Ellen Degeneres Makes First Movie Deal
First Tim; then Ellen.
At least that’s what the Walt Disney Co. is betting on by giving Ellen DeGeneres, star of its hit ABC comedy series “Ellen,” her first movie deal. She follows on the heels of the stellar movie debut of fellow TV star Tim Allen, whose “The Santa Clause” has been a huge Disney hit.
DeGeneres will star in the comedy “Mr. Wrong,” playing a woman who finally meets the man of her dreams - and he turns out to be a total nightmare. DeGeneres, who proudly boasts she’ll have “a couple of nude sex scenes” in the movie, will shoot during her TV show hiatus, which begins in mid-April.
The quick-witted, 36-year-old comedian from New Orleans was signed by Disney less than a year after her sitcom’s March 1994 debut. The show is currently ranked No. 10 in the Nielsen ratings and DeGeneres received a best actress Golden Globe nomination two weeks ago.
Joe Roth, Disney motion pictures group chairman, beat out fierce competition from rival studios including Paramount and 20th Century Fox to nab DeGeneres’ debut movie. Production must begin no later than June 1 to accommodate her schedule and to have the movie ready for release late this year or next spring, Roth says. “Ellen” resumes filming in early August. Roth is expecting another draft of the script on Monday. It is being written by Chris Matheson, Kerry Ehrin and Chris Munson and is being produced by Marty Katz. A director and costars have yet to be set.
DeGeneres acknowledges that the schedule is tight - “And I’m writing a book, and the deadline is March 1!” she says moments after hanging up the phone with her publisher to tell him she was “panicked.”
Along with “Home Improvement’s” Allen, DeGeneres joins “In Living Color’s” Jim Carrey as recent actors making the leap from TV to film. Allen and Carrey became instant movie stars in 1994, Allen in “The Santa Clause,” which has grossed nearly $140 million, and Carrey in three hits, including the current No. 1 film, “Dumb and Dumber.”
Although sometimes even the most popular TV stars such as Bill Cosby and Roseanne - can fail to make the leap successfully, Disney is confident that DeGeneres’ popularity and talent will easily translate to movie audiences.
DeGeneres, known for her offbeat wit and self-effacing sense of humor, is also confident. “People who like what I do and like my comedy will come see my film.” She says she’s looking forward to having “a lot more creative freedom” and input on her movie than she does on the series. Roth has invited her creative voice on “Mr. Wrong,” wanting her involved in the selection of a director and co-stars, she says.
DeGeneres says the role she will play in “Mr. Wrong” will be similar “but not too close” to the character she portrays on her show, Ellen Morgan, a single woman who runs an L.A. bookstore and cafe called Buy the Book.
The character, DeGeneres says, “is pretty satisfied being who she is … she’s intelligent, she has a good job but she’s pressured by the people around her - her family and friends - who keep asking her why she’s not married and making her feel bad that she’s not.”
Though she is sensitive about being compared to Tim Allen, she quips: “Obviously, a big goal of mine is to outdo ‘Santa Clause.”’