Michael Cera is getting behind the camera for his directorial feature debut and has quietly amassed a impressive cast, Variety understands
The actor — best known for roles in “Barbie,” “Superbad,” “Scott Pilgrim vs the World,” and “Arrested Development” — is set to direct “Love is Not the Answer,” with Pamela Anderson (“The Last Showgirl”), Steve Coogan (“Philomena”), Fred Hechinger (“Gladiator 2”) and Jamie Dornan (“Belfast”) lined up to star. mk2 Films will launching the project in Cannes.
The plot of the film is being kept under wraps, but it’s described as a “precise yet unpredictable, absurdist comedy that moves between hilarity and heartbreak as it explores modern loneliness and the search for connection.”
“Love is Not the Answer” also teams Cera — who penned the script — with fast-rising hitmakers 2am, led by Christine D’Souza Gelb, David Hinojosa and Kevin Rowe and producers of “Bodies, Bodies, Bodies,” “Past Lives,” “Babygirl,” Celine Song’s upcoming “Materialists” and “The Moment” starring Charli xcx. mk2 Films are handling international rights and 2am and CAA Media Finance will oversee North America.
Cera himself should be in Cannes attending for Wes Anderson’s typically star-heavy competition entry “The Phoenician Scheme,” part of an ensemble cast that also includes Benicio del Toro, Mia Threapleton, Riz Ahmed, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Scarlett Johansson and Benedict Cumberbatch.
Cera has spoken about his desire to direct previously, revealing in 2023 that he was working on an adaptation of the novel “Masters of Atlantis” by Charles Portis.
Alongside “Love is Not the Answer,” mk2 Films Cannes slate includes six films in Cannes 2025 official competition in Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value,” the highly anticipated follow-up to “The Worst Person in the World”; Kleber Mendonça Filho’s political thriller “The Secret Agent”; Mascha Schilinski’s “Sound of Falling”; Hafsia Herzi’s “The Little Sister”; and Carla Simón’s “Romería.”
From Variety US