‘Little Miss Sunshine’ Directors Finally Return, Script Is Written By Zoe Kazan, Dano’s Girlfriend
It’s been five years since 2006’s “Little Miss Sunshine” and while directing duo Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris have had several projects in development, none of them have panned out and actually hit the screen.
Frankly, we’ve been quietly digging for the last few months, but nothing has turned up, so kudos to the L.A. Times who get the exclusive on their latest. Turns out Dayton and Faris’ new project is called, “He Loves Me,” and it’s been written by actress Zoe Kazan who will co-star in the picture with her real-life boyfriend Paul Dano.
Produced by Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa, who were behind “Little Miss Sunshine” and are producing Alexander Payne‘s next project “Nebraska” as well, “He Loves Me” is a meta-strange sounding road-trip film that centers on a young novelist who achieves success early in his career but begins to face struggles. According to the LAT it’s a bit like crossing “Adaptation” with “Weird Science,” as the young protagonist follows the advice of writing the woman he thinks will love him in a bid to overcome his writer’s block. Here’s the strange part, through this odd exercise he ends up willing her into existence.
Charlie Kaufman would be proud (or would demand a cut, depending on your view). And if its a bit surprising to you that Kazan has written a screenplay, she has actually written for the stage previously and is not a stranger in wielding a pen. “The plot couldn’t be more different than ‘Little Miss Sunshine,’ ” Yerxa told the LAT. “But in terms of a movie with comedy, with heart and with strong characters, I think it’s very similar.”
Kazan has completed a draft of the script, and now the directing duo will develop it with her. The producers hope to make it one of their next projects and are aiming to fill it out with a supporting cast soon. Hopefully it doesn’t go the way of “The Abstinence Teacher” or Demetri Martin‘s “Will,” Dayton/Faris projects that were announced a long time ago, but still haven’t made it out of development.
