#Julianne Moore, Don Cheadle, Chris Cooper and more cast in lockdown anthology ‘With/In’

By Andreas Wiseman, Deadline

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Julianne Moore, Don Cheadle and Chris Cooper
Getty Images; WireImage

EXCLUSIVE: Julianne Moore, Don Cheadle, Sanaa Lathan, Rebecca Hall, Chris Cooper, Alessandro Nivola, Emily Mortimer, Rosie Perez and Debra Winger are among the all-star cast of innovative feature “With/In,” a made-at-home anthology film revolving around themes of confinement and isolation.

Trudie Styler and Celine Rattray’s newly rebranded Maven Screen Media (“American Honey”) is in production on the two-hour feature, which is a collection of short films made during lockdown by a slew of top actors and directors. Scroll down for the full list of participants.

The project was initiated when Maven and Emmy-winning writer-producer Margaret Nagle (“Boardwalk Empire”) asked actor-director families and friends to come up with stories about life stuck inside. Storylines include a couple stuck together after a one night stand, kids scheming to run away from their paranoid dad, a divorced couple isolating together for the sake of their dog, and a widow dealing with her grief.

It was filmed using shared equipment, with DP Zach Kuperstein and sound consultant Dan Bricker advising remotely through Zoom. Oscar-nominated editor Tariq Anwar (“American Beauty,” “The King’s Speech”) is editing.

Maven partners Rattray and Styler produced with Peter and Michael Sobiloff. Nic Marshall and Jenny Halper oversaw production for Maven. CAA and UTA are handling worldwide sales, with principal photography ending imminently. A portion of the proceeds are earmarked for Feeding America and their response to Covid.

“We wanted to explore what isolation means to different people, and asked a handful of artists whose work we really admire,” Celine Rattray and Trudie Styler said in a joint statement. “What they came up with, to our delight, were stories about human connection that were powerful and funny and very different. Our plan is to continue to tell these stories, and to capture a moment in time that is continuing to change.”

Margaret Nagle added: “This moment is collectively bigger than we are and we wanted to capture that. The stories carry themes of love, loss, redemption, hope and transition told through the lens of these artists. The world has been altered so radically in such a short period of time and we wanted to explore creativity within the barriers of confinement and create new forms of storytelling.”

Maven, which recently wrapped Keira Knightley feature “Silent Night” and “A Mouthful Of Air” with Amanda Seyfried and Paul Giamatti, has recently rebranded from Maven Pictures to Maven Screen Media.

Rattray explained the name change to us: “Maven Screen Media is a new chapter for Trudie and myself. We will be producing content across film, TV and digital but with a strong push into TV and digital.  We will be working far more with UK writing and directing talent, which we are thrilled about based on the extraordinary talent here, and we will be shooting more in the UK and hiring here.”

The “With/In” filmmakers and cast include:

• “Nuts,” directed by Chris Cooper, written by Marianne Leone, starring Marianne Leone and Chris Cooper
• “Neighborhood Watch,” written and directed by Sam Nivola, starring Emly Mortimer, Alessandro Nivola, May Nivola and Sam Nivola
• “One Night Stand,” written and directed by Griffin Dunne, starring Griffin Dunne and Zonia Pelensky
• “Touching,” directed by Jonathan Cake and Julianne Nicholson, written by Jonathan Cake, starring Julianne Nicholson, Jonathan Cake, Iggy Cake, Phoebe Cake
• “Mother!!” directed by Morgan Spector and Maya Singer, written by Maya Singer, starring Rebecca Hall, Morgan Spector and Maya Singer
• “Coco and Gigi,” written and directed by Rosie Perez, starring Rosie Perez and Justina Machado
• “In the Air,” written and directed by Bill Camp and Elizabeth Marvel, starring Bill Camp, Elizabeth Marvel and Silas Camp
• “Her Own,” written and directed by Arliss Howard, starring Debra Winger and Arliss Howard
• “Twenty Questions,” written and directed by Sebastian Gutierrez, starring Carla Gugino and Adrianne Palicki
• “Shell Game,” written and directed by Gina Gershon, starring Gina Gershon
• “I’m Listening,” directed by Mickey Sumner, written by Portia Alen-Buckley and Mike Lindley, starring Mickey Sumner and Trudie Styler
• “Leap,” directed by Sanaa Lathan, written by Margaret Nagle, starring Sanaa Lathan and Lucy Punch
• “Intersection,” written and directed by Bart Freundlich, starring Julianne Moore, Don Cheadle, Talia Balsam, Taj Swaminathan-Sipp