Written by Kianna Best on Aug 9, 2023. Posted in Production News

LA set story Sitting in Bars with Cake explores love and friendship

With just under a month to go, Prime Video’s upcoming project Sitting in Bars with Cake has released their trailer. The Yara Shahidi and Odessa A’zion led film follows the true story of two twenty-somethings navigating their life in Los Angeles when a combination of baked goods and bar settings lead them on an unexpected adventure. Exploring some Los Angeles gems, Sitting in Bars with Cake is set to premier on the streaming service 8 September 2023.

In the heat of their twenties, Corinne and Jane flit between classic LA sights bringing the essence of the city to life through the perspective of the unsure and energetic young adults living amongst them. Following the end of 2022 on-location filming fall reported by Film LA, the upcoming flick shows the efforts to breath life back into the city's shoot worthy landscapes. As the two friends bar hop of course to reveal their cakes, they also encounter other backdrops, including the Hollywood Palladium, the Roosevelt Hotel, Clifton’s Republic, Miceli’s Restaurant, the Pink Flamingo apartments, Venice Beach Boardwalk, Los Angeles State Historic Park, and Moonlight Rollerway.

“Being in these places was such a great shortcut to everybody feeling the realness and rawness of it all,” director Trish Sie told Glamour preceding the trailer release. “Everyone on our crew was based in LA, so they’ve all been to these bars and some of them haven’t been there maybe in 20 years. It was really a fun wormhole into that whole scene, and I think it would be different if you had to fake it.”

A'zion, known for her roles in Netflix’s Grand Army and Hellraiser, plays Corinne, the “ultimate extrovert” in the friendship duo. The lesser adventurous Jane, played by Black-ish and Grown-ish star Shahidi, is convinced by Jane to take on the task of committing to a year of baking cakes and bringing them to bars. As simple as the title makes the story sound, the two friends find themselves on a tumultuous journey as Corinne receives a life-altering diagnosis. In a tale of love, friendship and finding the joy in life, the Audrey Shulman book adaptation is taken on by Pitch Perfcet 3 and Step Up All In director Trish Sie, who promises it is definitely not a rom-com.

Joining Shahidi and A’zion on bringing the narrative to life, Hocus Pocus and Beaches star Bette Midler playing Corinne’s boss and Ron Livingston from Office Space and Sex and the City as her father.  Other cast members include Maia Mitchell (The Fosters, Good Trouble), Charlie Morgan Patton (80 for Brady, Jesus Revolution), Simone Recasner (The Big Leap, American Horror Stories), Rish Shah (Do Revenge, Obsession), Aaron Dominguez (Only Murders in the Building, Gossip Girl), Will Ropp (The Fallout, The Greatest Beer Run Ever), Adina Porter (American Horror Story, True Blood), Martha Kelly (Gaslit, Euphoria), and Navid Negahban (The Cleaning Lady, Tehran).

Images courtesy of Prime Video