Chris Messina & Tate Donovan Topline Indie Drama ‘Blame’

EXCLUSIVE: Chris Messina, Tate Donovan and Nadia Alexander are starring in Blame, a dark indie drama that marks the directorial debut of Quinn Shephard. Shephard, an actor whose credits include CBS’ Hostages last year, also co-stars in the movie and penned the screenplay.

Messina plays a substitute drama teacher whose taboo relationship with an unstable student (Shephard) strikes a nerve in her jealous classmate (Alexander) and sparks some The Crucible-esque vengeance within their suburban high school. Donovan plays the stepfather of Alexander’s character; Shephard played Donovan’s daughter on Hostages, which lasted one season.

Trieste Kelly Dunn, Owen Campbell, Marcia DeBonis and Tessa Albertson co-star. Shephard, Laurie Shephard and Larissa Rhodes produced, and shooting has wrapped in New Jersey.

Shepherd, next up acting in the YA romantic drama Midnight Sun opposite Bella Thorne and Patrick Schwarzenegger, is repped by Innovative Artists. Messina is repped by WME, Donavan by Gersh and Alexander by Paradigm.

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