Sarah Shahi to Executive Produce & Star in the Christmas Film “The Hollys”

It’s a Hollys, jolly Christmas for Sarah Shahi. 

The 42-year-old part-Spanish American actress and breakout star of Black Adam will executive produce and star in the Christmas film The Hollys with Burr Steers attached to direct.

Sarah ShahiThe film, co-written by Floriana Lima, Yolanda Pecoraro, and Ilaria Urbinati, will be produced by Denise Di Novi and Margaret French Isaac of Di Novi Pictures.

The story centers on Emma Holly (Shahi), a workaholic single mom whose life starts to unravel when she loses her job in the city as a successful food editor right before the holidays. Along with her young daughter, Emma is forced to move back into her childhood home in Connecticut with her old-fashioned housewife mom, whose husband just left her on Thanksgiving. In this multigenerational love letter to moms, the three Holly women will have to get through Christmas under one roof, learn to reconcile their differences and mend their fractured relationship in order to cook up a new future for themselves.

“DiNovi Films has a reputation for making insightful, timeless films that champion relevant and bold female narratives to become generation-spanning cinematic gems,” said Shahi. “Under the ingenious direction of Burr Steers, along with the eye of Denise Di Novi, Margaret French Isaac and the rest of the DiNovi team, it’s the perfect home to turn our Christmas tale into an instant classic to revisit year after year.”

Shahi stars alongside Dwayne Johnson in New Line/DC’s Black Adam, which was the No. 1 movie globally its first three weeks of release and has grossed $390M to date. She also stars in the lead role of Netflix’s hit series Sex/Life, which amassed more than 67 million viewers in its first season.

The series will return for Season 2 in 2023.

Shahi also has wrapped production on the Amazon film Red, White & Royal Blue, based on Casey McQuiston’s bestselling novel, and is working on a book.

“We are admirers of Sarah’s brilliant and honest performances, we are thrilled to partner with her and Burr on this evergreen holiday movie,” Di Novi and French Isaac said in a statement. “Combining the heartfelt wit and nuance from our writers with Burr’s comedic and visual excellence, we are excited to deliver a film starring Sarah that showcases working parents, family, togetherness, and all sides of the passion and love brought forth during the holiday season.

Sarah Shahi Signs with William Morris Endeavor (WME)

It’s a new endeavor for Sarah Shahi.

The 42-year-old part-Spanish actress and Sex/Life star  has signed with William Morris Endeavor (WME) for representation.

Sarah Shahi

Shahi portrays Billie Connelly in the provocative Netflix drama series which is heading into its second season.

Inspired by BB Easton’s self-published memoir 44 Chapters About 4 MenSex/Life is the story of a love triangle between a woman, Billie Connelly (Shahi), her husband, and her past, which takes a deliciously steamy new look at female identity and desire.

The series quickly became one of Netflix’s best performing shows and drew more than 67 million viewers in its first season.

Shahi received critical praise for her portrayal of DA’s office investigator Rachel Behnam in Showtime’s City on a Hill. She also starred in an episode of the Netflix Dolly Parton anthology series Heartstrings, in which each episode is based on a Dolly song.

She also starred alongside Nathan Fillion on NBC’s The Rookie, and in the Steven Spielberg-produced NBC series Reverie

She also is known for her roles on CBS’ Person of Interest, USA’s Fairly Legal and Showtime’s The L Word.  Her other television credits include Chicago Fire, Life with Damian Lewis, The Sopranos, Ray Donovan and Alias.

Shahi next stars in the anticipated Warner Bros./DC superhero feature Black Adam alongside Dwayne Johnson, set for release in October. She also has signed on to star in the upcoming Amazon film Red, White and Royal Blue, based on the best-selling book, and she is attached to executive produce and star in The Hollys, written by Floriana Lima, Yolanda Pecoraro, and Ilaria Urbinati, with Di Novi Pictures producing.

Matthew López to Make Feature Directorial Debut with Film Adaptation of Best-Selling LGBTQ+ Novel “Red, White & Royal Blue”

Matthew López is embracing the red, white and (royal) blue

The 44-year-old Puerto Rican playwright and screenwriter, who made history as the first Latinx playwright to win the Tony Award for Best Play, will make his feature directorial debut on the LGBTQ+ romantic comedy Red, White & Royal Blue.

Matthew Lopez

The Amazon Studios production is a film adaptation of Casey McQuiston’s 2019 best-selling novel of the same name.

It centers on a star-crossed power couple — the Latinx character of Alex Claremont-Diaz, the son of the president of the United States, and his relationship with Prince Henry, grandson of the Queen of England.

López rewrote a draft of the script by Ted Malawer in addition to being tapped to direct the film.

Here’s the official logline: “What happens when America’s Prince falls in love with an actual prince? The film follows Alex Claremont-Diaz who, upon his mother’s election as president, was promptly cast as the American equivalent of a young royal. Handsome, charismatic, brilliant―his image is pure millennial-marketing gold for the White House. There’s only one problem: Alex has a long-running feud with his royal counterpart across the pond. And when the tabloids get hold of a photo involving an Alex-Henry altercation, U.S.-British relations take a turn for the worse. Heads of family, state, and other handlers devise a plan for damage control: staging a truce between the two rivals. What at first begins as a fake, Instagram-able friendship grows into something more meaningful than either Alex or Henry could have imagined. Soon Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret romance with a surprisingly unstuffy Henry that could complicate his mother’s re-election campaign, upend two nations and begs the question: Can love save the world after all?”

Lopez has a busy dance card. He’s penning a remake of The Bodyguard for Warner Bros., collaborating with songwriting duo Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman and Amber Ruffin on a musical-adaptation of Some Like it Hot, and scripting a feature film adaptation of the novel Leading Men, which centers on the relationship between Tennessee Williams and his longtime partner

López will also executive produce the film.

The Inheritance, a two-part epic about the AIDS crisis, is set to make its Los Angeles premiere at the Geffen Playhouse in 2022. In New York, López’s work has been seen Off Broadway with The Whipping Man (Manhattan Theatre Club), and The Legend of Georgia McBride (MCC Theater). He previously signed an overall television development deal with Amazon Studios in October of last year