Wednesday, December 4, 2024

Chris Messina, Mindy Kaling’s Foil, Directing First Feature with Mary Elizabeth Winstead

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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.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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