Jon Cryer and James Spader have joined the cast of family movie Shorts.

The Warner Bros production, directed by Robert Rodriguez from his own screenplay, also stars William H. Macy and Leslie Mann, reports Variety.

Rodriguez is co-producing the film and will serve as his own director of photography, editor and visual effects supervisor.

The comedy adventure is set in a suburb full of identical houses, where everyone works for Black Box, a company which manufactures the ultimate communication gadget. When a young boy (Jimmy Bennett) finds a rainbow-coloured rock that grants wishes to anyone who holds it, the discovery causes havoc among both children and adults.

Also on the cast are Kat Dennings, Trevor Gagnon, Leo Howard, Devon Gearhart, Rebel Rodriguez, Jake Short and Jolie Vanier.

Filming is underway in Rodriguez's hometown of Austin, Texas.