Kumail Nanjiani Comedy Grabs Biggest Deal So Far at Sundance

Zoe Kazan and Kumail Nanjiani appear in The Big Sick by Michael Showalter, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Nicole Rivelli.

Zoe Kazan and Kumail Nanjiani appear in The Big Sick by Michael Showalter, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Nicole Rivelli.

What’s the biggest deal coming out of this year’s Sundance (so far)? An autobiographical comedy called The Big Sick, written by husband and wife team of Kumail Nanjiani and his wife Emily V. Gordon. Judd Apatow produced the film.

Besides their podcasts and live stand-up show (and subsequent Comedy Central series) The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail (which Gordon produces), the two made a big splash this weekend with their multi-cultural rom-com, starring Kumail as himself, Zoe Kazan as Emily, Holly Hunter and Ray Romano (getting rave reviews) as her parents. Directed by Michael Showalter, the film sold for $12M to Amazon Studios (which picked up Oscar contender Manchester by the Sea for $10M last year).

Read more comedy news.

The following two tabs change content below.
Lesley Coffin is a feature editor for FF2media and has also written the books Lew Ayres: Hollywood Conscientious Objector (2012) and Hitchcock's Stars (2014), and currently writing a third book. Follow on twitter @filmbiographer for thoughts on movies and cat pictures.
Lesley Coffin
Lesley Coffin
Lesley Coffin is a feature editor for FF2media and has also written the books Lew Ayres: Hollywood Conscientious Objector (2012) and Hitchcock's Stars (2014), and currently writing a third book. Follow on twitter @filmbiographer for thoughts on movies and cat pictures.