Paladin will release Malcolm Mowbray’s new comedy, MEETING SPENCER, starring renowned character actor Jeffrey Tambor this spring, it was announced by company president Mark Urman . Produced by George Braunstein, the film is a sophisticated farce set in the world of theater and represents a rare starring role for Tambor, best known-and-loved as the dad in the acclaimed television series, “Arrested Development,” and for key supporting roles in a number of motion pictures including the recent smash, “The Hangover.” The film will open in New York on April 8, not long after Tambor assumes one of the two leading roles in the Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of “La Cage Aux Folles,” alongside the legendary show’s co-creator Harvey Fierstein.
Directed by Mowbray, whose “A Private Function,” starring Michael Palin and Maggie Smith, is widely considered one of the classic British comedies of the ‘80s, MEETING SPENCER all takes place in one night, in the fabled Theater Row hangout Frankie & Johnnie’s (recreated on a Hollywood sound stage), and concerns the increasingly frantic efforts of a once-famous stage director to raise financing for a production he hopes will be his comeback. Based on an original screenplay by Andrew Kole, Andrew Delaplane, and Scott Kasdin, the film is an affectionate homage to such classic screwball comedies as “Room Service” and “Twentieth Century,” in which a motley group of flamboyant theater denizens plot and scheme, both against and with one another, in their pursuit of glory on “the great white way.” Melinda McGraw (“Mad Men”) and Jesse Plemons (“Friday Night Lights”, the upcoming “Battleship”) head the large supporting cast.
About the film Urman says, “MEETING SPENCER” is an upscale comedy that is downright funny, boasting the sort of snappy dialog and stylish visuals that are a rarity among independent films. Jeffrey Tambor is just sensational in it, and it will be great fun to bring his performance to the screen at the same time he is delighting audiences on stage.” Producer Braunstein says, “Jeffrey is a comic genius. I’ve always loved his work and I think Malcolm is a brilliant director who really knows how to get performances out of the actors.” Mowbray adds, “We are really pleased that we have Mark and Paladin releasing ‘Meeting Spencer’. We knew instantly from Mark’s response to the film that he would be the right man to deliver it to the audience.” Executive producer is Chien Ya Natalie Chin.