Project X is a 2012 comedy-thriller film directed by Nima Nourizadeh in his feature film debut, written by Michael Bacall and Matt Drake based on a story by Bacall, and produced by The Hangover director Todd Phillips. The plot follows Thomas (Thomas Mann), Costa (Oliver Cooper) and J.B.(Jonathan Daniel Brown), three friends who plan to gain popularity by throwing a party, a plan which quickly escalates out of their control.
The title Project X was initially a placeholder for a final title, but interest generated by the secretive title resulted in it being kept. The film was cast through a nationwide open casting call to find people who never acted before or who had limited acting experience. The majority of the cast were sourced from this casting call, but a few with prior acting credits, such as Mann, were accepted after multiple auditions. Filming took place on sets entirely in Los Angeles, California over five weeks on a $12 million budget. The film is presented as a home video from the perspective of an attendee using a camera to document the night's events.