Jean Smart is really having an extraordinary moment. Last year she was nominated for two Emmy Awards– for “Mare of Easttown” and “Hacks.” And of course she won Best Actress in a Comedy for “Hacks.”
This year she’s up again for Best Actress in a Comedy for “Hacks.” That’s a good thing. But because the Emmys have been pushed up a week earlier than usual, Smart will miss an important event 3,000 miles away: the Toronto International Film Festival.
Smart’s cup runneth over: in addition to “Hacks,” Smart co-stars in a breakout indie film coming to the Toronto Film Festival. It’s called “Wildflower,” directed by Matt Smukler. The other big names in are Kiernan Shipka of “Mad Men” fame, Alexandra Daddario of “White Lotus,” and Charlie Plummer.
Daddario is also nominated for “White Lotus.” But she may make the TIFF premiere of “Wildflower.” Smart is going to miss it, stuck in L.A. where she has a good chance of repeating her Emmy win unless Rachel Brosnahan — whose “Marvelous Mrs, Maisel” didn’t have a season last time around — returns to reclaim her title.
Some of the producers behind “Wildflower” are the same people who brought to Toronto in previous years hit films like “Captain Fantastic” and “Half Nelson.” “Wildflower” doesn’t have a distributor yet, but as with those films, when it’s shown in Toronto the bidding wars will be intense. As for Smart, it’s a bounty of riches some 30 years after she had a hit run in TV’s “Designing Women.”
