‘Ella McCay’: Emma Mackey, Jamie Lee Curtis, Woody Harrelson & More Join James L. Brook’s First New Film In Over A Decade

For many younger film fans, the name James L. Brooks might not hold much significance.  Probably, this has much to do with the fact that most of his most influential work was at least 25 years ago, and Brooks hasn’t directed a film since 2010. That said, if you’re not familiar with his work, it is important to know that Brooks is one of the most respected and influential filmmakers of the past 30 years. So, even though he hasn’t had a film released in more than a decade, it’s still exciting to know he has another one coming, titled “Ella McCay.”

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According to Deadline, James L. Brooks will write and direct a new comedy film, “Ella McCay.” As if that wasn’t exciting enough, we know that he has hired an incredible cast to bring the story to life. The ensemble will include Emma Mackey, Jamie Lee Curtis, Woody Harrelson, Ayo Edebiri, Albert Brooks, Kumail Nanjiani, and Spike Fearn. The film is said to follow a young politician who is juggling all the stresses of normal life while trying to prepare to take on the role of her mentor, the incumbent governor. 

Again, for those unaware, Brooks has won three Oscars, all for his film “Terms of Endearment.” In addition, he has been nominated for several more Academy Awards for films such as “Broadcast News,” “Jerry Maguire,” and “As Good As It Gets.” Over on the TV side, he created series such as “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “The Tracey Ullman Show,” as well as being instrumental in the development of “The Simpsons.” Needless to say, in terms of comedy, he’s one of the greats.

Obviously, many of those films and TV shows are decades old, so it’ll be interesting to see just how he fares making a film nowadays. That said, he has one hell of a cast to help things out. A release date has yet to be announced.