The Peanut Butter Falcon is an adventure story set in the world of a modern Mark Twain that begins when Zak (22), a young man with Down syndrome runs away from a nursing home where he lives to chase his dream of becoming a professional wrestler and attending the wrestling school of The Salt Water Redneck (50). Through circumstances beyond their control Tyler (34), a small time outlaw on the run becomes Zak’s unlikely coach and ally. Together they wind through deltas, elude capture, drink whisky, find God, catch fish, and convince Eleanor (26), a kind nursing home employee with a story of her own to join them on their journey.
Written // Directed by: Tyler Nilson & Michael Schwartz
Starring: Shia LaBeouf as Tyler, Dakota Johnson as Eleanor, John Hawkes as Duncan, Bruce Dern as Carl, Thomas Haden Church as "The Salt Water Redneck," Jon Bernthal as Mark, Mick Foley as Jacob, Jake "The Snake" as Samson, Yelawolf as Ratboy, and introducing Zach Gottsagen as Zak.
Filmmaker Biographies:
Tyler Nilson is a filmmaker from North Carolina. He explored the seas of the South Pacific as an adventurer for a handful of years, and eventually decided to take his rich desire to tell stories and move to Los Angeles. He has appeared in commercials selling products that people don’t really need, like NFL jerseys and beer. He also used to be one of the world’s top hand models and enjoyed making easy money doubling his hands for actors like Brad Pitt. A few years ago he released a narrative short film called The Moped Diaries, which people seemed to enjoy.
Michael Schwartz is a filmmaker from Northern California. His roots as a traveler and artist are constant influences on the projects he chooses and people he surrounds himself with. Some of his accomplishments include riding his bicycle across the country, planting an orchard, and growing a really big beard. In 2014 Michael and Tyler Nilson collaborated on a short film called The Moped Diaries and co-founded a production company called Lucky Treehouse; together they make films, commercials, and marinara sauce.
Director's Statement:
When I was 15 a judge sentenced me to 16 months in a boot camp for wayward boys. My crime was a simple misdemeanor. But being an outcast from a strict religious community, the powers-that-be wanted to make an example of me. I was dropped off in the middle of the North Carolina and told “try not to die out there.” What I thought would be arduous and painful turned into the most exhilarating experience of my life. Ironically, the following year plus in an “outside jail for children” was when I became the most free boy on earth. I had total reign of my life, so long as I didn’t journey outside of the razor wire fence on the 95 square mile property. I built my own house out of trees, I slept wherever I wanted, I stopped bathing, and I danced around fires late into the night with other boys who found themselves in the same place at the same time. It was magic, nothing could touch us; we were the wildest of animals.
When I finally came home 16 months later, I longed for the life I left behind in the woods. My father said to me “No man is an island” I have struggled with the reality of those words, and wish to express that with my art, film making. I’m still a wild animal but in a different way. I know with The Peanut Butter Falcon we can capture that magic on film. What it feels like to be completely free, and then to find balance and eventually peace with the fast-paced world. After all, no man is an island.
I plan to combine the elements of my youth with the stark juxtaposition of the friends of my present. I work and make films with Down syndrome actors. Many of them struggle to maintain a regular life, not because of their disabilities, but because of others disbelief in their talents. I have had many friends with Downs placed in old age homes because of lack of proper care. I know how beautiful freedom is, and I know what it feels like to be locked away as well. I am grateful I know that freedom in the outdoors and my heart aches for my friends with Down syndrome who touch only linoleum floors and plastic all day. I am not making this film for them. However, I am making it for the people who believe it is ok to dismiss them and lock them away. Prejudice towards Down syndrome is costing a lot of young people good years of their lives. Everyone should know what it feels like to go a little wild, even if you’ve got an extra copy of chromosome 21.
