The genesis for the premise of Columbia Pictures' new comedy “The Wedding Ringer” can be traced all the way back to a random phone call director Jeremy Garelick received from a high school classmate.
"A person I knew in high school called me out of nowhere many years later and said 'Rebecca and I are getting married,' recalls director Garelick. I said 'Congratulations' and in my mind I am thinking 'Who's Rebecca and why are you calling me?' He asked me to save the date, but I'm thinking why would I even go to this wedding? I wasn't really friends with this guy in high school, but a month later he called again and said 'Rebecca and I would be honored if you would be in our wedding party as one of my groomsman.' I was caught off guard and didn't know what to do, so I said yes and after I hung up the phone, I thought, 'What did I just agree to'? Now I have to fly from Los Angeles all the way back east for this wedding with people I don't even know."