Andy Samberg and Jean Smart have teamed up for a unique May-December romantic comedy titled 42.6 Years, which is in development at Amazon Studios.
Craig Gillespie, the filmmaker behind Cruella and I, Tonya, is on board to direct the feature.
Samberg came up with the original idea and co-wrote the story with Seth Reiss, a writer on Late Night with Seth Meyers and who is coming off a WGA Award nomination for The Menu. Reiss then wrote the script, which landed on the 2022 Black Script.
The story centers on a young man (Samberg) who, in order to save his life, undergoes an experimental procedure which sees him cryogenically frozen. When he wakes up 42.6 years later, physically unchanged thanks to being frozen, he finds himself alone in a future with no one to turn to but his ex-girlfriend, who is now much older than he (and played by Smart).
Samberg will produce via his banner, Party Over Here, along with the company’s Ali Bell. Gillespie is also producing.
Samberg spent eight seasons leading the cast of the critically acclaimed and long-running comedy, Brooklyn Nine-Nine. He previously played with time with his 2020 sci-fi comedy, Palm Springs, in which he starred and also produced. The movie earned plenty of accolades, including the best comedy award at the Critics Choice Awards.
Smart is a veteran comedian who has been back in the limelight with career-high work thanks to gigs in 2019’s Watchmen and 2021’s Mare of Eastown. Most noteworthy is the HBO comedy Hacks, for which she won two back-to-back Emmys, making her only one of two actresses to win an award in all three Emmy comedy categories. Her most recent film work was an appearance in Damien Chazelle’s Babylon.
Gillespie recently directed half of the episodes for acclaimed mini-series, Pam & Tommy. The director has made a career out of an helming an eclectic array of movies ranging from the quirky indie comedy Lars and the Real Girl to the 2011 remake of Fright Night to the inspiration sports drama, Million Dollar Arm.
Reiss wrote Menu with Will Tracy, with the movie earning strong reviews and almost $80 million worldwide on a budget of $30 million.
Samberg is repped by UTA and Johnson, Shapiro while Smart is repped by WME and Untitled Entertainment.
Gillespie is repped by UTA and Rumble Media, and Sloane Offer while Reiss by UTA, Brillstein Entertainment, and Hansen Jacobson. UTA represented the project for financing and made the deal with Amazon.
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