‘Jump, Darling’: Breaking Glass Pictures Acquires Family Drama Featuring Cloris Leachman’s Final Performance

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EXCLUSIVE: Breaking Glass Pictures has acquired U.S. rights to Jump, Darling, an LGBTQ+ family drama featuring the final performance of the late screen icon Cloris Leachman (The Last Picture Show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show), with plans to release it in theaters and on digital and VOD in March.

The film written and directed by Phil Connell tells the story of Russell (newcomer Thomas Duplessie), an aspiring actor otherwise known for his drag persona, Fishy Falters. After a disastrous non-debut at Toronto drag club Peckers, Russell leaves his status-conscious boyfriend and takes shelter in Canadian wine country with his grandmother Margaret (Leachman)—a woman coming to terms with her own mortality, who is at the same time determined to hang on to her independence.

While Russell struggles to establish himself at the local dive bar and flirts with not-so-straight busboy Zachary (Kawku Adu-Poku), Margaret fends off the best intentions of her daughter Ene (Linda Kash), who wants to keep her safe by sending her to a retirement home. As tempers wear thin and family secrets are revealed, Russell and Margaret fight to maintain their dignity while being true to themselves.

Jump, Darling made its world premiere at the Toronto Inside Out Film Festival and subsequently went on to screen at festivals including Outfest Los Angeles, where Leachman received a Jury Award Special Mention for performance. The film featuring cameos by well-known drag queens including Tynomi Banks, Fay Slift and Miss Fiercalicious also stars Jayne Eastwood. Katie Corbridge produced, with Karen Harnisch and Allison Black exec producing.

“Cloris Leachman delivers a powerful final performance, and newcomer Thomas Duplessie dazzles as her grandson struggling to find his place in the world,” said Breaking Glass Pictures’ VP of Acquisitions, Business Development & Sales, Scott Motisko. “Breaking Glass is honored to count Jump, Darling as part of its extensive and diverse LGBTQ lineup.”

“Cloris was an icon and an ally,” added Connell. “To work with her, to know her, and now to share her final leading performance with the world is a true honor.”

Leachman was an Oscar- and eight-time Emmy winner who enjoyed a 70-plus year screen career. She’s perhaps best known on the film side for her turn in the late Peter Bogdanovich‘s The Last Picture Show. She’s best known on the TV side for her turn as Phyllis on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its 1975 spinoff, Phyllis. While the actress passed away in January of last year, aged 94, she still holds a record as the actress with the most Primetime Emmy acting nominations in history, having notched 22.

Breaking Glass Pictures is an indie distributor, which Richard Wolff founded with Richard Ross in 2009. Another upcoming title from the company is Paul Riccio’s dramedy Give or Take, starring Norbert Leo Butz, Joanne Tucker and Cheri Oteri, which it acquired in November for a February release.

Motisko and Wolff, who serves as Breaking Glass Pictures’ CEO, negotiated the deal to acquire Jump, Darling directly with Connell and Corbridge of Big Island Productions.

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Ellen Burstyn Remembers ‘Last Picture Show’ Director Peter Bogdanovich: ‘He Loved and Understood Film Better Than Anyone’

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In “The Last Picture Show,” Peter Bogdanovich vividly captured life in a dusty Texas town circa 1951 with an honesty and sexual candor that still feels bracing today. Bogdanovich, who died last week at the age of 82, received two Oscar nominations for the 1971 film and went on to make commercial hits such as “Paper Moon,” but never again scaled the same cinematic heights as he did with his early feature, which won statuettes for Ben Johnson and Cloris Leachman. Ellen Burstyn, who received an Oscar nomination for her performance as Lois Farrow, a wealthy woman dissatisfied with her marriage, spoke to Variety about her experiences making the classic film and reflected on Bogdanovich’s life and legacy.

“They sent me the script for ‘The Last Picture Show’ and told me to look at the part of the waitress — that was one of three main female parts. The others were Lois, the role I eventually played, and Ruth, which was Cloris Leachman’s role. I met Peter, and he had me read all three roles. When I was finished, he said, ‘You’re in this picture; now we just have to figure out which part you’re playing.’ Then he called and offered me the part of Ruth, and I said, ‘No, I don’t want to play that part. I want to play Lois.’ And he said, ‘Ruth is the Oscar-winning part.’ And I said, ‘Yes, but I’m going through a divorce right now, and I’m too unhappy and down to play a depressed character like that. I want to play someone who is handling her problems better.’

