Mindy Kaling and Emma Thompson are a dream team, and now we’re one step closer to seeing the actresses together on the big screen. Fox 2000 has snagged the rights to an untitled film penned by Kaling and starring both women, The Hollywood Reporter has revealed. The comedy centers on a respected, long-time late-night talk show host (Thompson) who, THR writes, is “at risk of losing her long-running show right when she hires her first female writer (Kaling).” The premise has been described as “The Devil Wears Prada” meets “Broadcast News.”
When we wrote about the project yesterday, we reported that a heated bidding war between studios was expected. Sure enough, THR said Fox 2000 “nabbed” the script “in a competitive situation.” Clearly this is a hot commodity that has Hollywood excited. We’re hopeful that the female-fronted and written comedy secures a woman director. Kaling is producing with Scott Rudin and Howard Klein, with Elizabeth Gabler and Nikki Ramey overseeing the project for Fox 2000.
Kaling launched on to the scene as a writer and actress on NBC’s “The Office,” and created and stars in Hulu’s “The Mindy Project,” which she also writes for. This upcoming project will mark Kaling’s feature screenwriting debut.
We’ll certainly be glad to see a female late-night host in the feature, a job that, in real life, remains mostly filled by white men. There are, of course, a few exceptions. (Three cheers for “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee”!)
Kaling and Thompson are both vets of the late-night circuit as guests. The in-demand talents have been particularly busy as of late. Kaling recently signed on to “Ocean’s Eight,” the all-female, star-studded “Ocean’s 11” reboot, and will play “Mrs. Who” in Ava DuVernay’s Disney film “A Wrinkle in Time.” In June she inked a multi-year deal with Universal TV. The fifth season of “The Mindy Project” debuts October 4. Thompson co-wrote and stars in “Bridget Jones’s Baby,” in theaters now. She’ll voice the character of Mrs. Potts in Disney’s upcoming live-action version of “Beauty and the Beast” starring Emma Watson, set to hit theaters in 2017.
