Mia Sinclair Jenness Boards ‘The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry’; Rom-Com ‘The Other Zoey’ Adds Mallori Johnson, Maggie Thurmon, Amalia Yoo & More

EXCLUSIVE: Mia Sinclair Jenness (Arcane) will star alongside Kunal Nayyar, Lucy Hale, Christina Hendricks, David Arquette and Scott Foley in The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, an adaptation of Gabrielle Zevin’s New York Times bestselling novel, which is currently in production in Cape Cod.

The film directed by Hans Canosa follows the titular A.J. Fikry (Nayyar), whose life is not at all what he expected it to be. His wife has died, his bookstore is experiencing the worst sales in its history, and now his prized possession, a rare edition of Poe poems, has been stolen. Over time, he has given up on people, and even the books in his store, instead of offering solace, are yet another reminder of a world that is changing too rapidly. But when a mysterious package appears at the bookstore, its unexpected arrival gives Fikry the chance to make his life over and see things anew.

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Jenness will portray Fikry’s surly teenaged assistant, Mollie Klock. Zevin handled the screenplay adaptation and is producing alongside Canosa, Kelsey Law, and Claude Dal Farra and Brian Keady for BCDF Pictures. Nayyar, Hale and Hendricks are exec producing with BCDF’s Brice Dal Farra, with Mister Smith Entertainment handling sales.

Jenness is best known for voicing Powder in Arcane, the Netflix animated series which has her starring alongside Hailee Steinfeld and Ella Purnell. The actress has also lent her voice to Hotel Transylvania 2, appearing on the TV side in Raven’s Home, Blue Bloods, Orange Is the New Black and more.

She is represented by CESD Talent Agency, The Foundry Personal Management in the UK and MLC PR.

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Courtesy of Thomas Brunot; Patrick Marcigliano; Shane McCauley

EXCLUSIVE: Mallori Johnson (FX’s Kindred), Maggie Thurmon (Jump, Summer of Charlie), Jorge López (Elite, Wake Up), Gabriella Saraivah (Once We Were Six) and Amalia Yoo (Grand Army) will round out the cast of The Other Zoey, the rom-com from Gulfstream Pictures (Blended, Mother’s Day) which is currently in production in North Carolina.

The actors join an ensemble led by Josephine Langford, Drew Starkey and Archie Renaux, which also includes Andie MacDowell, Heather Graham and Patrick Fabian.

The film from director Sara Zandieh (A Simple Wedding) centers on Zoey Miller (Langford), a bright college student who rejects traditional ideals of love and dating, only to have her entire perspective on romance turned upside down when another student mistakes her for his girlfriend, also named Zoey.

Matt Tabak penned the script for the film, which is being financed by Gulfstream Pictures. Mike Karz and Bill Bindley are producing through their Gulfstream banner, alongside Tabak, Matt Luber and Lena Roklin, with Michael Cuddy and Nate Bryson executive producing.

Johnson is repped by Brillistein Entertainment Partners; Thurmon by UTA; López by Luber Roklin Entertainment and Cristina Chaparro Management in Spain; and Yoo by APA, Luber Roklin and Yorn, Levine, Barnes.

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