Bill Murray and Naomi Watts are leading a new dramedy movie from directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel, The Friend.
Per Deadline, Watts and Murray have been cast in The Friend (not to be confused with 2019’s Our Friend starring Casey Affleck, Dakota Johnson, and Jason Segel), which is currently filming in New York.
Who else is starring in The Friend?
The cast of The Friend also includes Sarah Pidgeon (Tiny Beautiful Things, The Wilds), Constance Wu (Crazy Rich Asians, Hustlers), Ann Dowd (The Handmaid’s Tale, The Leftovers), and Noma Dumezweni (The Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins Returns).
The Friend is based on Sigrid Nunez’s 2018 novel of the same name. In addition to directing, McGehee and Siegel also wrote the script.
“When a woman unexpectedly loses her lifelong best friend and mentor, she finds herself burdened with the unwanted dog he has left behind. Her own battle against grief is intensified by the mute suffering of the dog, a huge Great Dane traumatized by the inexplicable disappearance of its master, and by the threat of eviction: dogs are prohibited in her apartment building,” the description for Nunez’s novel reads. “While others worry that grief has made her a victim of magical thinking, the woman refuses to be separated from the dog except for brief periods of time. Isolated from the rest of the world, increasingly obsessed with the dog’s care, determined to read its mind and fathom its heart, she comes dangerously close to unraveling. But while troubles abound, rich and surprising rewards lie in store for both of them.”
McGehee and Siegel are producing The Friend alongside Liza Chasin. Watts serves as an executive producer with Mike Spreter and Margaret Chernin.
Watts and Murray previously starred together in 2014’s St. Vincent. McGehee and Siegel, meanwhile, have directed a number of movies together, including 2005’s Bee Season, 2012’s What Maisie Knew, and 2021’s Montana Story, among others.
A release date for The Friend has not yet been announced.
