By Variety | Created at 2026-08-07 18:36:51 | Updated at 2026-08-07 20:00:55
1 hour ago
Da’Vine Joy Randolph has signed on to star in director Will Ropp’s indie dark comedy “Dedicated to Morris Burke.”
The Oscar winner plays Judy Brooks, who discovers that the final novel of her late best-selling author husband isn’t dedicated to her like all the others. Instead, it’s dedicated to a man named Morris Burke. Judy pushes her grieving, as well as her son Lucas, to the side as she becomes consumed by trying to find out who Morris Burke is.
Rounding out the cast are Kate McKinnon, Amy Sedaris, Janeane Garofalo, Alison Pill, Andrew Rannells, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Jack Alberts, Brian d’Arcy James, Holmes, Tyrik Johnson and Lauren Mei.
Production began in late July in New York City.
“This film explores the fine line between tragedy and comedy; what it means to lose someone you love, and whether there’s even a ‘right’ approach to dealing with grief,” Ropp exclusively told me in a statement Friday. “I couldn’t be more excited for Da’Vine to be leading this stellar cast. She’s the perfect actor to bring this heartbreaking, hilarious and complicated character to life.”
The film, written by Jeremy Leder, marks Ropp’s sophomore directorial feature following his debut with the coming-of-age comedy “Brian.”
“Dedicated to Morris Burke” is being produced by Andy Horwitz (“Suicide Squad,” “American Hustle”) for Big Swell Entertainment, Casey Hanley (“Brian,” “Psyche”) for Act 4 Artists, Omri Bezalel (“Listen,” “Jamie Marks is Dead”) for Big Swell Entertainment, Will Ropp for Endless Ropportunities and Bunny Productions.
UTA Independent Film Group is representing global sales for the film.
Randolph is represented by CAA. Ropp is represented by Entertainment 360 & Gersh. McKinnon is represented by CAA & Artists First. Sedaris is represented by CAA and Untitled. Garafolo is represented by Gersh. Henderson is represented by Stewart Talent & EKG Talent Group. Pill is represented by The Burstein Company and Gersh. Rannells is represented by CAA and Untitled. James is represented by Gersh. Holmes is represented by CAA, Artists First, Felker McGinnis & Ryan LLP, and Viewpoint. Johnson is represented by Paradigm, Forward the Agency and Play Management. Mei is represented by CESD & Authentic. Leder is represented by Gersh and Bellevue Productions. Horwitz is represented by UTA.
