Carol Burnett Biopic Lands Tara Miele as Writer-Director, Eyes Move From Focus to Apple

Matt Donnelly
·2 min read
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A film about the life of comedy icon Carol Burnett has found its writer-director.

The adaptation of Burnett’s bestselling memoir, “Carrie and Me: A Mother-Daughter Love Story,” will be helmed by Tara Miele, whose feature “Wander Darkly” opens this Friday. Miele will also adapt the screenplay.

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The movie was announced as a development title at Focus Features in 2019, though insiders said the project is in negotiations to jump to Apple, where it will be released as an original.

Burnett will produce with Tina Fey and Eric Gurian of Little Stranger, and Steven Rogers. Little Stranger’s Jeff Richmond is also on board to executive produce.

The book and subsequent film will track the ups and downs of Burnett’s life as a working mom, star and producer, as seen through the lens of her close relationship with daughter Carrie Hamilton. Grappling with a public addiction battle as a teen, Hamilton lived as a sober adult before dying of cancer at age of 38 in 2002.

Miele’s directing credits include feature indies and episodic work on “Batwoman” and “Arrow.” Her 2016 short “Meet a Muslim” went viral for highlighting the lives and values that Muslims share in common with the global population.

“Wander Darkly,” starring Sienna Miller and Diego Luna, is a time-bending mystery with three lives at stake. The project played in the U.S. dramatic competition at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, where it was nominated for a grand jury prize. The movie will be available in select theaters and on demand on Dec. 11.

Miele is represented by WME and Linda Lichter, of Lichter Grossman Nichols Adler Feldman & Clark.

The pic joins a slew of upcoming originals from the tech giant, including “Emancipation,” from director Antoine Fuqua and Will Smith; the highly sought after “Killers of the Flower Moon,” directed by Martin Scorsese, and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro; “Snow Blind,” a new feature film, with Jake Gyllenhaal attached to star and Gustav Möller set to direct; and “Swan Song” a genre-bending movie starring Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris and Glenn Close.

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