‘Mad Men’ Actress Writes and Stars in Romantic Comedy (Exclusive)

Actress Abigail Spencer, best known for her work on Mad Men, has stealthily spread her wings into screenwriting, with her script Wrong Number now set for a spring shoot with James Franco as a producer.

Spencer will also star in the movie, leading a cast that includes Andrew Leeds, Matt Gould, Griffin Matthews, Camille Chen and Eric Roberts.

PHOTOS: Hollywood’s New Leading Ladies

The movie is the first to come from a partnership between Victorino Noval Productions, Edward Bass Films and Franco and his Rabbit Bandini Productions. A slate of six films is planned.

Franco is producing with his Bandini partners Vince Jolivette and Miles Levy, along with Bass. Noval is exec producing and financing. Spencer will also act as a producer.

“We are in the James Franco business,” says Noval, who plans to work with Franco on many of his creative endeavors involving his NYU work.

Number is a comedic romance about two people who “meet” on a wrong number phone call at a pivotal moment in their lives. The story centers on a wife dealing with the loss of her father and the stranger she pursues. They strike up an unlikely friendship, which turns romantic, revealing the gray areas and often mixed signals in intimate friendships amongst men and women.

AnnaRose King is directing the film, which is eying an April start in New York.

STORY: ‘Mad Men’ Actress to Star in Joss Whedon-Written and Produced Supernatural Romance

Spencer, who played Don Draper’s mistress on Mad Men, and she has been working on the Number script for three years. She met Franco while shooting Oz: The Great and Powerful and told him about the personal story.

“I’ve been making some of these smaller movies with people from NYU and other students and I thought I could be helpful,” Franco tells THR. “It’s a romantic comedy in a way, and I didn’t think I would be that into a romantic comedy, but I think structurally it’s unlike anything I’ve seen.”

Number isn’t Spencer’s first time writing although it is her first feature. She previously co-wrote/created with Lauren Miller a pilot script called Teach that is in development with Alloy Entertainment and that sold last year to Warner Horizon and ABC Family.

Spencer, repped by ICM, Untitled Entertainment and Hansen Jacobson, will next be seen in This Means War with Reese Witherspoon and Chris Pine, and she has Of Men and Mavericks, the Curtis Hanson-directed surfing movie starring Gerard Butler, in the can.

Email: Borys.Kit@thr.com

Twitter: @Borys_Kit