Bleecker Street has secured North American rights to Catherine Hardwicke’s new action-comedy, “Mafia Mamma,” starring Toni Collette, Monica Bellucci and Rob Huebel.
Collette stars in the film as a suburban American woman, who inherits her grandfather’s mafia empire and must learn navigate her new role as the head of the family business, defying everyone’s expectations.
Based on an original idea by acclaimed French novelist, screenwriter and filmmaker Amanda Sthers, Hardwicke directs from a screenplay written by Debbie Jhoon and Michael J. Feldman (Peacock’s “AP Bio,” Hulu’s”Deadbeat”). The film goes into production on location in Italy in May.
The logline reads: “Kristin is facing a slew of challenges. Her only son is desperate to leave for college, her boss is a sexist pig, and she just caught her unsuccessful, musician husband (Huebel) cheating with a groupie. That’s when she receives a life-changing phone call from Bianca (Bellucci), her estranged grandfather’s trusted consigliere, telling her he is dead and she must attend the funeral in Italy. Egged on by Jenny, her outspoken best friend and lawyer, Kristin is persuaded this is exactly what she needs — a free trip to Europe full of pasta, wine and beautiful men. The trip gets off to a perfect start but when her grandfather’s funeral explodes into a bloody gunfight, she finally learns the truth. Kristin isn’t just there to meet the family, she is there to be the new boss of the fiercest Mafia family in Calabria.”
“Mafia Mamma” is produced by Collette under her Vocab Films banner together with Sthers through IDEA(L) and New Sparta’s Christopher Simon. The project reunites Hardwicke, Collette and Simon who previously worked together on the emotional comedy “Miss You Already,” with Drew Barrymore.
Bleecker Street’s Andrew Karpen and Kent Sanderson will serve as executive producers.
The deal was brokered between Kent Sanderson and Avy Eschenasy of Bleecker Street with CAA Media Finance. Cornerstone handled all international sales.
