Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, who earned an Oscar nomination for writing Bridesmaids together, are set to reunite on the Lionsgate comedy Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar, Collider has learned. The duo will star in the film, which they also co-wrote and will produce along with Gloria Sanchez Productions.
Josh Greenbaum (Too Funny to Fail) is directing the movie, which Jessica Elbaum, Will Ferrell and Adam McKay are producing via their female-focused production company Gloria Sanchez. Lionsgate executives Meredith Wieck and Jim Miller will oversee production for the studio, which will release the movie next year. Word of the production first surfaced in December 2017, when Wiig revealed that she was working on another script with Mumolo, though the project only recently landed at Lionsgate.
The story follows best friends Barb (Wiig) and Star (Mumolo) as they leave their small midwestern town for the first time to go on vacation in Vista Del Mar, Florida, where they soon find themselves tangled up in adventure, love, and a villain’s evil plot to kill everyone in town.
“Having the opportunity to work with and support such talented female artists like Kristen and Annie is the reason we created Gloria Sanchez. We are thrilled to be partnering with them on this project, and help them bring Barb and Star to the big screen,” said Elbaum.
“It is such an honor that Kristen and Annie have entrusted us with their follow up to Bridesmaids. Their projects offer a rare combination of big laughs, big heart, and female empowerment that everyone will love — men and women, young and old,” said Lionsgate president Nathan Kahane. “Barb and Star are true cultural icons in the making, and as they embark on this hilarious adventure, we are more than thrilled to partner with Kristen, Annie and Gloria Sanchez on what we know is going to be a great ride.”
“I’m so excited to be a part of this movie which showcases Kristen and Annie’s original, fresh, and undeniably hilarious voice in spades,” added Greenbaum. “I’m also always looking for projects with titles that rhyme, so it really all worked out on this one.”
Wiig is the former Saturday Night Live standout who went on to star in Ghostbusters, The Martian, The Skeleton Twins and The Diary of a Teenage Girl. She’ll soon be seen in Richard Linklater‘s Where’d You Go, Bernadette, and she also plays Cheetah opposite Gal Gadot in Wonder Woman 1984.
In addition to Bridesmaids, Mumolo earned “story by” credit on David O. Russell‘s drama Joy starring Jennifer Lawrence. On the acting front, Mumolo was a series regular on the NBC comedy About a Boy, and she had memorable roles on Amazon’s Transparent and Netflix’s Lady Dynamite. She also appeared in STX’s hit comedy Bad Moms as well as Judd Apatow‘s This Is 40 and the Melissa McCarthy movie The Boss.
Greenbaum directed the acclaimed golf documentary The Short Game as well as Hulu’s George Lazenby documentary Becoming Bond. He has also directed episodes of New Girl and Fresh Off the Boat, but the credit that stands out to me is Too Funny to Fail, his hilarious documentary about The Dana Carvey Show. If you haven’t seen that film, seek it out. You won’t regret it.
Up next for Lionsgate is the Seth Rogen–Charlize Theron comedy Long Shot, the Keanu Reeves-led action sequel John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, and Rian Johnson’s murder mystery Knives Out. UTA represents Wiig, Mumolo and Greenbaum, while Thruline and Management 360 rep Mumolo and Greenbaum, respectively.
via Collider