Skip to main content

Cleveland indie nabs 'SNL' alum Abby Elliott, TV veteran Breckin Meyer

Abby Elliott joins 'Anhedonia,' set to shoot in Cleveland May 1

Abby Elliott and Breckin Meyer are coming to Cleveland. They are set to star in Anhedonia, the new feature from 1031 Films’ Eric Swinderman and Carmen DeFranco. Filming begins May 1 at locations around Northeast Ohio.

Elliott, an alum of Saturday Night Live, is best known for her roles on How I Met Your Mother, Odd Mom Out, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It may not be Elliott’s first time in Cleveland, either. She played Lara in Fun Size, which shot in Cleveland in 2012.

Meyer starred as Jared Franklin on Franklin & Bash and is well known for roles in Road Trip, Clueless and Garfield.

Also joining the cast is Giselle Eisenberg, who stars as Sophia in Life in Pieces, and Cleveland’s own Debra Herzog, who had a supporting part on Outsiders and serves as a producer on Anhedonia.

Other local stars include Bryant Carroll, Allen O’Reilly, Jonathan Chiarle, and Katherine DeBoer. More roles will soon be cast.

Elliott and Breckin Meyer

Dark subjects, big questions

Anhedonia tells the tale of Casey (Meyer), who meets struggling single mom Jess (Elliott) and her eccentric young daughter (Eisenberg) after receiving a substantial inheritance from a long lost relative. Past struggles make him question whether money and love make life worth living.

“While the film deals with such dark subjects as suicide, mental illness and gun violence,” says Swinderman, “there are funny and romantic moments that keep the story light enough to appeal to all audiences.”

The movie will shoot on location all around the city, including University Hospitals and RTA.

“I love shooting in northeast Ohio,” says Swinderman. “The weather is always a concern, but the people are amazing. I’m always taken aback at how many people are willing to open up their businesses and homes to us just so we can make our movie.”

Swinderman is set to direct the $250,000 film from a script he co-wrote with DeFranco. Swinderman and DeFranco will produce alongside Jami Kinton and Herzog. Executive producers include Elliott, Gene Ptacek, Mark Pauley and Joe Dike.

“I am beyond excited to get started on this project. It’s been three years in the making. We have a brilliant cast and the best crew I could ask for,” says Swinderman.










Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Everything we know about Hulu's ‘The Land,’ the Cleveland Browns TV series

Actor Christopher Meloni hanging with the Cleveland Browns (photo Christopher Meloni) >> The Land , once called 17 Sundays , is This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman‘s upcoming Hulu series set in the world of pro football, starring Christopher Meloni and William H. Macy, and featuring a fictionalized version of the Cleveland Browns. Production has now wrapped, scenes were filmed in Northeast Ohio, and Hulu is targeting a 2027 release. In August 22025, Deadline reported that “ The Land  … got the largest allocation (of California tax credits) … with nearly $43 million.” Here’s everything we know so far about The Land . What is The Land  TV series about? The series centers on the Cleveland Browns, with Macy as team owner Hank Durkin, Meloni as head coach Danny Roarke, and Mandy Moore as Durkin’s ambitious daughter, Lauren, who has spent much of her life preparing to one day run the team. With family succession battles, front-office politics, an Ohio State quarterback becoming...
1 comment
Read more

'Frankenstein,' family history and the art of listening: Meet Brittany Dobish

Brittany Dobish >> Whether she is documenting a nonprofit’s mission, preserving a piece of local history or helping someone tell a deeply personal story, Brittany Dobish believes the most meaningful moments happen when people feel safe enough to be heard. And safe enough to be honest. “I don’t interview people to find out who they are,” Dobish explains. “I interview them to remind them of who they are.” That philosophy shapes both her filmmaking and Dobish Legacy Films , the company she launched in 2024 to help people and organizations preserve the stories that might otherwise disappear. For Dobish, documentary filmmaking is not simply about recording what happened. It is about listening closely enough to discover what those experiences meant. Dobish with Mark Hamer, Crash Cat Media Finding meaning in the misunderstood Dobish’s interest in people, identity and personal history began long before she picked up a camera. As a teenager, she spent years observing the people around he...
Post a Comment
Read more

Everything we know about ‘Superman’ filming in Cleveland and Cincinnati, Ohio

The iconic Daily Planet globe on set in Cleveland, Ohio >>  Superman , under the guise of Genesis , was among the films awarded 2024 film tax incentives by the Ohio Department of Development. The Warner Bros. movie was one of 23 film, television, and theater projects awarded incentives through the Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit Program. Superman, formally titled  Superman: Legacy , kicks off writer/director James Gunn’s DC Universe . Here’s everything we know about the production. Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, caricatured by Shuster Superman  will film on location in Cleveland and Cincinnati Superman  will film in Cleveland and Cincinnati, according to OhioData . On-location work in Cleveland is expected to start June 17 and last through July 16, according to an April 23 casting call from Angela Boehm Casting. Neither Warner Bros. , the Greater Cleveland Film Commission  (GCFC), nor Film Cincinnati have issued an official announcem...
2 comments
Read more