Following the success of the New York Times Critic Pick GUIDANCE, producers Alyson Richards and Mike MacMillan have re-teamed with Pat Mills for his sophomore feature comedy DON'T TALK TO IRENE.

Ed Gernon and Alyson Richards are Executive Producing for Edyson Entertainment.

Newcomer Michelle McLeod is cast in the lead along with Scott Thompson (Hannibal, Kids In The Hall), Bruce Gray (My Big Fat Greek Wedding, How I Met Your Mother) and Anastasia Philips (Bomb Girls, Skins). Academy Award Winning Actor, Geena Davis (Thelma & Louise, Beetlejuice) makes a special appearance in the film.

The body positive comedy has TLC's "My Big Fat Beautiful Life" star Whitney Thore attached as a consultant. Paul Sarossy is the cinematographer. Tiffany Beaudin is editing. The film will be distributed in Canada by Search Engine Films

Production begins in Hamilton, ON with financing partners Telefilm Canada, Shaw Rocket Fund, The Movie Network, a division of Bell Media, Ontario Media Development Corporation, Search Engine Films, The Harold Greenberg Fund and Vigilante Productions. The project was developed with the help of The Harold Greenberg Fund, Movie Central and the Telefilm Canada Feature Comedy Exchange, a CFC North South Marketplace initiative in association with Just For Laughs.   

"Pat is one of the freshest voices in filmmaking today; the team is excited to be heading back into production on this hilarious comedy. That the film happens to have such an incredible underlying message of body-positivity is a huge bonus. It's important for us to put good things out into the world." - Alyson Richards

LOGLINE:

When Irene - the fattest girl in high school - gets suspended, she must endure two weeks of community service at a retirement home. Following her passion for cheerleading, she secretly signs up the senior residents to audition for a dance-themed reality show to prove that you don't need to be physically "perfect" to be perfectly AWESOME.

EDYSON ENTERTAINMENT
 
Based in Toronto and Los Angeles, Edyson Entertainment develops and produces exceptional properties for the North American and International marketplace.

Edyson's first project out of the gate, the feature film GUIDANCE premiered at TIFF 2014 and was picked up for US theatrical distribution by Strand Releasing for a fall 2015 release. It was selected as a New York Times Critic Pic and has an impressive 88% on Rotten Tomatoes. On the television side, Edyson has a robust slate with projects in development in the U.S. and Canada.   

SEARCH ENGINE FILMS   

Search Engine Films is an independent film distributor based in Toronto, Canada. Co-Founded by industry veteran John Bain in 2013, Search Engine specializes in films that are provocative, compelling, hilarious, and insightful. Sometimes all at once.