Ahead of its premiere at next month’s Toronto International Film Festival, Sony Pictures has snapped up distribution rights for Lorene Scafaria’s family drama, The Meddler.
Starring Susan Sarandon, Rose Byrne and Whiplash star J.K. Simmons, Scafaria’s picture is a story of second chances and the universal draw of family members. Centering on Marnie Minervini (Sarandon), The Meddler will see our recent widow throw caution to the wind and uproot from her New Jersey home in order to spend more time with her daughter in Los Angeles.
Armed with little more than her wit and will – and a bank account packed to the rafters – Marnie plots course for the west coast, and early reviews have praised her performance as poignant and deeply resonant.
Here’s the official logline from the TIFF schedule.
“Striking a winning balance of insight, heart, and laugh-out-loud hilarity, Lorene Scafaria’s second feature stars the magnificent Susan Sarandon in one of her most richly satisfying roles,” reads TIFF’s entry on The Meddler. “…Scafaria is a smart storyteller on so many levels: her observations on relationships, ethnic ties, and the difficulties of navigating romance after sixty are uniformly spot-on. Yet this film’s greatest triumph is Marnie — maddening, lovable, and so very fun. This is a role worthy of Sarandon’s tremendous talents.”
In terms of Scafaria, the director is perhaps best known for writing and directing Seeking a Friend at the End of the World, while she also scripted Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist. Beyond that, there’s also credits on a few episodes on Fox’s popular New Girl series, so it’s evident that the filmmaker knows a thing or two about nurturing a palpable chemistry amongst her leading stars.
The Meddler is primed to make its bow at TIFF 2015, which is due to kickoff on September 10. Sony Pictures is likely to lock down a release date shortly thereafter.
