(left image from Demetri's myspace page)
'Taking Woodstock' is the new movie by Oscar winning producer Ang Lee ('Brokeback Mountain', 'Hulk') and Oscar nominated screenwriter James Shamus ('Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'), and is also Demetri's big break into the movie scene (pun intended). The movie follows a gay, Jewish, interior designer (Demetri Martin) who is forced to move back in with his Russian parents, whom are unaware of his sexual orientation. His parents own and reside in a hotel on a large block of land, which each year is rented out to a small music festival to draw customers to the business. As Shamus explains it, 'one day he's listening to the radio and hears the music festival lost their permit, and he calls up and says "Well, I've got a permit' ... Two-and-a-half weeks later, half a million people show up and it completely changes his life." (1)

The script follows the beginning of the acclaimed American music festival, 'Woodstock' and is based on Elliot Tiber's memior from 2007 of the same name, a name which according to RushPRNews means two things; "Taking stock of your life and, in a sense, control of your destiny - and also taking the experience of 'Woodstock', and what that cultural event meant, with you for the rest of your life." (2) In the film, Demetri performs side by side with names such as Imelda Staunton, Dan Folger, Liev Schreiber, Jonathon Groff, Paul Dano and Emile Hirsh. (2)

Demetri describes how he got the role as "just a lucky thing. I had a meeting with James Shamus ... and he wrote the movie I got to be in ... He was working at home on his computer and his daughter ended up showing him a clip of me on YouTube. And i guess he thought, "Oh, that guy looks like he might work."(2) Demetri was called in for a meeting, which led to an audition who apparently did four scenes and was thinking "this is a long shot ... and then two days later they were like, 'Okay we'll do this with you ... It's crazy!'"(3) and that's how Demetri "suddenly found [himself] in upstate New York on the set of this movie, wearing clothes from the '50's ... and ... thinking, 'Wow, this is a once-in-a-lifetime situation' ... I've been in maybe three movies, and i had about two scenes in each of those, tops ... and now I'm in this one and I'm in like, just about every scene."(2)

There are some doubts as to whether Lee's risk in casting Demetri as the lead character will pay off, but Schamus is in full supported of the idea stating, "You can be the funniest guy in the world but you either have the ability to make yourself look vulnerable on camera or you don't ... and I think that's the greatest thing we found with Demetri."(4) I happen to agree that, even if it's not his funniest work, he will be very successful at the role (and his self proclaimed "gay beatle" hair cut is perfect for it too).

Watch the official tralier at MTV Moviesblog.mtv.com!

References -
(1) MTV movies blog, 24 September 2008 - http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2008/09/24/ang-lee-woodstock-film-aims-to-be-a-mind-altering-experience/#more-4783
(2) A.V Club Interview, by Steve Heisler. 25 February 2009 - http://www.avclub.com/article/demetri-martin,24319/
(3) Gawker.com article, 10 Febuary 2009 - http://defamer.gawker.com/5150833/how-to-go-from-stand+up-to-star-of-an-ang-lee-movie-in-two-easy-steps
(4) Building a careen one one-liner at a time, 4 February 2009 - http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/08/arts/television/08dave.html