According to Deadline, IFC Films has successfully acquired the North American distribution rights to director Edward Hall’s forthcoming comedy titled Blithe Spirit, which is a film adaptation of Nick Moorcroft’s 1941 play of the same name. Starring Leslie Mann and Isla Fisher, the film currently has no U.S. release date yet but it is scheduled to hit UK theaters on September 4.
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Blithe Spirit follows the story of a best-selling crime novelist named Charles, who is finishing his first screenplay but is suffering from a terrible case of writer’s block. His picture-perfect new wife Ruth is doing her best to keep him focused so they can fulfill her dream of leaving London for Hollywood. In an attempt to solve his writing problem, Charles’ quest for inspiration leads him to invite the eccentric mystic Madame Arcati to perform a séance in his home. However, his life gets more complicated when Madame Acarti inadvertently summons the spirit of his first wife: the brilliant and fiery Elvira. Ready to pick up her life right where she left off, Elvira is shocked to discover the prim and proper Ruth is now married to her husband and running her household. Charles finds himself stuck between his two wives and their increasingly over-the-top attempts to outdo one another.
The film stars Leslie Mann (The Other Woman, Blockers) as Elvira, Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey, Legion) as Charles, Isla Fisher (Confessions of a Shopaholic) as Ruth, and multi-award winning veteran actress Dame Judi Dench as Madame Arcati. It will also feature Julian Rhind-Tutt (Stardust), Emilia Fox (Silent Witness, Delicious), Adil Ray (Beecham Hosue) and James Fleet (Outlander, Four Weddings and a Funeral).
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Blithe Spirit is the feature-length directorial debut of Edward Hall, who directed from a screenplay written by Nick Moorcroft, Meg Leonard, and Piers Ashworth. It is produced by Moorcoft, Leonard, James Spring, Hilary Bevan Jones, Peter Snell, Toni Pinnolis, Adrian Politowski and Martin Metz.
