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Jim Gaffigan is ready for his Lost in Translation moment. The actor is known for his comedy but he’s been trying to break into dramatic roles for a while. He thought the break might come in 2005 with The Great New Wonderful. Just last spring he had a substantial part in Chappaquiddick and this year he brought two dramas and one comedy to Sundance Film Festival 2019. We sat down with Gaffigan to discuss this new territory in his career and specifically Light from Light.

Throughout our talk, Gaffigan showed tempered expectations about his career and personal life. When asked about the sexual abuse crisis in Roman Catholicism (he’s openly religious), you can trace the logic of his faith to a belief in human fallibility matched with divine forgiveness, regardless of who’s in charge of the institution. Similarly, Light from Light asks what’s the point of going on,...

The Breaking Bad veteran will continue to develop original projects for the studio and will serve as co-ep on Fox’s upcoming midseason drama Rake. Sam Catlin shared a pair of Emmy noms for AMC’s Breaking Bad as Outstanding Drama Series in 2010 and 2012 and won the WGA Award last year. His credits also include Canterbury’s Law, Kidnapped and the comedy feature The Great New Wonderful. Catlin, who also signed a 2-year overall deal with Sony Pictures Television in August 2011, is represented by UTA and attorney Ken Richman. Related: John Eisendrath Re-Ups Sony Overall Deal...

Sam Catlin, co-executive producer on AMC/Sony Pictures TV's drama series Breaking Bad, has signed a two-year overall deal with Sony TV. Under the pact, Catlin is set to continue on Breaking Bad, which has not been renewed for a fifth season yet as AMC and Sony continue to haggle over deal points. Additionally, Catlin will develop new projects for the studio. UTA-repped Catlin wrote the dark indie comedy The Great New Wonderful, which starred Tony Shalhoub, Will Arnett, Edie Falco and Maggie Gyllenhaal. His series credits include Fox's Canterbury’s Law and NBC's Kidnapped.

"Valentine's Day" touts 19 famous names above its title -- but the real star, of course, is love.

This week on the IFC News podcast, we discuss the tradition of the large ensemble film into which "Valentine's Day" fits, look at how instead of one main character they tend to be centered on a setting ("Nashville"), a theme ("Crash") or trauma ("The Great New Wonderful"), and unveil what "Love Actually" and "The Grudge" have in common.

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Leading up to the Oscars on Feb. 22, we will be highlighting the nominated films that have appeared in the magazine or on the Website in the last year. Howard Feinstein interviewed the key principals of The Visitor for our Spring '08 issue. The Visitor is nominated for Best Actor (Richard Jenkins). In 2005, Tom McCarthy, who has been acting for nearly 20 years, appeared in three films with strong political thrusts: Syriana; Good Night, and Good Luck; and Danny Leiner‘s underappreciated The Great New Wonderful. In The Station Agent (2003), his first feature as a director, however, McCarthy displayed the seeds of this social engagement. The Station Agent is not political in the issue sense so much as it is progressively anthropological...

NEW YORK -- First Independent Pictures and Magnolia Home Entertainment are acquiring North American rights to the road comedy Moving McAllister starring Mila Kunis, Jon Heder and Rutger Hauer.

Producer-screenwriter-financier Ben Gourley stars as Rick Robinson, an ambitious Miami law firm intern who helps the top partner (Hauer) by moving his attractive niece (Kunis) across the country. With just five days before his bar exam, Robinson must cope with many time-slowing distractions, including a hitchhiker (Heder) and an attraction to his off-limits road partner.

Jason Faller, Kynan Griffin, T.R. Gourley and Maclain Nelson also produced the feature, which was directed by Andrew Black (Pride and Prejudice). It begins a platform rollout Sept. 14 in select cities.

"We were after this hysterical and touching film since (the 2006 American Film Market) and are also quite pleased to have made an alliance for this picture with Magnolia Home Entertainment," FIP president Gary Rubin said.

Other FIP releases include Edmond, starring William H. Macy and Julia Stiles, and The Great New Wonderful, starring Maggie Gyllenhaal and Edie Falco.

Hollywood actress Maggie Gyllenhaal has vowed to keep her political opinions to herself, because she's still suffering the media backlash over a remark she made about the September 11th terrorist attacks in April. The New York native was at the premiere of her movie The Great New Wonderful, which is set in the city a year after the al-Qaeda attacks on the Big Apple, and investigates New Yorkers' feelings about the tragedy. But while describing the movie, Gyllenhaal famously suggested America was "responsible in some way" for the attacks, but was forced to retract the comment following a media uproar about her anti-American sentiments. And now she's too terrified to discuss her thoughts, in case she accidentally sparks controversy again. She says, "I was so surprised by the way it was misunderstood, and the disdain that came back at me was a real shock. I regret what I said, but I think my intentions were good. Neither the red carpet nor an interview about a movie is the right place to talk about my politics. I realize I have to be careful, because it's very easy to misunderstand a complicated thought in a complicated world."...

Columbia Pictures has attached Danny Leiner to direct the romantic comedy Fetch, which Jeff Lowell is writing and Neal Moritz is producing for his Original Film. Leiner most recently directed Great New Wonderful, a tale of five, interwoven stories set in New York in the wake of Sept. 11. The film, whose cast includes Maggie Gyllenhaal, Edie Falco, Tony Shalhoub and Olympia Dukakis, premiered at the recent Tribeca Film Festival. Leiner's other directing credits include Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle and Dude, Where's My Car?...

The 2005 Tribeca Film Festival, founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff, announced films in four competitive categories Wednesday. The festival, which runs April 19-May 1 in Lower Manhattan, will feature fictional films and documentaries in two categories, dubbed NY, NY Narrative Features and NY, NY Documentary Features. The fictional features, which range from dramas focusing on the effects of 9/11 to slapstick comedy and suburban tales, include: Adam & Steve, directed by Craig Chester; Alchemy, Evan Oppenheimer; Bittersweet Place, Alexandra Brodsky; Conventioneers, Mora Stephens; The F Word, Jed Weintrob; Four Lane Highway, Dylan McCormick; Great New Wonderful, Danny Leiner; Laura Smiles, Jason Ruscio; Life on the Ledge, Lewis Helfer; Love, Vladan Nikolic; Puzzlehead, James Bai; The Reception, John G. Young; Red Doors, Georgia Lee; Rockaway, Mark Street; Satellite, Jeff Winner; and Slingshot, Jay Alaimo.

Olympia Dukakis, The Station Agent writer-director Thomas McCarthy, Judy Greer, Will Arnett, Jim Gaffigan and Naseeruddin Shah have joined Edie Falco, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Tony Shalhoub in Serenade Films/Sly Dog Films' digital feature The Great New Wonderful for helmer Danny Leiner. Penned by playwright Sam Catlin, the dark comedy weaves five stories against the backdrop of an anxious and uncertain post-Sept. 11 New York. Shooting starts this week in the Big Apple. Leiner, who recently finished work on New Line Cinema's Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, is producing New Wonderful with partner Matt Tauber through their new production outfit Sly Dog Films. Serenade Films is financing, with the company's Leslie Urdang, Michael Nozik, Amy Robinson and Michael Hoffman serving as producers.