Shirley, You Jest!

Shirley MacLaine will be able to tap her enthusiasm for spiritualism--comedically--when she starts “Waiting for the Light,” an Ed Pressman production scheduled to begin filming in Seattle in April.

Written and directed by Welshman Chris Monger, the story’s about a mom, two pre-teen kids and great-aunt MacLaine, who move to a small Midwest town in 1962 to run a diner and lead a quiet life. When they move in next door to the meanest man in town, the kids decide to scare him to death with the help of aunty--a former carny who dabbled in phony spiritualism. She concocts a dazzling illusion, convincing the man he’s had a “visitation” and turning the town into a latter-day Lourdes.

Co-producer Caldecot Chubb calls the film “a comedy about the need for faith in society . . . a positive, emotional comedy.”