Melissa McCarthy in Talks to Co-Direct Raunchy Comedy 'Tammy'

Just days after selling a pitch to Universal and unveiling her production banner, Melissa McCarthy has entered into negotiations to direct Tammy, New Line’s raunchy comedy, in which she would also star.

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McCarthy would direct the project with husband and partner Ben Falcone.

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The move resuscitates the film, which was to have been directed by Beth McCarthy (no relation), who left the project last year.

Tammy was one of the first projects that McCarthy set up after her breakout role in the 2011 comedy hit Bridesmaids. She created the central character and co-wrote the script with Falcone.

The project centers on a woman who is laid off from her job at Hardee’s, discovers her husband is having an affair, and decides to go on a road trip with her alcoholic, foul-mouthed, diabetic grandmother.

Shirley MacLaine is in talks to play the grandmother.

Tammy has not yet been green-lit, but New Line is high on it and hopes to get it going this year. One roadblock could be McCarthy’s availability. The comedienne has three projects set up at two different studios, and she is involved not just as a producer but also as a screenwriter on a couple of them. That does not factor in any acting gigs or her commitment to promote The Heat, a Fox comedy in which she stars with Sandra Bullock that opens June 28.