Julia Garner is saying goodbye to “Ozark” and returning to the big screen. The two-time Emmy winner is following up her last film, Kitty Green’s Harvey Weinstein-inspired 2019 drama “The Assistant,” with another woman-directed offering. She’s teaming up with Natalie Erika James on “Apartment 7A,” a Paramount Players psychological thriller. Deadline broke the news.
Plot details haven’t been revealed yet. James co-wrote “the latest script with Christian White based off a draft by Skylar James,” per the source.
Garner has taken home two Emmys for her role as Ruth on “Ozark,” which is dropping its fourth and final season on Netflix January 21. After that, you can catch her in “Inventing Anna,” a Netflix limited series from Shonda Rhimes about Anna Delvey, a con woman who pretended to be a German heiress. “Inventing Anna” launches February 11. “Dirty John” and “The Americans” are among Garner’s other credits.
James made her feature directorial debut with 2020’s “Relic,” a psychological horror pic about three generations of women that explores the impact of dementia.
“The best advice I received that made a tangible difference to my career was in my second year of film school,” James told us. “I asked my lecturer for some advice on how to get into the industry as a first AD, thinking I was being practical about my future in a tough industry. She asked me point blank if I still wanted to be a director. When I said yes, she asked, ‘Then why would you pursue a career as an assistant director?’ At the time, I wasn’t even aware I’d needed someone to give me permission to chase what I truly wanted to do. I’m so grateful that she recognized how much I was short-changing myself. Thanks, Siobhan! Also, I absolutely still did my time in production to pay the rent, but always made sure I was working on something to write/direct on the side,” she explained.