Kathy Bates, John Malkovich, Lewis Pullman join indie film Thelma

Actors Kathy Bates, John Malkovich, and Lewis Pullman have joined the cast of an indie film titled Thelma.

The feature, written by Andrew Farotte, is set to be directed by Ken Kwapis. The film will center around the real-life story of  Thelma Toole (Bates), the mother of the Pulitzer Prize-winning author, John Kennedy Toole (Pullman). After John died before ever seeing the fame that his fictional writing, A Confederacy of Dunces, garnered, Thelma took it upon herself to make sure that the book was published and given the recognition it deserved. After years of struggle and unwavering devotion, Thelma was able to deliver the work to author Walker Percy (Malkovich), who helped the book reach new heights. In 1908, the book was finally published and became an instant classic.

Bates is well known for her role in Clint Eastwood’s 2019 film Richard Jewell, which got her a fourth Oscar nomination. The American Horror Story regular will soon be appearing in Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.

Malkovich, another Hollywood legend, is best known for his roles in titles like Death of a Salesman, Places in the Heart, The Killing Fields, HBO's The New Pope, etc. He was recently seen in Netflix's Space Force and will soon be seen in Luis Prieto’s Shattered and Randall Emmett’s Wash Me in the River.

Pullman has starred in films such as The Strangers: Prey at Night and Bad Times at the El Royale. He also played a recurring role in the Catch-22 miniseries. He will soon be seen in  Top Gun: Maverick and in the film adaptation of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot.