Tribeca Opening With A Laugher
The Tribeca Film Festival is starting out with a laugher this year.
"Baby Mama," a comedy written and directed by newcomer to feature films Michael McCullers, will be unleashed to the world on April 23 as the opening night film of the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival, which runs until May 4.
Starring Saturday Night Live favorites Amy Poehler and Tina Fey, audiences are sure to laugh at the dynamic duo, together again and providing their patented quirkiness.
Poehler and Fay collaborated with McCullers and producers Lorne Michaels (SNL) and John Goldwyn "to tell the story of two women, one apartment and the nine months that will change their lives."
Photos: Film Festival Fun
"Baby Mama" encapsulates the sometimes turbulent quest for motherhood for an independent, hard-working, successful woman. That woman is 37-year-old Kate Holbrook (Fey) who has put her desire to have children on the back burner to pursue her career.
Since Holbrook is reproductively challenged, she seeks the help of South Philly working girl Angie Ostrowiski (Poehler) to become a surrogate mother.
While Holbrook starts getting into overly obsessive baby mode-preparation, Ostrowiski shows up at her doorstep with no place to live.
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Without a choice, Holbrook reluctantly takes her in, only to find out that during their bouts of frustration, they have ultimately found the true definition of family.
"As a film festival with a true commitment to New York City and its film community, what better way to open this year's festival than with a New York production that brings together some of the city's most beloved and creative talent," said Tribeca Film Festival co-founder Jane Rosenthal.
"The creators of this film, both in front of the camera and behind, have been making audiences laugh for years," Rosenthal said. "We look forward to celebrating this crowd-pleasing comedy with our long time collaborators at Universal."
"Baby Mama" is mostly filmed in New York City, all too familiar territory for the SNL cast members and producers. This film marks the directorial debut of former SNL writer McCullers.
Poehler and Fey are joined by the multi-talented cast of Greg Kinnear, Dax Shepard, Romany Malco, Maura Tierney, Holland Taylor and Sigourney Weaver.
"It's an honor for Baby Mama to open The Tribeca Film Festival," said Michaels. "We all live and work in New York City, so there is no way we will not get to the premiere on time."
The 2008 Tribeca Film Festival will announce its primary film slate of films on March 11, 13 and 17.
By Melissa Castellanos