Allison Janney, John Hawkes Join ‘To Leslie’: Cannes

Oscar winner Allison Janney and Oscar nominee John Hawkes have signed up to star alongside Andrea Riseborough in To Leslie, a new drama that will be among the highlights of the virtual Cannes film market later this month.

Riseborough will play the eponymous Leslie, a single mother living in West Texas whose life only gets worse after she wins the lottery. Years later, she hits rock bottom but finds the strength to rebuild her life. Hawkes will play Sweeney, a lonely motel manager who takes a chance on Leslie when no one else will. Janney plays Nancy, a mean-spirited ex-biker who refuses to let Leslie live down her past.

Accomplished TV director Michael Morris, whose credits include Bloodline, Better Call Saul and 13 Reasons Why, will helm To Leslie from a script by Ryan Binaco (3022), who took his inspiration from his mother’s life.

Claude Dal Farra and Brian Keady of BCDF Pictures will produce To Leslie together with Kelsey Law of Clair de Lune Entertainment, with Binaco executive producing. Mister Smith Entertainment is handling international sales and will introduce the project to buyers at the virtual Cannes. UTA Independent Film Group is representing domestic sales.

Hawkes, who received an Oscar nomination for his role as the meth-addicted uncle to Jennifer Lawrence’s character in Winter’s Bone (2010), recently appeared in The Peanut Butter Falcon alongside Shia LaBeouf and Dakota Johnson. His latest feature, End of Sentence, is currently streaming on Amazon.

Janney, a seven-time Emmy winner, won the best supporting actress Oscar in 2018 for her role in I, Tonya and recently played famed attorney Susan Estrich in Jay Roach’s Bombshell. She co-stars in Tate Taylor’s crime comedy Breaking News in Yuba County, which will also be screening at the virtual Cannes market.

Hawkes is repped by Innovative Artists, Thruline Entertainment, and attorney Todd Rubenstein. Janney is repped by Gersh, Thruline, and Nelson Davis. Morris is repped by UTA and Erik Hyman at Paul Hastings.