There’s a new comedy, The Science of Cool that is in pre-production and with a classic concept and an all star cast lined up already, I wanted to follow the film more closely from now until its release. So to start off my series of Cool posts, writer & producer of the film, Eric Goren took some time out to give an update and more background on the film.

Neil Tobbler and his best friend Gilbert Stevens are the biggest geeks in their school who love science class, get good grades, are socially inept, and just can’t seem to get a break from anyone they meet in their lives, until they stumble upon a formula which can transform nerds into studs. Life changes instantly before their eyes, or does it?

Goren came up with the concept for the film with his writing partner and wife, Patricia Goren in the summer of 2006 and it has since been through many rewrites. Cool is set in current day suburbia America and though it’s a teen comedy, there will be a lesson to be learned in the end…a throwback to the 80’s which was Goren’s inspiration. Don’t be surprised if you see this film at San Diego Comic Con in 2011.

Pictured Above: Eric Goren

What elements of the teen comedy do you want to bring out in a different way in this film?
The whole idea of The Science of Cool is to take elements from the 80’s films that I grew up with and love so much such as The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, Fast Times, Say Anything, and 16 Candles and twist those ideas into what the kids today will be familiar with. So essentially, the movie will appeal to the generation x’ers of the 80’s and 90’s as well as the generation y’ers right now! But, the vision for The Science of Cool will be uniquely different from anything that you have ever seen.

Will there be any American popular culture references?
There will be tons of pop culture references in The Science of Cool – some subtle, some not so subtle.

How did you team up with director, William Zabka?
I wanted to use a director who understands the 80’s but also is familiar with teen comedies. Zabka was an actor in The Karate Kid, European Vacation, and Back to School. I truly believe that The Science of Cool will be in good hands and I a very happy with the progress so far.

What were some of the challenges faced between writing the script and now to getting ready to shoot the film?
Some of the biggest challenges that I am facing today is securing funding in this uncertain economic time period. But I am confident that we will overcome this little glitch soon.

In what ways do the 2 nerds, the main characters reflect your life and what from your life have you put into the script?
I did base some of the situations of the story on my life or on the lives of some of the people I knew. I also based some of the stories on my students that I teach. As a teacher, many of my best ideas come from just watching the day unfold and seeing what happens!

Make sure to check out The Science of Cool on Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter.