Justin Berfield (Reese) is 24 years old today (25th February, 2010). Everyone here at the VC wishes him a very happy birthday!
So just to embarrass him, in true MITMVC birthdaycelebration style, here is a picture of him from 15 years ago, when he was just 9 years old, auditioning for the role of Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace.
Obviously, he didn’t get that part — it was later filled by Jake Lloyd — but as we know, Justin went on to play Reese for all seven seasons of Malcolm in the Middle.
Recently, Justin has been keeping himself busy as one of the Executive Producers of Sons of Tucson, a new FOX comedy show featuring Natalie Martinez, Matthew Levy, Frank Dolce, Benjamin Stockham, and starring Tyler Labine. Also on the production team is Todd Holland, who directed many episodes of Malcolm and who was one of the key people behind its unique visual style. Sons of Tucson premieres in the US on Sunday, March 14 at 9:30/8:30 Central on FOX.
Thanks to our very own Gill here at the VC for pointing out Justin’s birthday, and once again we wish Justin a very happy birthday and great success with Sons of Tucson.
Justin is to start a competition to win a chance to meet him and visit the set of the new show he is producing Sons of Tucson.
There are few details currently, but it seems the competition with be through Twitter and you need to go follow Justin to find out how to take part. He’s recently moved Twitter accounts, you can now follow him at http://twitter.com/justinberfield (a faker got it at first) instead of his original account http://twitter.com/justin_berfield. Justin will conduct some sort of 5 question challenge with his followers with 1 ultimate winner. During the set visit the winner will have a photo snapped and posted on Justin’s Twitter account. Its being run by Justin’s management and not affiliated with Fox Broadcasting, 20th Century Fox Television, J2TV or it’s affiliates. A background check may be required (yeah, weird right?)
We don’t know when the visit will take place or when the competition will start. We guess sometime later this year while the show is still filming. Its also unclear if its open to non-US residents.
On the topic of Sons of Tucson, Justin said on Twitter last month that re-casting had finished and that production was starting this month. They had been re-casting the older and youngest kids, THR announced that Matthew Levy has been cast as the older, the younger actor is still unknown.
You may be surprised to hear but Frankie Muniz and Justin Berfield have their own iPhone apps, but the excitement should end there. A company called Arctic Gerbil Creations has produced a “SupaFan” application for each of them. It costs $0.99 (£0.59) I bought one so you wouldn’t have to. Frankie and Justin have nothing to do with them and they are essentially generic aggregators of information from the internet. Little effort was put into them, it just pulls in Google News/YouTube/Wikipedia results for them, it doesn’t even display it that well. Don’t buy it. Everything it offers can be accessed for free via the Safari browser with a nicer interface. You can see more screenshots in our GALLERY.
Sons of Tucson is in short a family comedy about three brothers who hire a charming, wayward schemer to stand in as their father when their real one goes to prison. Its being produced by J2TV Justin Berfield and Jason Felt’s production company. They got legendary Malcolm in the Middle director/producer Todd Holland to direct (and executive produce) the Pilot, which you can watch in full above. Its written by Tommy Dewey & Greg Bratman and stars Tyler Labine (Reaper) as Ron the wayward schemer. They have landed with FOX and is set to premiere midseason (spring 2010) and will air Sundays at 8:30pm, which you may recall was Malcolm in the Middle’s original timeslot when that series premiered back in January 2000.
They have had to recast the older (Brandon) and younger (Robby) kid characters, and are currently running an open casting call, so if you look around 14 or 9 and are an aspiring actor its well worth checking out! Audition videos have been popping up on YouTube. Frank Dolce as Gary continues his part.
I managed to get a few quick questions in with Justin over Twitter. Why the recast? According to Justin its due to scheduling issues. Justin also confirms that Todd Holland will be directing the Pilot remake and the first two episodes, which is great news.
The trailer for those who can’t handle the full episode…
Berfield spoke to the Star last week from his Venice, Calif., office.
Was it a huge relief when Fox picked up the series?
“Yeah, it is always nerve-racking. You never know. You work really hard to put a show together, but there are only so many time slots.
“I was excited about this one because it got me back to Fox, which is where I was for seven years (with ‘Malcolm’). It is great to be back home and to have a show I think will really find an audience.”
Do any of you have ties to Tucson?
“No. No ties whatsoever except that Tommy, Greg and I love Tucson. I haven’t been there in a little while. I’ll be organizing a trip for the guys and for all of us at some point.”
What were your first impressions when the series was pitched to you?
“I loved it. I loved the notion of three boys of three different ages having to make their way in their new lives.”
Why cast Labine as Snuffkin?
“Tyler is incredible. He is probably one of the funniest guys I’ve met or been around in a long time. He is great with the boys and a real leader.
“He is really, really talented, and we all had a hand in casting him in the show. The studio and the network are really excited about him. I can’t imagine anyone else playing Ron.”
Any favorite characters?
“Being a former child actor and having grown up on television myself, I think all three of the boys are great. They are all fresh and really good. We were able to pull Frank Dolce off Broadway. He was in ‘Billy Elliot.’
“Davis Cleveland is playing Robby. He is very funny. He is a great kid, and his timing is incredible. Troy Gentile has been in several movies, including ‘Hotel for Dogs,’ and he is doing very well.”
Justin Berfield put his house on Lorena Drive, Calabasas, California up for sale in April for $3,995,000 but it hasn’t sold and its now listed at $3,495,000. Big Time Listing are pretty certain he paid $3,400,000 for it to former MTV Newlyweds couple Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey in 2006.
The Mediterranean he hopes to sell is in a guard-gated community and has its own gated driveway. The 6,483-square-foot house has five bedrooms and seven bathrooms and some grown-up toys: a home theater, an infinity pool and spa, a wine cellar and a bar with indoor-outdoor access. The home has a custom soundproof room that was formerly used as a recording studio. There are travertine floors, high ceilings, four sun decks and views from the master bedroom suite.
In May last year he bought the house where he currently lives, in the Venice area of Los Angeles, for $1,450,000. The reason for the move was to be closer to his production company J2 Pictures/J2TV.
February last year we reported that Justin Berfield and his production company, J2 Pictures, where volunteering their time and working with the Cayman Islands Government and local investors to establish an official film commission.
On January 30th this year (sorry late on this news) it launched with a small red carpet event.
Much of the overseas guest list was sourced from J2 Pictures, run by American actor and producer Justin Berfield and his business partner Jason Felts who invited everyone on their contact list. Both are regular visitors to Cayman and have volunteered their time and services to help get the commission off the ground.
Mr. Berfield, who starred as Reese in comedy hit show Malcolm in the Middle, has been filming and photographing locations that can double as “anywhere, USA”, in a bid to convince movie–makers that Cayman is not only all about sand, sea and diving.
He has been visiting spots throughout Cayman in the past two months. “It’s been a great way to see the Island,” he said, as he flicked through images of the Botanic Park for jungle footage and exteriors of houses before taking shots of Walker House in George Town on Friday morning last week. ‘This could be anywhere,” he said, pointing to one large home on his Nikon camera screen.
Asked how film makers might be able to convince audiences they’re looking at America when people drive on the other side of the road in Cayman, he said movie makers have made America look like Europe by blocking off parts of roads and letting cars drive on the other side during shooting. “The set designers in Hollywood are amazing, they can make places look like something entirely different just by changing the lighting or backdrop,” he said.
Mr. Berfield and Mr. Felts are also producing a video that will be shown at the launch in Camana Bay on Friday. It will also be featured online, on CITN and also at the Association of Film Commissioners International trade show in Los Angeles in April.
“Justin and Jason have been coming here for many years, they have owned homes here, their families have visited here and they really enjoy being here.
“In order to raise awareness, they took their extensive contacts list and designed invitation cards and they blasted it out to more than 1,000 people on their list. Not everyone has accepted, of course, some responded and said they could not come, but they know now we are here and doing business,” he said.
The partners in J2 Pictures believe that Hollywood and the rest of the movie industry can be educated to view Cayman as a viable location.
“When the Cayman Islands are mentioned, the entertainment industry thinks it knows what it’s about in terms of visuals. They have seen all the tourism videos and commercials, the travel shows. We are trying to really educate the entertainment industry through the location guide,” said Mr. Felts.
