JACKIE VAN BEEK and MADELEINE SAMI TO DIRECT AUBREY PLAZA IN FEATURE COMEDY "HOPE" FOR NETFLIX

Directors: Jackie van Beek & Madeleine Sami (The Breaker Upperers)

Hope marks the second feature to be directed by the comedic duo following their female-driven comedy The Breaker Upperers, which they also co-wrote and starred in, and premiered on Netflix in February 2019.

Writers: Karen McCullah & Kirsten "Kiwi" Smith

McCullah and Smith have a slew of comedy credits under their belt iincluding The House Bunny, Legally Blonde, The Ugly Truth, 10 Things I Hate About You, and She's the Man. They are currently writing the Spice Girls movie for Paramount Animation, and an original pitch for Paramount (live action) with Todd Garner producing called Party Girls. Hope is a passion project for the duo.

Cast: Aubrey Plaza (Ingrid Goes West, Legion, Parks and Recreation)

Plaza recently wrapped production on the feature, Black Bear, a suspenseful meta-drama, which she is producing and starring in opposite Christopher Abbott and Sarah Gadon. She recently starred in Noah Hawley's Legion on FX and MGM's feature, Child's Play opposite Brian Tyree Henry. Previously, she starred in Matt Spicer's acclaimed film, Ingrid Goes West. As one of the film's producers, she received the 2018 Film Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature and the film received a nomination for Best First Screenplay. For seven seasons, Plaza played the underachieving assistant, April Ludgate, on the Emmy-nominated comedy series Parks and Recreation.She also starred in many notable films including Colin Trevorrow's Safety Not Guaranteed, Edgar Wright's Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Judd Apatow's Funny People, Jeff Baena's The LIttle Hours (which she produced), among others. Additionally, Plaza recently hosted the 2019 Film Independent Spirit Awards.

Producers: Michael Costigan and Jason Bateman for Aggregate Films; Lundi Shackleton & Philippe Palacios for Les Espoirs Pictures; Aubrey Plaza

Executive Producers: Adam Wagner, Kiwi Smith and Karen McCullah