Back to ‘Swingers’: Favreau’s Indie Pic ‘Chef’ Goes to Open Road

Jon Favreau has swung from hefty to skinny and back again, from indie to studio, original to sequel. Now yet another Marvel director is taking a studio vacation via indie production. Favreau joins the ranks of actor-filmmakers, from Ben Affleck to Brit
Marling, who write and create projects for themselves to star in,
keeping costs low and under the studio radar. 

The “Iron Man” director has returned to his “Swinger” roots, Joss Whedon-style, with “Chef,” which he wrote, directed and stars in. Open Roads has picked up U.S. rights to the film, which starts shooting this July in Los Angeles for release on May 9, 2014.

Favreau went to Cannes to pre-sell foreign rights to the film which is financed by Aldamisa Entertainment, “Chef” also stars Sofia Vergara, Scarlett Johansson, John Leguizamo, and yes, “Iron Man” himself, Robert Downey. Jr.

In “Chef” Feavreau plays Carl Casper, who loses his pressured at a tony restaurant chef job and sets up his own food truck business, hoping to find his cooking mojo. At the same time, he tries to reconnect with his estranged family.

Producers are Karen Gilchrist and Aldamisa’s Sergei Bespalov.