Natalie Morales to Star in the Dark Dramedy “My Dead Friend Zoe”

Natalie Morales is making a new (dead) friend

The 38-year-old Cuban American actress will star opposite Ed Harris and Sonequa Martin-Green in My Dead Friend Zoe, a dark dramedy about two generations of veterans, family and friendship.

Natalie MoralesKyle Hausmann-Stokes will direct the project in what will be his feature debut.

Written by Hausmann-Stokes and A.J. Bermudez, the film tells the story of a female veteran (Martin-Green) engaged in a mysterious but comfortable friendship with her wise-cracking (and dead) best friend from the Army (Morales). When the vet is summoned to the remote lake house of her estranged Vietnam vet grandfather (Harris), she is tasked with providing the one thing he refuses…help.

The film is based on Merit x Zoe, a short that Hausmann-Stokes co-wrote and directed last year, and both films draw inspiration from his real-life experiences during and after the military. A graduate of USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, Hausmann-Stokes served five years in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper and convoy commander and was awarded the Bronze Star while in Iraq. He co-founded the nonprofit Veterans in Media & Entertainment, and has focused his directing career thus far on the social and human sides of the military and veteran experience.

“My fellow veterans and I often get reduced to archetypes and melodramatic tropes. We’re much more dynamic, funny, complex than that,” said Hausmann-Stokes. “This will be a story about veterans we haven’t seen before; one that anyone, military/veteran or not, can relate to and enjoy.”

A Gotham Award nominee who’ll next be seen in the third season of Apple TV+’s The Morning Show and Sony’s R-rated comedy No Hard Feelings, Morales has previously appeared in such studio features as StuberThe Little Things and Battle of the Sexes, as well as well-regarded indies like Language Lessons and I’m Totally Fine.

She led the NBC sitcom Abby’s and has also been seen on series like Dead to MeSanta Clarita DietThe GrinderParks and Recreation and White Collar.

Other upcoming projects for the actress include two films out of SXSW 2023: the sci-fi romance If You Were the Last with Anthony Mackie, and actor Jake Johnson’s feature directorial debut, Self Reliance.

Natalie Morales to Star in Sony’s R-Rated Jennifer Lawrence Comedy “No Hard Feelings”

Natalie Morales is feelings so good…

The 37-year-old Cuban American actress and director has joined the cast of Sony’s R-rated Jennifer Lawrence comedy No Hard Feelings

Natalie MoralesThe Gene Stupnitsky-directed film, which is currently shooting, follows Lawrence as a ne’er-do-well who is hired by a rich couple to befriend their socially awkward kid.

Disney+/Broadway star Andrew Barth Feldman plays the kid; his parents are played by Matthew Broderick and Laura BenantiEbon Moss-Bachrach also stars.

Morales most recently wrote, directed and starred in Language Lessons opposite Mark Duplass. She also directed the Hulu film Plan B and was nominated for an Imagen Award for her acting work in Language Lessons.

She’ll next be seen in the film I’m Totally Fine, which she executive produces and stars opposite Jillian Bell.

Her television roles include White Collar, The Grinder, Parks and Recreationand Santa Clarita Diet.

Stupnitsky and John Phillips penned the screenplay for No Hard Feelings. Alex Saks, Marc Provissiero, Naomi Odenkirk, Lawrence and Justine Ciarrochi are producing. John Phillips is executive producing.

No Hard Feelings hits theaters on June 16, 2023.

Natalie Morales to Star in & Produce CBS’ Comedy Pilot Based on Sarah Cooper Book

Natalie Morales is preparing for a successful next endeavor…

The 36-year-old Cuban American actress has been cast as one of the leads in CBS’ comedy pilot based on TikTok star Sarah Cooper’s book How to Be Successful Without Hurting Men’s Feelings.

Natalie Morales

Morales will star opposite Amy Landecker and Alice Lee in the pilot.

She’ll also serves as a producer on the pilot, from Cooper, Cindy Chupack, Nina Tassler and Denise Di Novi.

Co-written by Cooper and Chupack and directed by Amy York Rubin, the Untitled Sarah Cooper/Cindy Chupack Project revolves around three women at different stages in their careers at a male-dominated company — played by Morales, Landecker and Lee — who help each other navigate modern gender politics in their professional and personal lives.

