AJ Bowen (A Horrible Way to Die, You're Next) and Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator, From Beyond) have signed on for Grow Up, Tony Phillips, the fourth feature film from writer-director Emily Hagins (My Sucky Teen Romance, Pathogen). The pair join previously attached cast members Tony Vespe, Devin Bonnée (both of My Sucky Teen Romance), and Jamie Landau (son of Jon Landau, in his feature film acting debut) in the independently-produced comedy about a Halloween-loving teenager who doesn't think childhood passions should have an expiration date.

Grow Up, Tony Phillips is the fourth feature film from young director Emily Hagins, who drew an international spotlight when she set out to make her first feature, the zombie film Pathogen, at only 11 years old. Her most recent film, the vampire comedy My Sucky Teen Romance, enjoyed its world premiere at the 2011 South by Southwest Film Festival, where it was acquired by Dark Sky Films for American distribution. Producing are Paul Gandersman and Peter S. Hall, founders of the Austin, Texas-based Arcanum Pictures. Filming is set to begin in late 2012, with principal photography taking place in and around Central Texas.

The production is currently raising a portion of its budget on the revolutionary platform Kickstarter, where today they're also announcing a limited-edition, original poster for Grow Up, Tony Phillips created by artist Jay Shaw (of Mondo posters fame) that will only ever be available through the film's campaign. To learn more about the Kickstarter campaign and get involved, head to GrowUpTonyPhillips.com.

About Emily Hagins

Like all passionate filmmakers, Emily Hagins was bitten with the cinema bug at a very young age. Unlike most, however, her ambitions couldn't wait. The production of Pathogen, her first feature film, at the age of 11, is chronicled in the hit documentary Zombie Girl: The Movie. She followed that with her second film, the ghostly The Retelling, which paved the way for the SXSW hit 2011 vampire comedy My Sucky Teen Romance, available now on Blu-ray, DVD and VOD from Dark Sky Films.