Shirley MacLaine & Stephen Dorff Set For Indie Drama ‘People Not Places’ From Director Brad Furman
EXCLUSIVE: Academy Award winner Shirley MacLaine (Terms of Endearment) and Stephen Dorff (True Detective) have entered production in New Jersey on People Not Places, an indie drama from director Brad Furman (The Lincoln Lawyer).
Written by Ellen Brown Furman (The Infiltrator), the filmmaker’s mother, the film watches as an elderly widow (MacLaine) living in Atlantic City meets an erratic homeless man (Dorff) who sleeps in cars. Their shared loneliness causes them to bond, as they find the courage to face his regrettable past and her shortened future.
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Brad Furman and Jess Fuerst (Tin Soldier, City of Lies) are producing the film under their Road Less Traveled Productions banner. Jim Seibel (Nyad, The Grey) and Kyle David Crosby (Mending the Line, Bring On the Dancing Horses) are also producing.
Said Brad Furman in a statement to Deadline, “This is the opportunity of a lifetime, as I have been collaborating with both Shirley and Stephen in preparation on this film for years. I have had the privilege of working with incredible actors, and none have been more committed than these two, to their crafts and these roles.”
Furman shared that “on the eve of Shirley’s 90th birthday this April, she said to me that three weeks is like a year for her at this age. This story had to be told, and it had to be told now. And she showed up with the stamina of someone half her age. She is at the top of her game.”
Added the filmmaker, “This is a personal, intimate story, written by my mother. It is an ode to mothers, and it is incredible to be able to take this journey with my family by my side.”
Stated Ellen Brown Furman, “Shirley MacLaine was always my Clare, a strong kind woman from a generation of women like my mother and aunt. Stephen Dorff is my Edgar, a role he embodies with truth, grit, and elegance. Together with my son, Brad Furman as director, these three indomitable talents are bringing my script to life in a loving environment of mutual respect. My dream is coming true. Pinch me.”
The winner of an Oscar for her turn in the classic Terms of Endearment, MacLaine is coming off of performances in indies like American Dreamer and The Last Word, as well as Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building.
Known for films like Blade and Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere, as well as series like True Detective, Dorff’s recently been seen on HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones, as well as in indies like King of Killers, Mob Land and Divinity.
Perhaps best known for directing The Lincoln Lawyer starring Matthew McConaughey, Furman’s other feature directing credits include City of Lies, The Infiltrator, Runner Runner, and The Take.
MacLaine is represented by CAA; Dorff by Atlas Artists and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller; Ellen Brown Furman by Mosaic and Jackoway Austen Tyerman; and Brad Furman by CAA, Mosaic, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.
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