Julie Ann Emery, whose TV credits include “Better Call Saul” and the first season of FX’s “Fargo,” has joined Chris Evans in Marc Webb‘s “Gifted,” TheWrap has learned.
Fox Searchlight will distribute “Gifted,” which is currently filming in Georgia. The movie co-stars Oscar winner Octavia Spencer and Tony winner Lindsay Duncan as well as Jenny Slate, Keir O’Donnell and young actress Mckenna Grace.
Webb (“The Amazing Spider-Man”) directs from an original screenplay by Tom Flynn. Karen Lunder and Andy Cohen are producing “Gifted,” while Molly Allen, Glen Basner and Ben Browning serve as executive producers.
Evans plays Frank Adler, a single man raising a child prodigy — his spirited young niece, Mary (Grace) — in a coastal town in Florida. Frank’s plans for a normal school life for Mary are foiled when the seven-year-old’s mathematical abilities come to the attention of Frank’s formidable mother, Evelyn (Duncan), whose plans for her granddaughter threaten to separate Frank and Mary.
Spencer plays Roberta, Frank’s landlady and friend, while Slate plays Mary’s teacher, Bonnie, a young woman whose concern for her student develops into a connection with her uncle as well.
Emery’s feature credits include Will Smith‘s romantic comedy “Hitch,” Rod Lurie‘s drama “Nothing But the Truth” and the Farrelly brothers’ omnibus comedy “Movie 43.” She’s represented by Innovative Artists.