Kristen Wiig to Star, Write and Direct a Buddy Comedy with ‘Bridesmaids’ Collaborator Annie Mumolo
Considering the global success of 2011's 'Bridesmaids' (the film made nearly $300 Million worldwide), it's surprising that Kristen Wiig hasn't been courted to lead more comedies like her costar Melissa McCarthy. The news that Wiig is writing, directing and costarring in a buddy comedy with her 'Bridesmaids' screenwriting partner Annie Mumolo suggests she's ready to make another big comedy.
That's the news coming out of the New York Times, where Wiig told them “I’ve been wanting to direct for some time now. This seems like the perfect first project.” The duo added “We’re very excited to be writing. We will be going into a cave for months to finish. An actual cave. We found one that’s nice and big. We’re putting a couch in there.” Alas, very little is revealed about the film, other than it's about "best friends who find themselves in over their heads and out of their depths, which were, perhaps, not too deep to begin with” and centers on a town called Vista Del Mar.
Post-'Bridesmaids,' Wiig has made a number of appearances on 'SNL,' (which she left in the summer of 2012), did voicework for 'Despicable Me 2,' appeared in a couple of indie films (none all that well received) and played second fiddle as love interests in both 'Anchorman 2' and 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.' Whereas McCarthy took her best supporting Oscar nomination for 'Bridesmaids' and used it to star in two very successful comedies last year ('Identity Thief' and 'The Heat'), has two more in the pipeline for this year (including 'Tammy'), and at least one more for 2015. Though there's no competition involved, this could be a tortoise and the hare-type situation, and Wiig's slow and steady might be the better career move. We shall see.