmambetov is currently working with MGM on a remake of Ben Hur, which begins

filming in July, and is developing his own project, Dragon, in Russia. He has more than 15

Russian- and English-language projects in development.

Primetime Emmy Award-winning producer JASON BLUM (Executive Producer) is the

founder and CEO of Blumhouse Productions, a multimedia production company that has

pioneered a new model of studio filmmaking by producing high-quality micro-budget films for

wide release. Blumhouse produced the highly-profitable Paranormal Activity, The Purge,

Insidious and Sinister franchises, which have grossed more than $1.2 billion worldwide on

combined budgets under $40 million. Blumhouse’s model began with the original Paranormal

Activity, which was made for $15,000 and grossed close to $200 million worldwide, making it

the most profitable film in Hollywood history. Most recently, Blumhouse produced The Boy

Next Door, which starred Jennifer Lopez, and The Lazarus Effect.

Blumhouse’s first-look deal with Universal Pictures includes the upcoming micro-budget

wide releases of the next chapters in the Insidious and Sinister franchises, for Focus Features,

and the original films Jem and the Holograms and The Visit, for Universal Pictures.

Blum was recently nominated for an Academy Award® for producing Best Picture

nominee Whiplash.

BH Tilt is a new label from the company dedicated to generating movies from

Blumhouse and other filmmakers that will be released across multiple platforms, taking

advantage of new distribution strategies.

For television, Blum won a Primetime Emmy Award for producing HBO’s The Normal

Heart. Blumhouse produced the television series Ascension (Syfy), Eye Candy (MTV)

and South of Hell (WE tv). Blumhouse’s development slate includes Gillian Flynn’s Sharp

Objects, with eOne, and an unscripted show with Mike Darnell. In addition to The Normal

Heart, Blumhouse previously executive produced Stranded, for Syfy, and The River, for ABC.

Blumhouse has produced a variety of live events, including The Blumhouse of Horrors, a

haunted-house experience in the heart of downtown Los Angeles; The Purge: Fear the Night,

inspired by the backstory to the feature film; and The Purge: Breakout, an immersive escape

game experience.


Before Blumhouse, Blum served as co-head of the acquisitions and co-productions

department at Miramax Films in New York. At Miramax, he was instrumental in acquiring more

than 50 films, including The Others, Smoke Signals, A Walk on the Moon and The House of Yes.

Blum has produced more than 75 films and television series throughout his career. His

credits also include The Reader, which garnered Kate Winslet an Academy Award®; Hysterical

Blindness, which earned Uma Thurman a Golden Globe Award; and Hamlet, which starred

Ethan Hawke, Bill Murray, Sam Shepard and Kyle MacLachlan.

Blum began his career as the producing director of the Malaparte Theater Company,

which was founded by Hawke. He currently serves on the board of directors of the New Group

Theater in New York City.

ADAM SIDMAN (Director of Photography/Co-Producer) is a film and television

producer based in Los Angeles. Sidman serves as president of U.S. production for Timur

Bekmambetov’s company, Bazelevs Productions, where he oversees a wide range of projects in

various formats and genres.

Additionally, Sidman has produced top-rated television programs for Discovery, National

Geographic, TNT, Spike and Animal Planet. He has also helped develop several show pitches

that became successful series, including A&E’s hit show Duck Dynasty.

In 2005, Sidman filed a U.S. patent for a handheld gyroscope-based camera stabilization

device. This revolutionary rig allows a camera operator complete maneuverable motion control

over a camera while offering solid stabilization utilizing MEMS gyro sensors and servomotors.

He has successfully been granted two patents for his invention (U.S. patents 7,642,741 and

8,179,078).

Sidman shoots on a variety of video and film formats and has a strong background in

lighting and postproduction.

Sidman is originally from Colorado Springs, Colorado, and received his undergraduate

degree from Harvard University.


HEIDI KOLETO (Production Designer) grew up in Montana and Colorado fostering a

natural love for ice skating. Koleto went on to attend film school in Los Angeles, focusing her

studies on art direction and production design.

Koleto has worked on numerous music videos and commercials, in addition to

independent films, such as the upcoming Welcome to Happiness, and television movies,

including Starving in Suburbia. She is currently enjoying a stint at Nickelodeon as an art

director for the network’s Web-based content.

Koleto is a Star Wars enthusiast who currently hangs her Stormtrooper helmet alongside

her blaster rifle in Hollywood.

VERONIKA BELENIKINA (Costume Designer) graduated from Moscow State

University. Since 2011, Belenikina has worked at Timur Bekmambetov’s Bazelevs Productions

as a director’s assistant. Additionally, she has worked as a producer at the Gabriadze Theatre for

three years.

PARKER LARAMIE (Edited by) was born in Los Angeles. After earning his BA in

cinema studies at the University of Toronto, Laramie moved back to Los Angeles to pursue

editing. Over the last four years, he has cut music videos, commercials, trailers, shorts, features

and documentaries.

Laramie is currently finishing a feature documentary about the daughter of an

NFL running back diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, chronicling the history of

head trauma in football and the NFL.

ANDREW WESMAN (Edited by) is a writer, director, editor and cinematographer.

Wesman received his BA from Harvard University and his MFA from UCLA. His films have

screened to audiences all around the globe, including the Cannes Film Festival.

—unfriended—

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