Production is officially underway on Gifted, the new film from (500) Days of Summer and The Amazing Spider-Man’s Marc Webb
Fox Searchlight Pictures today announced that principal photography has started in Savannah and on Tybee Island, Geogia on the drama Gifted, starring Chris Evans (Captain America: Civil War, Snowpiercer), Tony Award winner Lindsay Duncan (Birdman, Le Weekend), Mckenna Grace (Independence Day: Resurgence), Jenny Slate (Obvious Child, “Parks and Recreation”) and Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer (The Help, The Divergent Series: Insurgent). Marc Webb is directing from an original screenplay by Tom Flynn with Karen Lunder and Andy Cohen attached to produce.
In Gifted, Frank Adler (Chris Evans) is a single man raising a child prodigy – his spirited young niece Mary (Mckenna Grace) – in a coastal town in Florida. Frank’s plans for a normal school life for Mary are foiled when the seven-year-old’s mathematical abilities come to the attention of Frank’s formidable mother Evelyn (Lindsay Duncan) whose plans for her granddaughter threaten to separate Frank and Mary. Octavia Spencer plays Roberta, Frank and Mary’s landlady and best friend. Jenny Slate is Mary’s teacher, Bonnie, a young woman whose concern for her student develops into a connection with her uncle as well.
“I’m incredibly excited to begin principal photography on ‘Gifted,'” says Webb. “I’m psyched to be working with this awesome cast that has come on board to make this beautiful film with me. Chris Evans, Lindsay Duncan, Jenny Slate, Octavia Spencer and Mckenna Grace are a wonderful rich ensemble that is both hilarious and sincere. Tom Flynn’s sensitive and thoughtful script strikes the heart in a way that felt very personal. Plus it is great to be back with Searchlight again.”
“Marc is well-loved at Searchlight and we’re thrilled to have him back, along with Chris Evans and the rest of the extraordinary cast,” says President of Production Claudia Lewis. “We’re convinced that this uniquely funny and emotional film will touch all those who care about family and finding one’s place in the world.”
“It is a rare thing in this business to fall in love with a script and actually get to make it,” add Lunder and Cohen. “When Marc Webb came on to direct Tom Flynn’s incredibly moving screenplay we knew we had the makings of a special film. Augmented by the caliber of the cast Marc has assembled and the incomparable support from the team at Fox Searchlight, we couldn’t be more thrilled.”
Executive Vice President of Production David Greenbaum and Director of Production Taylor Freidman are overseeing Gifted for Fox Searchlight Pictures. Stuart Dryburgh (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty) will serve as director of photography with Laura Fox ((500) Days of Summer) as the production designer and Abby O’Sullivan (Frozen River) doing costume design. David Rubin (Wild) is the casting director with Bill Pankow (Carlito’s Way) editing. Executive producers include Molly Allen, Glen Basner and Ben Browning.
(Photo Credit: HRC / WENN.com)
