Director Paul Feig hopes the third time is a charm as he’s set to world premiere his new “A Simple Favor” sequel at the SXSW festival in March. “Another Simple Favor” has been selected as the opening night film at the fest, where Feig successfully launched his raucous comedies “Bridesmaids” and “Spy.”
This sequel brings back Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick as their characters head to Capri, Italy for the wedding of Lively’s character, Emily Nelson, to a rich Italian businessman. “Along with the glamorous guests, expect murder and betrayal to RSVP for a wedding with more twists and turns than the road from the Marina Grande to the Capri town square,” the SXSW description of the film reads.
Andrew Rannells, Bashir Salahuddin, Elizabeth Perkins, Michele Morrone, Alex Newell, with Henry Golding and Allison Janney also star.
“When we saw this film last fall, we instantly knew it had to open SXSW – it gave us that electric feeling we live for as programmers,” said Claudette Godfrey, VP Film & TV.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled to be back at my favorite festival in the world where we successfully launched ‘Bridesmaids’ and ‘Spy,’ and I cannot begin to say how honored I am to have our film opening it all,” said Feig in a statement. “I’ve avoided making sequels to any of my films but these characters were just too much fun not to revisit. So, to be able to have Anna, Blake, Henry, Andrew, Michele, Elizabeth, Alex and myself watch our film with the great SXSW audience is a bucket list event that I’ll be able to check off March 7th and move playing drums for Dwight Yoakum’s band up to the top slot.”
Head of Amazon MGM Studios, Jennifer Salke said, “Paul Feig has once again delivered the perfect blend of mystery, wit, and unexpected twists in the highly anticipated ‘Another Simple Favor.’ The cast, led by the extraordinarily talented Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick, brings life to a script that propels the sequel to new heights. We are beyond grateful for our collaborations with Paul, Blake, Anna, and the entire cast and filmmaking team. We could not be more excited to share the next chapter of this saga with the always enthusiastic SXSW audience and ultimately with our Prime Video customers around the world.”
The film joins a stacked SXSW lineup that also includes the premiere of the Ben Affleck thriller “The Accountant 2,” A24’s “Death of a Unicorn” and the Apple TV+ series “The Studio.”
“Another Simple Favor” will be released directly on Prime Video on May 1 by Amazon MGM Studios.
The script, which is based upon characters by Darcey Bell, was written by Jessica Sharzer and Laeta Kalogridis. Produced by Feigco Entertainment’s Paul Feig and Laura Fischer, executive produced by Jennifer Booth, Jessica Sharzer, and Marco Valerio Pugini. The film is a Lionsgate and Feigco Entertainment production.