Melissa McCarthy has been cast to star in Fox Searchlight’s fact-based dark comedy “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” TheWrap has learned.
“The Diary of a Teenage Girl” director Marielle Heller will direct the movie, which is based on Lee Israel’s 2008 memoir about forging letters from deceased writers and celebrities to make ends meet. Production is set to begin shooting early next year.
Julianne Moore had previously been attached to the project, with Nicole Holofcener writing and directing, but those plans fell through last year.
Holofcener is still credited as the screenwriter, while Anne Carey and Amy Nauiokas of Archer Gray are producing alongside David Yarnell.