Lois was in an unhappy marriage, living in a small town, but she still managed to find pleasure where she could. There’s this scene where my husband and I are in front of the television and he’s asleep and I’m flipping through a magazine, bored to death, and I hear a truck pull up and recognize immediately that it’s Abilene’s truck, who is my lover, so I toss the magazine aside, get out of the chair and walk past my sleeping husband and go excitedly to the door. Then the door opens and it’s my daughter, and I realize it is Abilene’s car and my daughter was with him. Suddenly I realize my daughter isn’t a virgin anymore, and she’s sleeping with my lover. As they were lighting it, I said to Peter, ‘I have eight changes in emotion from the beginning of this shot to the end and no lines.’ He gave me a wicked little smile and said, ‘I know.’ And I said, ‘Well, how the hell am I supposed to do this?’ And he said, ‘Think the thoughts of the character, and the camera will read your mind.’ That’s what I did, and it became the way I work.

When we shot the film, we were in this small town, and we all lived together in a motel on the highway. We would all eat dinner together and then gather in somebody’s room, very often mine, and Jeff Bridges would bring his guitar and we would sing together. We got to know each other very well and became a real unit — a family, a community. That was intentional on Peter’s part to put us in a motel on the side of the road with nowhere to go. That bond shows up in the film. It adds to the reality.

Peter was falling in love with [Cybill Shepherd] and we all knew it. Polly Platt, his wife, was the production designer and doing all the wardrobe and handling the overall look of the film. We were all working with her and loved her, so there were some deep cello notes being played while we were experiencing the delight of this artistic harmony.

Peter will be remembered for ‘The Last Picture Show,’ which is one of the greatest movies of all time. It’s like ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ or ‘Doctor Zhivago’; it achieves a level of excellence that makes it impossible to seem dated. I also think he will be remembered as a historian and writer who loved and understood film better than anyone.”

Betty White’s life, career being celebrated during one-night-only movie event

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White granted exclusive access to filmmakers Steve Boettcher (who spent the last 10 years on the project) and Mike Trinklein during the making of the film. A news release said it offers a revealing glimpse into her life — behind-the-scenes on set, working with her office staff, entertaining at home and lending her voice as an animal advocate.

Among guests in the film are Ryan Reynolds, Carol Burnett, Valerie Bertinelli, Jennifer Love Hewitt and dozens of other celebrity friends who offer tributes to America’s sweetheart.

The film includes clips of White’s most famous roles and career highlights, including her hosting gig on “Saturday Night Live,” plus footage from a “lost” episode from her early 1950s sitcom.

The film will remind viewers that White’s legacy is deeper and more pioneering than people realize. She was the first woman to produce a national TV show, the first woman to star in a sitcom, the first producer to hire a female director and the first woman to receive an Emmy nomination. A news release about the film suggested she is the first woman to ever appear on television, thanks to a performance on an experimental broadcast in the late 1930s.

SF Sketchfest postpones festival to 2023: Here are new dates

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Comedy fans will have to wait until 2023 to enjoy the next SF Sketchfest.

Having already announced the postponement of the 2022 festival due to the ongoing pandemic, organizers today said the annual event will not return until 2023, when it will run Jan. 20-Feb. 5.

“While we’re disappointed to spend another year apart, the health and safety of our audience, performers, and staff comes first,” Sketchfest co-founders Cole Stratton, David Owen and Janet Varney said in a statement. “Due to venue availability, 2023 is the earliest we can present the festival as planned, but we can’t wait to safely laugh along with you then! And thank you for your patience while we’ve been working to reschedule these shows. We are beyond grateful for your support!”

The rescheduled festival “will host the vast majority of the shows and events originally scheduled for 2022, details of which will be announced in the coming week,” according to a news release. “In the meantime, the festival asks ticket holders who purchased tickets for the 2022 festival to hang on to their tickets as the festival reaches out to each and every ticket holder as soon as possible with new dates, details and options.”

Over the years, the festival has hosted such acclaimed comedy artists as Robin Williams, Bruce Campbell, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Aziz Ansari, Carol Burnett, Dana Carvey, Cloris Leachman, Eddie Izzard, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Margaret Cho, Dan Aykroyd, Jack Black, Ricky Gervais, Christopher Guest and Keenen Ivory Wayans.

For more information, visit sfsketchfest.com.