Comedian, actor, noted coffee enthusiast, and one of the greats Chelsea Peretti has completed production on her feature-film directorial debut, First Time Female Director, Deadline recently announced. The movie, which Peretti also wrote and stars in, is produced by MarVista and Amy Poehler’s Paper Kite Productions, and tells the story of a local Glendale, California, theater production where Peretti, playing the titular first-time female director, “struggles to fill the shoes of her male predecessor, putting her Southern rural drama in jeopardy.†The title of the movie is a bit meta, but judging by the following Instagram post, it’s safe to say it’s probably not some sort of Charlie Kaufman–esque rumination.
Peretti is joined by a staggering ensemble of emerging and established names in comedy, including Blake Anderson, Kate Berlant, Jak Knight, Megan Stalter, Megan Mullally, Tim Heidecker, Poehler, and more. “This is the project of a lifetime for me — a chance to have my voice embodied by a truly brilliant ensemble of comedic actors,†Peretti said, speaking to Deadline about the project. “I am so moved to have a prolific, beloved, and sharp comedy collaborator like Amy Poehler as a producer and actor. And grateful for my champions at MarVista, who took this from script to screen. Our dream was to watch a laugh-out-loud comedy film, and I cannot wait to share what we have made with audiences as soon as possible! Also, I love my lawyer. She’s great.†There’s no word yet on when the film will be released, but all told it seems like a lot of work and an innumerable amount of coffee went into it.