Sundance Shows Royal Oak Native's Film 'Toy's House'

DETROIT (CBS Detroit) The Hollywood Reporter is reporting Wednesday that the debut full-length film of Royal Oak native Jordan Vogt-Roberts will be shown at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

His film, called "Toy's House," follows the lives of three teenage boys who decide to live by themselves in the woods. CBS Films acquired the rights to the movie after it was shown at Sundance last weekend.

"While comparisons to movies like 'Stand By Me' and 'The Goonies' are inevitable, we found 'Toy's House' to be a fresh, funny and heartwarming story that is a loving throwback for a new generation," said CBS Films' Scott Shooman in a statement. The website hitfix.com reviewed the film, writing, "It's well-observed, it's moving without ever undercutting its own comic voice, and it is fresh."

As for the filmmaker himself, the Reporter notes that he's difficult to miss at Sundance as he's strolling in a full-length fur coat and traveling with quite an entourage.

On his vimeo page, Roberts said he started his career making stop-motion movies with Legos and Batman toys in his family's basement. As an adult, he and a group of stand up comedians created Blerds.com to showcase videos he produced and directed. These videos were dubbed by the Chicago Tribune as an "inspired mix of stand-up and visual storytelling" and generated millions of views. He's working on a show for Comedy Central called "Mash Up."