Deadline – Sebastian Stan & Maria Bakalova Set For Spy Comedy In Works At Paramount; Paul Feig Eyeing To Direct From Jenny Bicks’ Script
EXCLUSIVE: Sebastian Stan (Pam & Tommy) and Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm) are attached to star in an untitled spy comedy in very early development at Paramount, Deadline has learned.
Jenny Bicks (Welcome to Flatch) is set to pen the script, which is said to involve a failed double agent who becomes an unlikely success, based off an original pitch. Paul Feig (The School for Good and Evil) is eyeing to direct and will also produce alongside Laura Allen Fischer for Feigco Entertainment, as well as Stan (A Different Man) and Emmy winner Emily Gerson Saines (Temple Grandin, Tokyo Vice).
Stan landed his first Emmy, Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice Award nominations for his turn as Tommy Lee in Hulu’s acclaimed miniseries Pam & Tommy, also recently starring in Apple’s thriller Sharper opposite Julianne Moore, and in Mimi Cave’s horror-thriller Fresh with Daisy Edgar-Jones. The actor is otherwise best known for his MCU role as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier in the Avengers films, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and more, as well as his starring turn opposite Margot Robbie in Neon’s I, Tonya. He exec produced and stars opposite The Worst Person in the World‘s Reinate Reinsve in the forthcoming A24 thriller A Different Man and will also soon return to the MCU with Thunderbolts.
Bakalova broke out with her Oscar-nominated turn opposite Sacha Baron Cohen in Prime Video’s Borat Subsequent Moviefilm and more recently starred in A24’s darkly comedic horror-thriller Bodies Bodies Bodies from filmmaker Halina Reijn. She can be seen opposite Emilia Jones and Scoot McNairy in the Sofia Coppola-produced drama Fairyland, which world premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, and plays the role of Cosmo the Spacedog in James Gunn’s Marvel franchise ender Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which hits theaters on May 5th.
A DGA Award winner, as well as a PGA Award and 5x Emmy nominee, Feig is currently in production on the Amazon action-comedy Grand Death Lotto led by John Cena, Awkwafina and Simu Liu. He previously co-wrote, directed and produced Netflix’s starry fantasy pic The School for Good and Evil, based on Soman Chainani’s novel, which debuted at #1 on the streamer in 88 countries. He’s a writer, EP and director of Fox’s Welcome to Flatch and also exec produces Minx, which has headed to Starz for its second season. Additional films directed by Feig that have grossed $1B+ worldwide include Bridesmaids, Last Christmas, The Heat, Ghostbusters, Spy and A Simple Favor. And a sequel to the latter is in the works, as we were first to tell you last summer, with Feig directing and producing. Other upcoming projects for the multi-hyphenate include an adaptation of Maureen Kilmer’s novel Suburban Hell for Legendary, on which he’s teamed with Sam Raimi; Netflix’s adaptation of the Riley Sager bestseller The House Across the Lake, which he’ll produce and potentially direct; and the ABC pilot Motherland, which he’s exec producing.
An Emmy winner, 2x PGA Award winner and 3x WGA Award nominee, Bicks co-created and exec produces Fox’s mockumentary series Welcome to Flatch, starring Holmes, Seann William Scott and more, which returned for its second season last fall. She also created and exec produced ABC’s Men in Trees starring the late Anne Heche, and wrote and exec produced HBO’s Divorce and Showtime’s Emmy winner The Big C. Additional writing credits for Bicks include The Greatest Showman, Rio 2, the original Sex and the City and Leap of Faith. She most recently adapted the Kevin Kwan bestseller Sex & Vanity for Sony.
Stan is represented by CAA, Brookside Artist Management and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern; Bakalova by CAA, Brookside Artist Management and Insight Management & Production; Bicks by UTA and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller; and Feig by CAA and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern.