With the current season ofSaturday Night Livewinding down, starKate McKinnonhas found a new movie to shoot over her summer hiatus. The actress has entered negotiations to star in anUntitled Danny Boyle Comedythat will put her alongside Lily James. Universal Pictures is eyeing a summer production start for this untitled project, so we could be getting more casting updates in the very near future.
While Universal is keeping any specific plot details under wraps, the story is said to be musically-themed and set in either the 1960s or 1970s. Kate McKinnon has been set to play a talent agent, whileLily Jamesis playing a school teacher.Danny Boyle(T2 Trainspotting) is slated to direct from a script by Richard Curtis (Love Actually), although the studio has yet to set a release date at this time. Universal Pictures will be distributing and producing alongside Working Title FIlms.
Working Title’s Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner are producing alongside Matt Wilkinson and Bernie Bellew, with Danny Boyle and Richard Curtis also serving as producers. This project was mentioned in a story from earlier this month, when it was confirmed that Danny Boyle will possibledirect the long-awaited James Bond 25pendingscript approval by MGM, with the filmmaker working on the script with John Hodge. However, that highly-anticipated project will not start shooting until the end of this year, with Boyle himself revealing that he hoped to start filming this untitled comedy within the next “six or seven weeks.”
This project will mark the first time that Danny Boyle and Richard Curtis have worked together, not to mention the fact that this will be a rare comedy for Danny Boyle. While he’s best known for his dramatic work, his 1997 movieA Life Less Ordinaryis a dramatic comedy, and he has also directed a comedic TV movie calledVacuuming Completely Nude in Paradisein 2001. With the director teaming up with an accomplished comedy writer like Richard Curtis, whose credits includeNotting Hill,Four Weddings and a Funeral,War Horseand the upcoming remake ofThe Little Mermaid, it will certainly be a project many will be keeping their eye on.
Kate McKinnon has been performing onSaturday Night Livesince 2012, and she has also lent her voice to animated shows such asThe Venture Brothers,The Awesomes,China, ILandThe Magic School Bus Rides Again. She also voiced Lupe in last year’s animated movieFerdinand, and she will next be seen on the big screen this summer inThe Spy Who Dumped Me, alongside Mila Kunis, which hits theaters August 3. She is also slated to play Grunhilda inThe Lunch Witch, which is currently in the early stages of production. There is no indication yet how many other key roles need to be cast in this untitled comedy before production begins this summer.The Hollywood Reporterbroke the news on Kate McKinnon’s casting in this untitled comedy project earlier today.
