Director/writer/star of hit comedy "I Love My Dad" which debuted and was honored at last year's SXSW
Ridley Scott’s RSA Films has signed multi-hyphenate talent James Morosini for representation in commercials and branded content in the U.S. Morosini wrote, directed and starred in the 2022 indie hit I Love My Dad–also with Patton Oswalt, Claudia Sulewski, Rachel Dratch and Lil Rel Howery–which one critic aptly called “an absolute triumph of twisted humor and love.” Based on a true story, I Love My Dad had its world premiere at SXSW last year, winning both the Narrative Feature Grand Jury Award and Audience Award, and is available on Hulu after a theatrical run last summer.
“When I watched I Love My Dad, I was laughing hysterically and squirming at the same time,” said Luke Ricci, president, RSA Films U.S. “James hit all the notes to deliver a hilarious, twisted comedy. From amazing performances–including his own–to writing and directing a story that kept me on the edge of my seat. I’m excited to bring him great opportunities in commercials and introduce such an exciting talent to our industry.”
“I’ve heard amazing things about RSA over the years,” Morosini said. “Ridley Scott is one of my favorite directors of all time and Scott Free has produced some of my favorite narrative work. And then I met with Luke and just really connected with him. I’m excited to create work that sticks in people’s minds and leaves a lasting impression.”
Morosini gravitates toward stories that come from the gut, and in the case of I Love My Dad, he tackled something cringe worthy he had personal experience with, “catfishing” or setting up a fake profile online to trick someone. Casting Oswalt to play his dad in the film “felt like the perfect fit,” Morosini said. “Patton’s obviously someone who’s very funny but has tremendous heart and brings a lot of levity to dark subject matter.
“I love stories where somebody’s doing the wrong thing for the right reasons,” Morosini continued. “I basically made the movie as a love letter to my dad. The story is about forgiving people and seeing one another as incomplete human beings and loving one another regardless.”
Morosini’s screenplay for I Love My Dad won the Grand Prize of Screencraft’s screenplay competition, selected out of 2,300 entries. The film is currently enjoying a tremendous reception and more wins on the festivals circuit. Another screenplay from Morosini, POP, about a kid who blackmails his favorite pop star into being his best friend, made the 2022 edition of the prestigious Black List.
Morosini made his first feature, Threesomething in 2018, a romantic comedy which he also wrote, directed, produced, edited and starred in. He’s had major acting roles in FX’s American Horror Story and Feud, Lethal Weapon (a Fox reboot) and most recently on Mindy Kaling’s The Sex Lives of College Girls for HBO. He’s also directed many short films. As a multi-disciplined talent, Morosini said he is excited to spend his time behind the camera at RSA, and to contribute as a writer when projects warrant.
James Earl Jones, Lauded Actor and Voice of Darth Vader, Dies At 93
James Earl Jones, who overcame racial prejudice and a severe stutter to become a celebrated icon of stage and screen — eventually lending his deep, commanding voice to CNN, "The Lion King" and Darth Vader — has died. He was 93.
His agent, Barry McPherson, confirmed Jones died Monday morning at home in New York's Hudson Valley region. The cause was not immediately clear.
The pioneering Jones, who was one of the first African American actors in a continuing role on a daytime drama and worked deep into his 80s, won two Emmys, a Golden Globe, two Tony Awards, a Grammy, the National Medal of Arts, the Kennedy Center Honors and was given an honorary Oscar and a special Tony for lifetime achievement. In 2022, a Broadway theater was renamed in his honor.
He cut an elegant figure late in life, with a wry sense of humor and a ferocious work habit. In 2015, he arrived at rehearsals for a Broadway run of "The Gin Game" having already memorized the play and with notebooks filled with comments from the creative team. He said he was always in service of the work.
"The need to storytell has always been with us," he told The Associated Press then. "I think it first happened around campfires when the man came home and told his family he got the bear, the bear didn't get him."
Jones created such memorable film roles as the reclusive writer coaxed back into the spotlight in "Field of Dreams," the boxer Jack Johnson in the stage and screen hit "The Great White Hope," the writer Alex Haley in "Roots: The Next Generation" and a South African minister in "Cry, the Beloved Country."
He was also a sought-after voice actor, expressing the villainy of Darth Vader ("No, I am your father," commonly misremembered as "Luke, I am your father"), as... Read More