Susan Sarandon, Allison Janney and Stephen Amell are in talks to star in Mandalay Pictures’ comedy Whatever Makes You Happy. Mimi Steinbauer’s Radiant Films International has introduced the project to buyers at AFM.

Modern Family and Sex And The City write-producer Cindy Chupack makes her directorial debut.

Whatever Makes You Happy is based on the novel of the same name by William Sutcliffe and an earlier draft by Mark Andrus about a pair of suburban women in New York who pay an impromptu visit to their grown-up sons in an effort to reconnect.

Principal photography on the current draft by Chupack is set to begin in New York in June 2015. Elijah Kelly is also in talks to join the cast.

Mandalay developed the comedy and Cathy Schulman will produce, with Prescience on board as a financier.

David Frankel serves as executive producer with Matt Rhodes and Jason Michael Berman.

“As one of the top comedy producers and writers in television today, Chupack has written a funny yet poignant script with Whatever Makes You Happy,” said Steinbauer. “It’s no surprise the project is attracting such a top-notch cast, which will be well received by buyers at the market.”

“We are thrilled to be in business with this whole team of talented filmmakers,” said Prescience chairman Tim Smith. “This is a comedy for everyone that touches upon universal themes of parenting children and children parenting their parents. We think it’s a film that will draw in audiences all over the world.”

Schulman added: “This film is one of those rare comedies that will make audiences laugh and cry at the same time, due to its keen observations about the experiences of mothers and sons.”

Prescience and Radiant recently collaborated on Toronto premiere Madame Bovary.

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