Matt Harris on Penning Emotional Comedy with Netflix’s The Starling [Exclusive Interview]

The Starling from Matt Harris lingered on Hollywood’s Black List for many years. With a beautiful story about loss and depression, many studios didn’t want to gamble on these types of dramas. Now on Netflix, The Starling came to fruition with a good cast that’ll make you laugh and cry at the same time.

The film stars Melissa McCarthy and Chris O’Dowd as a couple coping in their different ways after the loss of their child. Theodore Melfi directed the movie from the screenplay written by Matt Harris.

Here’s the official synopsis of The Starling:

After Lilly (Melissa McCarthy) suffers a loss, a battle with a territorial bird over the dominion of her garden provides an unlikely avenue for her grief and the courage to heal her relationships and rediscover her capacity for love.

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LRM Online’s Gig Patta spoke with writer Matt Harris on the origination of this touching story and on how it finally came to reality. We talked about depression, hospitals, veterinarians, and most importantly—starlings.

Matt Harris graduated from Cal State University in Bakersfield with a major in English and then received his Master’s in American Literature at San Diego State University. His first writing feature, The Starling, landed on the 2005 Black List. With his recognition, he wrote the western Moon of Popping Trees, which is currently in production with a new title Dead for a Dollar. He produced numerous television projects for the Travel Channel, Nickelodeon, History Channel, Tru TV, and MTV. At MTV, he became the showrunner of Ridiculousness, one of the most popular and longest-running shows of the network.

The Starling is currently streaming on Netflix today.

Watch the exclusive interview with Matt Harris below. Let us know what you think of it.

Source: LRM Online Exclusive, Netflix