Linda Cardellini and Kelly Hutchinson — who met on the Netflix hit Dead to Me — are partnering on a feature film project that has just been acquired as a pitch by Amazon Studios in a competitive situation that drew multiple offers from four studios and streamers.
Titled Murder Party, the project is described as a comedic murder mystery in the vein of Clue and Knives Out and will be led by an all-female ensemble cast with Cardellini in one of the roles. Also of note: The project marks both Cardellini’s and Hutchinson’s feature writing debut. They will also produce alongside vet producer Jennifer Todd. At Todd’s company, senior vp Brittany Hapner will oversee and take executive producer credit.
The logline follows seven women involved in a pyramid scheme, who meet for a dinner party on a private island. When one of the guests gets murdered, the women must figure out who is responsible before they become victims themselves.
Cardellini and Hutchinson are heading into the third and final season of Dead to Me, which also recently scored a handful of SAG Award nominations, including one for Cardellini in the lead comedy actor category along with co-star Christina Applegate. The series also got a best ensemble nod. Cardellini, who also nabbed an Emmy nom last year, is repped by CAA, Mosaic and attorney Debbie Klein.
Hutchinson, who started out her career as an actress before segueing to writing, is repped by UTA, 3 Arts Entertainment and attorney Mitch Smelkinson. She also earned a WGA nod for Dead to Me with Liz Feldman.
