Indie streamer Nebula will debut director Patrick Willems' 33-minute comedy-thriller 'The Dinner Plan' on November 26. The film stars Griffin Newman as a man with a rare food allergy navigating a stressful dinner party hosted by his boss. Variety exclusively reveals the first trailer for the short, which highlights the protagonist's desperate efforts to avoid vomiting amid tomato-heavy dishes.
Film Overview
'The Dinner Plan' follows a man pressured into attending his boss's dinner party, where his rare food allergy—specifically to tomatoes—creates high-stakes tension. Directed by Patrick Willems and written by Michael Curran and Jacob Torpey based on a story by Willems, the short blends comedy and thriller elements in a 33-minute runtime. The cast includes Griffin Newman in the lead role, alongside John Hodgman, Miriam Shor, Zach Cherry, Eudora Peterson, Geoffrey Cantor, and Cindy Cheung.
Release Details
The film launches exclusively on Nebula on November 26, timed just before Thanksgiving. Produced by Nebula's Dave Wiskus and Trenton Waterson, with Zara Glaze as associate producer, it marks Nebula's expansion into scripted content beyond its edutainment origins. Nebula, a creator-owned platform launched in 2019, has been gradually incorporating narrative programming.
Background on Creator
Willems, a New York-based filmmaker and YouTube video essayist known for blending film criticism with storytelling, previously released his debut feature 'Night of the Coconut' on Nebula in 2022. The trailer's reveal underscores the film's emetophobia-triggering premise, with Newman's character facing a night of culinary peril. As per the official description: “When he’s pressured into attending a dinner party hosted by his boss, a man who suffers from a rare food allergy must navigate the most stressful night of his life with one primary objective: just don’t throw up in front of everyone.”