He added that there had been a misconception that he and Mr. Berfield were trying to set up their own film commission in Cayman, but he insisted they were merely volunteering their time and expertise to help establish a commission for Cayman.
He has been coming to Cayman since his teens and introduced Berfield to here in 2002. “We both love the place,” he said.
“Two years ago, we were hanging out on a big trip and we thought what can we do to bring our two favourite loves, the entertainment industry and Cayman together. We talked to Dax about a film commission and said if he needed help, we’d be interested. And that’s what happened,” he said. – Norma Connolly
As we did with Frankie on his Birthday lets bring up something from Justin’s past. Back in 2004 when Justin was only 17 he appeared on the TV show Player$ (Barenaked Players, Season 3, Episode 1) – He plays XBOX with friends Joe and Logan, talks about his gaming past and a dare they got Erik to do on set.
Justin Berfield is producing a new film based on the book, An Invisible Sign of My Own.
Plot Summary: This compelling adaptation of the award winning novel by Aimee Bender follows 19 year old Mona Grey as she finds solace only in numbers after learning of her father’s sudden illness.
Originally America Ferrera was to star but she was has been replaced by Jessica Alba. Filming started in October.
Yesterday Justin commented on his official forum saying;
hey guys!! happy tgiving week to everyone. i was in nyc for the past month. Invisible Sign should be a great film. taking the next week off and am headed to mexico to spend Thanksgiving. (i know, weird, but my family are all down there so i am headed to meet them). Hopefully i get turkey and not tacos! hope all is great with everyone….more later, justin
No release date time frame has been announced as of yet. We’ll keep you posted as to that and also further casting.
Justin Berfield is facing legal action over a planned movie about the life of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar. Berfield and his company J2 Pictures are being sued by bosses at distribution firm Essential Entertainment – who claim they have been left $150,000 out of pocket after plans for the movie fell through.
The lawsuit, filed at Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges that Essential Entertainment has been stuck with thousands of dollars of expenses after the film – which was to be directed by Oscar-winner Oliver Stone – was shelved, according to TMZ.com. Jason Felts, Justin’s partner in J2 Pictures said he was surprised and hadn’t done anything wrong.
The fate of the film seems unclear, but it does have a official website, but no real content.
Ok…so not quite yet, but he has booked a seat aboard the first commercial space flight, Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, set for late 2009/early 2010.
The former Malcolm In The Middle star, a pal of Branson’s, plans to turn his brief space adventure into a new book.
Berfield’s spokeswoman says, “Justin considers Branson a genius and is one of the few people that he would follow just about anywhere.
“He’s a frequent guest at Branson’s ultra luxury island home, Necker, in the British Virgin Islands, and now he’s heading into space.”
Branson’s White Knight Two commercial spacecraft will take off for the first time in late 2009 or early 2010, full of celebrities and space-loving rich kids.
The two-and-a-half hour trip is expected to include about five minutes of weightlessness in space.
Berfield’s aide adds, “Justin will be joined by other celebrities with confirmed boarding passes, such as Madonna + Tom Hanks.”
Justin is a supporter of Branson’s charity, Virgin Unite. The goal of the charity is to make sustainable change through economic development towards tough social and environmental issues, which includes addressing the issue of delivering healthcare to rural parts of Africa.
Malcolm in the Middle Voting Community is the leading unofficial site for FOX's
hit TV show Malcolm in the Middle with 1000s of members,
active Forum, 1000s of pictures in our Gallery, an FAQ
and an Episode Guide where you can rate episodes and see
detailed summaries. The front page will bring you the latest news on what the Cast are up to now.
Justin is to start a competition to win a chance to meet him and visit the set of the new show he is producing 
February last year 
Ok…so not quite yet, but he has booked a seat aboard the first commercial space flight, Richard Branson’s ![Buy Malcolm in the Middle - Soundtrack [CD]](http://www.malcolminthemiddle.co.uk/images/mitmcd.gif "Buy Malcolm in the Middle - Soundtrack [CD]")
![Buy Malcolm in the Middle - Season 1 [DVD]](http://www.malcolminthemiddle.co.uk/images/mitmdvd.gif "Buy Malcolm in the Middle - Season 1 [DVD]")
