Mindy Kaling has described her new movie, Late Night, which world premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Fest, as the story of an aspiring writer who endures a “Devil Wears Prada”-like initiation into the world of comedy.
It is a familiar story about breaking into the entertainment business, except it was made by an Indian-American woman.
“So much of this movie is about being a fan and being on the outside of the entertainment business,” Kaling said. “That story has been told many, many, many times by 52-year-old white men, and I love all those movies. As a comedy nerd, I’ve always identified with them because it was the closest thing that I could identify with. There was no one like me making those kind of films.”
Late Night scored a record $13 million domestic distribution deal, after its premiere last week.
This year’s festival is more diverse and inclusive, reflected in the films that were selected by Sundance’s programmers to the film critics invited to attend.
End result is a greater representation of female voices and people of color.