Ansel Elgort (“Baby Driver”) is getting behind the wheel again, this time with Oscar winner and Hollywood legend Shirley MacLaine (“Steel Magnolias”). The two are set to star together in “Lucy Boomer,” a road trip comedy from director Howard Deutch (“Pretty in Pink,” “Some Kind of Wonderful”).
International Film Trust (IFT) is handling worldwide rights, with sales president Christian de Gallegos introducing the project to buyers this week at the American Film Market.
Based on the novel by Russell Hill, the film was penned by Ron Cutler and Mark Steven Johnson. Principal photography is slated to begin in February in New Mexico.
“Lucy Boomer” follows Jack Ritchie (Elgort), a down-and-out writer moonlighting as a community college instructor who thinks he’s finally found his big break when 93-year-old Lucy Boomer (MacLaine) — a former secretary, and perhaps more, to four U.S. Presidents — agrees to an interview for his book. In exchange for her revealing journals, Jack helps Lucy escape her Santa Fe nursing home and drive her home to North Dakota. Along the way, they pick up Anna, a free-spirited hitchhiker who disrupts their uneasy companionship. But their unlikely road trip takes an unexpected turn when a local detective sets out to track them down.
Produced by Dan Grodnik (“Fast Charlie,” “Heist”), “Lucy Boomer” also counts Alan Mintz (“We Broke Up”), Mike Marcus (“The Ward”), Johnson (“Grumpy Old Men”) and International Film Trust co-founder and Benaroya Pictures CEO Michael Benaroya (“Lawless”) among its producing team.
“We couldn’t be more excited to add ‘Lucy Boomer’ to our slate,” said Michael Benaroya. “It has all the ingredients distributors will love: a moving story, a terrific director in Howie Deutch, a stellar lead in Ansel Elgort, and, of course, the legendary Shirley MacLaine.”
Elgort is repped by CAA and Brookside Artist Management and MacLaine is repped by CAA. Johnson is repped by Michael Kagan at Range Media Partners.