Emmy Award-nominated actress Mayim Bialik, of “Blossom” and “The Big Bang Theory” fame, will write and direct a feature film based on her own life experiences.
The comedy-drama titled “As Sick As They Made Us,” which will deal with mental illness, will be Bialik’s screenwriting and directing debut. The news was first reported by Deadline Hollywood.
The film tells the story of a divorced mother who struggles to help her estranged brother visit their father on his deathbed. His death throws the family into disarray as she finds new love and while dealing with her difficult mother and brother, according to the website.
Casting is underway
“Growing up surrounded by mental illness is not something that is easy to write about, nor is it easy to live through,” Bialik, 43, told Deadline Hollywood. “The challenges ripple out into the lives of children immersed in these families, even as they try to make their own lives apart from the challenges they grew up with.
“After my father’s passing four-and-a-half years ago, I decided to explore the complexity of mental illness and familial responsibility — especially as it falls on women — as well as to highlight the redemptive nature of a family’s love as they navigate death and continue to live life on their own terms,” she said.
A San Diego native who was raised in a Reform household but now considers herself modern Orthodox, Bialik is best known for her portrayal as Dr. Amy Farrah Fawler on the hit show “The Big Bang Theory,” which ended its 12-year run last May. She was first launched into stardom at the age of 15 as the title character on the television series “Blossom.”
Bialik, a divorced mother of 2, has a doctorate in neuroscience, runs her own website, groknation.com, and is a best-selling author.
Marcy Oster writes for the JTA global news source.
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