Sarandon teams with Oliver Queen!

Radiant Films International today announced “Whatever Makes You Happy”, a new comedy set to star Oscar winner Susan Sarandon, Allison Janney and Stephen Amell (“Arrow”).

Cindy Chupack (ABC’s “Modern Family”) will write/direct the film.

Los Angeles – November 6, 2014… Oscar winner Susan Sarandon (ARBITRAGE, TAMMY), six-time Emmy winning Allison Janney (CBS’s “Mom”, THE WAY WAY BACK, JUNO), BAFTA and Stephen Amell (The CW’s “Arrow,” ABC’s “The Practice”) are in discussions to star in Emmy award winning writer/producer Cindy Chupack’s (HBO’s “Sex and the City,” ABC’s “Modern Family,”) directorial debut WHATEVER MAKES YOU HAPPY, it was announced today by Radiant Films International, who will be selling international rights at the AFM Film Market this week. Mandalay Pictures developed the comedy and Oscar winner Cathy Schulman will produce. Prescience Film Finance, the company behind indie hits such as THE KING’S SPEECH and the current hit CHEF, will be involved as a financier.

David Frankel (DEVIL WEARS PRADA) will Executive Produce along with Matt Rhodes and Jason Michael Berman.

Elijah Kelly (LEE DANIELS’ THE BUTLER, HAIRSPRAY) has also been in talks to join the cast.

The film is based on the popular novel of the same name by William Sutcliffe and an earlier draft of the script by Mark Andrus (AS GOOD AS IT GETS). Principal photography on the current script written by Chupack is slated to begin in NYC in June 2015.

Suburban mothers Helen, Carol and Gillian have been friends since their 28 year-old sons were in grade school together. Now, the boys all live in New York City, never call their mothers, and seem to have no sense of direction or responsibility. Feeling marginalized and forgotten, the women impulsively decide to pay their sons an unannounced visit in the city in an effort to make their sons love them again. What they discover is that their sons’ lives may not be the only ones that need fixing.

Prescience chairman Tim Smith said “We are thrilled to be in business with this whole team of talented filmmakers. This is a comedy for everyone that touches upon universal themes of parenting children and children parenting their parents. We think it’s a film that will draw in audiences all over the world.”

Schulman said “This film is one of those rare comedies that will make audiences laugh and cry at the same time, due to its keen observations about the experiences of mothers and sons. Cindy is well established around the globe as a trusted voice in the business of modern relationships, and she has surrounded herself with a world class cast and crew to make a top of the market character comedy that should become an instant classic.”
Prescience and Radiant’s recent collaboration MADAME BOVARY sold at the Toronto Film Festival (TIFF) last month to Bill Lee’s new Millennium Distribution for US Distribution.

“As one of the top comedy producers and writers in television today, Chupack has written a funny yet poignant script with WHATEVER MAKES YOU HAPPY. It’s no surprise the project is attracting such a top notch cast which will be well received by buyers at the market,” said Steinbauer.

Chupack is best known as a three-time Golden Globe and two-time Emmy winning TV writer/producer whose credits include “Modern Family”, “Sex and the City,” and “Everybody Loves Raymond.” She is a popular essayist on dating and relationships published in O, The Oprah Magazine (where she had her own column called “Live Your Best Love Life”), Glamour (where she had a column called “Dating Dictionary”), Harper’s Bazaar,Allure, People, Self, Real Simple, Entertainment Weekly, Slate and The New York Times. Author of New York Times bestseller “The Between Boyfriends Book,” her new comic memoir about marriage “The Longest Date: Life as a Wife” was released by Viking in January 2014 and will be released in paperback at the end of this year.

Susan Sarandon is an iconic Hollywood actress who has been nominated for five Oscars and won for her critically acclaimed performance in DEAD MAN WALKING. Her credits over the years include THELMA AND LOUISE, THE CLIENT, ATLANTIC CITY, THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW and STEPMOM. Her recent performances include ARBITRAGE opposite Richard Gere, CLOUD ATLAS directed by The Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer, ROBOT & FRANK co-starring Frank Langella and the Warner Bros. comedy TAMMY, opposite Melissa McCarthy.

Allison Janney currently stars, along with Anna Faris, in the CBS/Chuck Lorre sitcom, “Mom”, for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Supporting Actress in Comedy this year. She also won this year’s Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress for her multi-episode arc on Showtime’s groundbreaking drama “Masters of Sex.” Her recent feature releases include THE WAY WAY BACK with Steve Carell and Toni Collette, TRUST ME for director/actor Clark Gregg, and Jason Bateman’s comedy BAD WORDS. She lent her voice to the Dreamworks’ animated film MR PEABODY AND SHERMAN and previously appeared in THE HELP with Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain, JUNO with Ellen Page and Michael Cera and THE ORANGES with Catherine Keener.

Stephen Amell currently stars as the lead role in The CW television series “Arrow,” which was renewed for a third season. He previously had recurring roles on ABC’s “Private Practice” and HBO’s “Hung.”
Elijah Kelly caught the industry’s attention with his performance in the hit musical HAIRSPRAY with Zac Efron, John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer and Amanda Bynes. He has since appeared in RED TAILS co-starring Cuba Gooding Jr. and Terrence Howard and LEE DANIEL’S THE BUTLER with Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey.
Sarandon is repped by UTA, Janney by Gersh and Thruline Entertainemnt, Amell by CAA and Leverage Management and Elijah Kelly by The Schiff Company.
The deal was brokered by former Mandalay executive and financing consultant Matt Rhodes, Mandalay’s Jason Berman and counsel David Boyle.