Wain-Marino's Raunchy 'Oz' Retelling Opens Theaters
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- "Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass" opens in theaters July 10, with Zoey Deutch starring as a naive Kansas woman who journeys to Los Angeles to meet and have sex with Jon Hamm after catching her fiancé in a compromising position with Jennifer Aniston at a book signing.
- The decade-old screenplay, originally titled "I'll Take the Hamm," functions as a "fucked up, silly retelling" of The Wizard of Oz — complete with a sidekick named Otto (Toto's letters rearranged), and John Slattery delivering nearly verbatim Cowardly Lion dialogue from the 1939 film.
- The production secured a last-minute California tax credit to shoot in Los Angeles after producers initially pushed for Atlanta or Canada; the entire film was completed in just 21 days, with Jon Hamm's scenes crammed into three days at the start due to his schedule.
- The release lands 25 years to the month after Wet Hot American Summer, which grossed just $17,481 in its opening weekend before becoming a cult favorite passed around on VHS and DVD.
- Wain and Marino's Middle Aged Dad Jam Band is launching a five-city anniversary tour in July, including a stop at New York's Irving Plaza, featuring a Wet Hot American Summer song medley with film footage projected behind the band.
Why it matters: Wain and Marino are releasing 'Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass' theatrically on July 10 rather than on streaming, with Wain framing it as a deliberate stand for 'comedies that are just comedies and not trying to make any statement about anything' — bucking the industry's recent trend of comedies going straight to streaming platforms.
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