You probably know Paul Schneider from such films as Lars and the Real Girl and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford in addition to his role as Mark Brendanawicz on Parks and Recreation, but did you know that he is also a director? I had been looking forward to Schneider’s directorial debut Pretty Bird for a year or two now, but after it premiered at Sundance in 2008, it was never heard from again. Usually that is not a good sign, and yet, the movie stars Billy Crudup, Paul Giamatti and Kristen Wiig, so it can’t be all bad, can it? We’ll finally get the chance to judge for ourselves later this month when Paramount releases it direct-to-DVD.

Based on the book The Rocketbelt Caper: A True Tale of Invention, Obsession and Murder by Paul Brown, Pretty Bird is about a clever entrepreneur who recruits his friends to help him create a rocket-powered belt. Yes, the rocketbelt is a real thing, believe it or not, and as much as I love stories about quirky inventors, this one apparently has a lot more to it than just weird science… it also ends in murder. Pretty Bird hits stores on June 29th; check out the trailer after the jump and see what you think.