Taye Diggs, Lucy Liu, & Jacki Weaver Cast in Upcoming Comedy STAGE MOTHER

According to Deadline, Jacki Weaver (Silver Lining's Playbook), Taye Diggs (Chicago) and Lucy Liu(Charlie's Angels) are to lead cast in comedy Stage Mother, set in the drag queen world of San Francisco. Currently in pre-produciton, Film Mode will be shopping the movie in Cannes with shoot is due to get underway in Canada later this year.

Canadian director Thom Fitzgerald (Cloudburst) is leading the movie penned by San Francisco screenwriter Brad Hennig (The Hot Flashes). The story follows a conservative Texas church-choir director who inherits her recently deceased son's San Francisco drag club. Following her heart, she surprises her closed-minded husband and everyone else she knows by moving on her own from Texas to San Francisco save the club from bankruptcy. In this raucous, racy new environment, she begins to open up and find new meaning for her life, even becoming a mother figure to the club's flamboyant performers, until a surprise visit threatens to upend her new life.

"Stage Mother has the sharp balance of humor and drama that characterize a number of films that focus on mature protagonists in unexpected new surroundings, like The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel or Shirley Valentine, and especially those that focus on conservative straight characters coming to embrace the LGBTQcommunity, as in Pride and Kinky Boots," Fitzgerald said.

Taye Diggs made his Broadway debut in 1994 in the Tony Award-winning revival of CAROUSEL. Soon after, he landed the role of Benny in in the landmark musical RENT, a role he recreated in the 2005 film version. Diggs other New York stage credits include CHICAGO, WICKED, and Andrew Lippa's THE WILD PARTY. His many film and television credits include HOW STELLA GOT HER GROOVE BACK, GO, CHICAGO, THE BEST MAN, its follow-up THE BEST MAN HOLIDAY, and six seasons on ABC's hit drama "Private Practice." In 2009, he was honored for his role with the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series at the 40th Annual NAACP Image Awards. Diggs has created memorable characters in multiple guest appearances on hit television shows including "Ally McBeal" "Will & Grace," "Ed," "The West Wing," "New York Undercover," and "Law & Order."

Liu made her Broadway debut in in the Tony-winning play God of Carnage, with Jeff Daniels, Dylan Baker and Janet McTeer. In 2010, she made her feature directorial debut with Half the Sky, an adaptation of the bestseller. A consummate advocate for human rights, Liu also produced and narrated Redlight, a powerful documentary about sex trafficking that premiered at the 2009 Woodstock Film Festival and aired on Showtime. The actress has been seen in several films such as Charlie's Angels, Chicago, Kill Bill, & Payback, along with roles on television in hit shows Cashmere Mafia, Southland, Elementary, & Tinker Bell.

Jacki Weaver is an Australian theatre, film, and television actress. She is known internationally for her performances in ANIMAL KINGDOM (2010) and Silver Linings Playbook (2012), both of which earned her a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Weaver emerged in the 1970s as a symbol of the Australian New Wave through her work in Ozploitation films such as Stork (1971), Alvin Purple (1973) and Petersen (1974). In 2005, she released her autobiography titled Much Love, Jac.

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Photo Credit: Walter McBride

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