Goat

Goat is a 2016 American drama film directed by Andrew Neel and written by David Gordon Green, Neel & Mike Roberts, starring Ben Schnetzer, Nick Jonas, Gus Halper, Danny Flaherty, Jake Picking, Virginia Gardner and James Franco.

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2016 & it is scheduled to be released on September 23, 2016 by The Film Arcade and Paramount Pictures.

Plot
Reeling from a terrifying assault, a 19 year-old boy enrolls into college with his brother and pledges the same fraternity. What happens there in the name of "brotherhood," tests the boy and his loyalty to his brother in brutal ways.

Cast

 * Nick Jonas as Brett Land
 * Ben Schnetzer as Brad Land
 * Gus Halper as Chance
 * Daniel Flaherty as Will
 * Virginia Gardner as Leah
 * James Franco as Mitch
 * Jake Picking as Dixon Rowley
 * Brook Yurich as Wes
 * Will Pullen as The Smile
 * Eric Staves as Ben Baity

Production
In October 2014, it was announced that James Franco would produce the film under his Rabbit Bandini Productions banner while Andrew Neel will direct from a screenplay written by David Gordon Green with revisions by Neel.

Mike Roberts, Christine Vachon and David Hinojosa will produce under their Killer Films banner while John Wells will serve as an executive producer.

In January 2015, Nick Jonas and Ben Schnetzer joined the cast of the film. In May 2015, Virginia Gardner joined the cast of the film. Filming began on May 4, 2015 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Release
"Goat" had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2016.

Shortly after, Paramount Pictures and MTV Films acquired worldwide distribution rights to the film with Paramount partnering with a third-party in the U.S. while MTV Films will get the first TV window. The partner later was revealed to be The Film Arcade.

The film was screened in the Panorama section of the 66th Berlin International Film Festival and screened at the Seattle International Film Festival on May 27, 2016.

It is scheduled to be released on September 23, 2016.

Critical Reception
"Goat" has received acclaim from film critics, earning a "certified fresh" score of 83% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes based on 18 reviews.

Peter Debruge from Variety magazine said, "Andrew Neel's relatively sensitive expose into the world of fraternity hazing will shock some, while leaving others wondering what the fuss is about."

Vanity Fair's Richard Lawson said, "Goat probably lingers too long—as its third act stretches on, the film veers perilously close to melodrama—but for its bulk, it seizes us with its unflinching, empathetic frankness."

David Rooney from the Hollywood Reporter praised Nick Jonas' performance in the film, saying that he was "terrific at communicating the social ease and natural charisma of a good-looking young guy who knows exactly who he is."