Morales will play Joanna, a conflict-averse, people-pleasing middle manager at the small tech company Lucent Muse, whose new hire, Elyse (Lee), challenges her “go along to get along” career philosophy. She lives with her boyfriend of two years, a sweet, loyal guy who might be too sweet and loyal for her.

Morales’ acting credits include The Little Things and Dead to Me. She made her feature directing debut with this year’s Language Lessons, which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival and won the Audience Award at SXSW. She is an executive producer and director on Plan B, a feature comedy on Hulu that’ll be released in spring 2021; and she’s writing and producing an untitled comedy feature set in Miami from Universal.

Natalie Morales Wins SXSW Film Festival Audience Award for feature directorial debut “Language Lessons”

Natalie Morales is the audience’s choice…

SXSW Film Festival organizers have revealed this year’s Audience Award winners, with the 36-year-old Cuban American actress among the list of honorees for her feature directorial debut.

Natalie Morales

Morales’ Language Lessons, which she co-wrote, stars in and directed, was named the Audience Award winner in the Narrative Spotlight category.

The film, which also stars Mark Duplass and Desean Terry, centers on a Spanish teacher awho develops an unexpected friendship with her student.

Latina filmmakers Maria Belen Poncio and Rosario Perazolo Masjoan won the Audience Award in the Episodic Pilot competition for 4 Feet High.

Over the course of five days of SXSW Online, the SXSW Film Festival screened 75 features including 57 world premieres, three international premieres, four North American Premieres, one U.S. premiere and 53 films from first-time filmmakers, plus 84 short films.

Here’s the full list of SXSW Film Festival Audience Award winners:

HEADLINERS
Audience Award Winner:
 Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free
Director: Mary Wharton

NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: 
The Fallout
Director: Megan Park

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: 
Not Going Quietly
Director: Nicholas Bruckman

NARRATIVE SPOTLIGHT
Audience Award Winner: 
Language Lessons
Director: Natalie Morales

DOCUMENTARY SPOTLIGHT
Audience Award Winner: 
Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America
Directors: Emily Kunstler, Sarah Kunstler

VISIONS
Audience Award Winner: 
Inbetween Girl
Director: Mei Makino

MIDNIGHTERS
Audience Award Winner: 
Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror
Director: Kier-La Janisse

GLOBAL
Audience Award Winner: 
Ninjababy
Director: Yngvild Sve Flikke

24 BEATS PER SECOND
Audience Award Winner:
 Soy Cubana
Directors: Jeremy Ungar, Ivaylo Getov

FESTIVAL FAVORITES

Audience Award Winner: In The Same Breath
Director: Nanfu Wang

2020 SPOTLIGHT

Audience Award Winner: We Are The Thousand
Director: Anita Rivaroli

Shorts

NARRATIVE SHORTS COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: 
Play It Safe
Director: Mitch Kalisa

DOCUMENTARY SHORTS COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: 
Joe Buffalo
Director: Amar Chebib

ANIMATED SHORTS COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: 
Opera
Director: Erick Oh

MIDNIGHT SHORTS COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: 
Stuffed
Director: Theo Rhys

TEXAS SHORTS COMPETITION

Audience Award Winner: Learning Tagalog with Kayla
Director: Kayla Abuda Galang

TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL SHORTS COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: 
Beyond the Model
Director: Jessica Lin

MUSIC VIDEO COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: 
Kuricorder Quartet – ‘Southpaw’
Director: Sawako Kabuki

Episodic Program

EPISODIC PREMIERES
Audience Award Winner: 
Them
Showrunner: Little Marvin

EPISODIC PILOT COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: 
4 Feet High
Directors: Maria Belen Poncio, Rosario Perazolo Masjoan

Virtual Cinema

VIRTUAL CINEMA COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner:
 Biolum
Director: Abel Kohen

VIRTUAL CINEMA SPOTLIGHT
Audience Award Winner:
 Finding Pandora X
Director: Kiira Benzing

SXSW Film Design Awards

EXCELLENCE IN TITLE DESIGN
Audience Award Winner: 
Birds Of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn Title Sequence
Creative Director and Illustrator: Michael Riley