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Jon Poll '76 makes his directorial debut in theaters everywhere today with his feature film Charlie Bartlett, shown in secret here last April.
Film director Jon Poll’76 returned to The Putney School last April for a private screening of Charlie Bartlett, starring Robert Downey Jr. Poll’s screen credits as an editor, co-producer and executive producer include Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Austin Powers in Goldmember, Meet the Parents, Meet The Fockers, and The 40-Year-Old Virgin.
Distributed by MGM/UA, this coming-of-age film will be showing at theaters starting today.
“The truth is that the work ethic instilled at Putney through work jobs, afternoon jobs, and other activities have served me very well in the film business,” said Poll. “The ability to work tirelessly with full commitment is an invaluable part of being a director.”
Shot last June in Ontario, the film, which contains adult themes, is a witty dark comedy about a rich kid (Anton Yelchin) who becomes the self-appointed, prescription drug-wielding “psychiatrist” to the student body of his new public high school. R-rated for language, drug content and brief nudity, the film follows this newcomer’s misguided struggle for acceptance before he’s able to reflect, rebound and land on his feet. “I believe that if you asked every person when they made the most mistakes in their lives, most would say high school – yet we all (almost all) survived,” said Poll.
Poll credits the late Putney School physics teacher Ed Shore as a defining influence. “He was not only an amazing science teacher, but he was also an avid photographer and lover of film,” said Poll of Shore, who sponsored him on a school photography project called Walk Through Brattleboro. “Ed was definitely an inspiration.”
Poll is among several successful filmmakers and visual artists who are Putney alumni. Others include actresses Barbara Bel Geddes’41, Felicity Huffman ’81, Tea Leoni ’84, Joanna Miles ’58; actors Tim Daly’75, Ken Olin’72, Wally Shawn ’61; photographers Sally Mann ’69, David Plowden ’51; Lost TV executive producer Carlton Cuse ’77 and Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Erroll Morris ’65.
Charlie Bartlett is not based on actual events and is not autobiographical.