EXCLUSIVE: You know Chris Messina. He’s Mindy Kaling’s foil, possible love interest on her Fox TV show. He’s featured on “The Newsroom” as Jane Fonda’s son. He played Amy Adams’ husband in “Julie and Julia” and was the fiancee of Rebecca Hall in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.” But now Messina is spending his summer directing his first feature film. It has no title so far but it does have stars and a great producer in Jamie Patricof– “Place Beyond the Pines,” “Blue Valentine.”
The Messina movie will star Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Troy Garity, Derek Luke and the recently revived Don Johnson (“Django Unchained”). The movie is written by Jessica Strong with Katie Nehry and Justin Shilton based on characters the latter two created.
Here’s the description: “Workaholic attorney, Alex [Winstead] is forced to reinvent her life after her husband
suddenly leaves. Now faced with the humdrum and sometimes catastrophic events that permeate
the fabric of our lives, Alex discovers both a vulnerability and inner strength she had not yet tapped all
while trying to hold together her broken family.”
This sounds like a Sundance movie. But the timing might be tight for a mid-October acceptance.
