- Misfit coworkers David and Mark are unqualified for their job transporting troubled teens to rehab.
- Their journey with a mischievous teen spirals into chaos, but develops into a heartwarming story of found friendship.
- The film’s directors and stars collaborated closely to market the independent movie and get audiences engaged.
When you think of a movie titled IDIOTS, you might think you know what to expect, but I promise you, you don’t. BOSSIP joined the press junket for the film, where we talked to O’Shea Jackson Jr. and Dave Franco about their marketing tactics for the film, why people should see the film, and how their friendship has influenced their working relationship.
The film follows the journey of an unlikely pair, David (O’Shea) and Mark (Dave), who are down on their luck after being fired due to making bad decisions at their former respective jobs. Looking for easy work, they both find their way to a rinky-dink agency responsible for transferring troubled teens to rehab, a job they’re both unqualified for. Seems simple enough, right? Well, no.
David is trying to make better choices on the job while Mark himself seems to be a troubled teen in an adult body. These two become coworkers who are immediately annoyed with each other, and the journey continues to spiral into mayhem once they meet the teen they have to transport to rehab, Sheridan (Mason Thames). Mischief, comedy, eccentricities, drugs, and danger plague the trip from that point on.
Director Mason Blair describes the film as “about desperate people trying to do their not-great best, which is always going to be a soft spot for me.”
He continues, “And despite the character’s undercurrent of bitterness, I think of it as a fundamentally warmhearted story about found friendships.”
The independent film distributed through the Independent Film Company was an official 2026 selection at the Sundance Film Festival and SXSW Film and TV Festival.
Early development and Marketing
Produced by Franco and executive produced by Jackson, the film took roughly ten years to come to life. “ I’ve been talking to our director about this project for a long time. He almost made this movie like ten years ago, …but at the time, I was a little too young to play this role so we kind of amicably parted ways,” Dave said.
He continues,
“But then eight years went by, and I reached out to him, and I was like, ‘Whatever happened with that?’” Dave relayed his continued interest in playing Mark to Mason Blair, saying, “Hey man, no pressure, but I’m old now. I can play this role, and I’d love to come on as a producer and help find the money and put the cast together.”
Dave Franco and O’Shea Jackson Jr. have gotten involved in the marketing strategy, making and selling merchandise and heavily working closely with the film’s marketing team to push the success of this independent project.
“This isn’t a big movie, you know, so I want to do everything I can to push this thing to make sure we get butts in seats. I’m talking with the marketing team all day, every day. I want the materials to be great.” He continues, “When you have a movie of this size, that’s how you get attention. You put out good trailers. You put out good posters that actually catch attention.”
O’Shea chimes in, saying,
“When I see Dave doing these things and being excited to get the marketing going, I get t-shirts made and every show that I went on, every time I did my wrestling pod [cast], making sure we have T’s out there. Now we got hoodies.”
Dave Franco and O’Shea Jackson Jr. on their friendship and working relationship
The duo first worked together on The Roku Channel show The Now, and remained friends ever since.
When IDIOTS was picked up again, and Dave Franco signed on as a producer, the first call he made was to O’Shea. “The first call I made was to this guy. I couldn’t picture anyone else in these scenes, and I knew Shea would kill it,” Dave said.
He continued,
“Bringing on someone who I know so well, who I feel so comfortable with –that’s when I do my best work.”
O’Shea didn’t shy away from applauding Dave, saying,
“This was a new, fun opportunity to work with someone I consider one of my best friends from acting, and also, from the producer standpoint, I’m really watching how Dave moves. How he speaks in text messages or emails, kind of taking notes, because this is my first time having my name on the other side of the camera.”
Jackson follows, “It’s crazy to see his kind of motor and work ethic off camera is basically the same speed as it is on camera. He just gives it his all, and that is something I’m going to take into other projects I want to create on my own.”
Why Should You See This Film?
Well, as O’Shea put it, “’Cause there’s a little idiot in all of us,” followed by Dave saying, “ That’s the existential answer to that question.” Dave continues, “You should see IDIOTS because this movie is a ride, man. You’re genuinely going to laugh out loud.”
Dave followed by saying,
“There are these kinds of existential moments – in a movie that’s called IDIOTS, you’ll think about your life. You won’t expect that. It’s got these layers, and that is the DNA of everything our director touches – you don’t know where it’s going. This is one of those movies you cannot predict where it’s going.”
IDIOTS hits theaters nationwide on August 28, 2026.
