Kunal Nayyar, Lucy Hale, & Christina Hendricks To Star In The Feature Adaptation Of The New York Times Bestselling Novel ‘The Storied Life Of A.J. Fikry’

Kunal Nayyar, Lucy Hale, and Christina Hendricks to star in the feature adaptation of The New York Times bestselling novel “The Storied Life Of A.J. Fikry”.

Kunal Nayyar (“The Big Bang Theory”, “Trolls”, “Spaceman”), Lucy Hale (“Ragdoll”, “Borrego”, “The Hating Game”, “Pretty Little Liars”), and Christina Hendricks (“Good Girls”, “The Neon Demon”, “Mad Men”) are set to star in the film “The Storied Life Of A.J. Fikry”, adapted from the blockbuster New York Times best-selling novel by Gabrielle Zevin. The heartwarming, comical love story, and homage to the joy of books has been translated into 38 languages and has sold over five million copies worldwide.

Hans Canosa will direct from Zevin’s adaptation of her own novel. BCDF Pictures’ Claude Dal Farra and Brian Keady are producing alongside Kelsey Law, Canosa, and Zevin. BCDF’s Brice Dal Farra, Nayyar, Hale, and Hendricks are executive producers.

Mister Smith Entertainment is launching worldwide sales at the upcoming Cannes Virtual Market at the end of June. Principal photography is scheduled for this fall. The film rights to Zevin’s most recent novel, “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” recently sold to Paramount for $2 million upfront after an auction between over 25 bidders. Arlie Day and Mike Page are casting.

A.J. Fikry’s (Nayyar) life is not at all what he expected it to be. His wife has died, his bookstore is experiencing the worst sales in its history, and now his prized possession, a rare edition of Poe poems, has been stolen. Over time, he has given up on people, and even the books in his store, instead of offering solace, are yet another reminder of a world that is changing too rapidly. But when a mysterious package appears at the bookstore, its unexpected arrival gives Fikry the chance to make his life over and see things anew.

“The Storied Life Of A.J. Fikry” is a wonderfully moving, endearing story of redemption and transformation – charming, comical, and true to life.

Mister Smith Entertainment’s David Garrett stated: “The reason this is such a wonderful story with such great characters, is that the script is hewn from the most wonderful source material. It shines light on those connections which are at the heart of all human relationships in such a joyous and life-affirming fashion.”

Six-time SAG Award Nominee Kunal Nayyar is best known to worldwide audiences as Raj on the hit comedy and multiple Emmy award winning show, “The Big Bang Theory”. He is filming this summer on Johan Renck’s “Spaceman”, starring opposite Adam Sandler, Carey Mulligan, and Paul Dano, and was also nominated for a 2021 BAFTA for his work on the Netflix show “Criminal: UK”. He is also currently filming the Apple TV+ series, “Suspicion”, a high-paced thriller starring opposite Uma Thurman.

Lucy Hale is best known for her starring role in the hit series “Pretty Little Liars”, which ran for seven seasons and 160 episodes. She has also starred in the shows “Katy Keene”, “Life Sentence”, and “Privileged”, among others. Her film work includes starring roles in “The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants 2”, “Truth Or Dare”, “Scream 4”, and most recently “Fantasy Island”. Hale is currently shooting AMC’s crime series “Ragdoll” from Sid Gentle Films, the British production company behind “Killing Eve”. Her upcoming features include “Borrego”, and BCDF Pictures’ “The Hating Game”.

Christina Hendricks garnered international recognition starring as Joan in the Emmy winning series “Mad Men” for which she was nominated for six Emmy awards and won two SAG Awards. Her film work includes Nicolas Winding Refn’s thriller “Drive”, Sally Potter’s “Ginger & Rosa”, Ryan Gosling’s “Lost River”, and “American Woman” opposite Sienna Miller. She also recently voiced the role of Gabby Gabby in Disney & Pixar’s “Toy Story 4” which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film in 2020. Hendricks is currently starring in the fourth season of her NBC comedy-crime series “Good Girls”.

BCDF Pictures has several book adaptations on its slate for this year, including “The Ploughmen”, with Ed Harris directing and Robert Duvall and Garrett Hedlund starring, as well as New York Times Bestseller “The Language Of Flowers”, starring Kiersey Clemons. BCDF is also in post-production on Michael Morris’ “To Leslie”, starring Andrea Riseborough and Allison Janney, as well as the Lucy Hale starrer “The Hating Game”, based on the runaway hit novel by Sally Thorne.

About Mister Smith Entertainment
Led by CEO David Garrett, Mister Smith Entertainment (MSE) is involved in the financing, co-financing, and licensing of high-quality mainstream feature films and filmmaker driven movies for the global market. MSE’s current sales slate includes “Lakewood” starring Naomi Watts and directed by Phillip Noyce, Michael Morris’ “To Leslie” starring Andrea Riseborough and Allison Janney, “He Went That Way” starring Jacob Elordi and Zachary Quinto, Constantin’s currently in release reboot of the “Wrong Turn” franchise and the Berlinale Special 2021 selection “Tides”. Mister Smith Entertainment is also co-financing two other features from BCDF Pictures: “The Hating Game”, starring Lucy Hale, and New York Times Bestseller “The Language Of Flowers”, starring Kiersey Clemons.

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