Apologies to all you emetophobics out there: Next month, indie streamer Nebula will release the short film “The Dinner Plan,” directed by Patrick Willems. The film tells the story of a man (played by Griffin Newman) who tries desperately not to vomit at his boss’s dinner party.
The 33-minute comedy-thriller, starring Newman, John Hodgman, Miriam Scholl, Zach Cherry, Eudora Peterson, Jeffrey Cantor, and Cindy Cheung, will be available on the streamer on November 26, just in time for Thanksgiving.
Directed by Willems and written by Michael Curran and Jacob Torpey based on Willems’ book, the film’s description reads: “When pressured to attend a dinner party hosted by his boss, a man suffering from a rare food allergy must survive the most stressful night of his life with one main goal: just not to throw up in front of everyone.”
The first trailer for Nebula’s “The Dinner Plan,” which Variety can exclusively reveal via the video above, makes it very clear that the man is not supposed to eat tomatoes under any circumstances, and yet tomatoes appear to be his hosts’ favorite ingredient throughout the night.
“The Dinner Plan” is produced by Nebula’s Dave Wiskus and Trenton Waterson. Zara Glaze is an associate producer.
The film marks a milestone for indie streamer Nebula, a creator-owned subscription streaming platform launched in 2019. Nebula is slowly gaining momentum as it looks to expand beyond its “edutainment” programming roots into scripted content.
YouTube and Nebula star Willems is a New York-based filmmaker and video essayist best known for his YouTube channel, which blends feature film criticism and narrative storytelling. His debut feature film, Night of the Coconut, was released on Nebula in 2022.
