Bust out the cashmere and fire up the wood burning stove in that perfectly appointed Hamptons house – Nancy Meyers is back.
The woman whose name is synonymous with the genre she created – glossy, aspirational, heartfelt features boasting massive stars – will write and direct a new untitled comedy for Warner Bros., set for release on Christmas Day 2027.
The project will star Penélope Cruz, Kieran Culkin, Jude Law, Emma Mackey and Owen Wilson. While the film’s logline is currently under wraps, Variety can confirm through multiple sources that this is a version of “Paris Paramount,” the project Meyers set up at Netflix in Spring 2023.
“The movie is about a group of people making a film and the magic and mystery of what we do,” Meyers previously explained on Instagram.
Negotiations reportedly broke down at Netflix when the movie’s budget soared to $150 million, with the streamer refusing to budge above $130 million. The economics of streaming movies are different from the ones released by legacy studios. Top talent receives salaries and back-end buyouts upfront in place of customary box office bonuses. Scarlett Johansson, one of the top-paid actors in the business, was originally attached to star. She moved on to tackle Mike Flanagan’s “The Exorcist” at Universal, but is staying in business at Warner Bros. with a role in Matt Reeves’ forthcoming “The Batman II.”
With all those zeroes off the budget, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group heads Pam Abdy and Mike DeLuca hammered out a deal to resurrect Meyers’ script and deliver it to audiences starved for her signature charms. Meyers will produce the project with Ilona Herzberg. Diana Pokorny will executive produce.
Meyers’ films have grossed over $1 billion at the worldwide box office, across titles including “What Women Want,” “Something’s Gotta Give,” “The Holiday,” “It’s Complicated” and the “Father of the Bride” franchise. She was nominated for an Oscar for best original screenplay in 1981 for Goldie Hawn’s breakout “Private Benjamin.” A remake of her Diane Keaton comedy, “Baby Boom,” is currently underway at Amazon MGM from Michael Showalter.
Cruz, who just conquered Sundance with a dazzling performance in Olivia Wilde’s “The Invite,” is repped by CAA, Untitled, Kuranda, and The Lede Company. Oscar winner Culkin is with WME and Brookside Artist Management. Law, who previously collaborated with Meyers on “The Holiday,” is repped by CAA, Julian Belfrage Associates, Jackoway Austen, ID, and Pippa Beng. Mackey, of “Sex Education” and “Ella McCay,” is repped by CAA, Relevant, Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole, and Ziffren Brittenham. Wilson is with UTA and Hirsch Wallerstein Hayum Matlof + Fishman LLP