Charming The Hearts Of Men Movie Updates: Is The Kelsey Grammer Drama Cancelled?

Is the Kelsey Grammer-fronted drama Charming The Hearts Of Men still happening or has it been cancelled? Back in 2019, Deadline revealed that Kelsey Grammer of Frasier fame had been cast as a Southern congressman in independent romantic drama Charming The Hearts Of Men, which was set during the politically charged era of early 1960s America. Written and directed by Atlanta-based restaurateur-turned-filmmaker Susan DeRose, the movie was reported as a fictional account based on real-life events that would center on a character named Grace Gordon, who challenges the discrimination faced by women in the 1960s.

Subsequent reports revealed British actress Anna Friel (Pushing Daisies) would play Charming The Hearts Of Men’s female lead Grace Gordon, a woman who returns to her Southern hometown after the death of her father to find her once privileged existence is now penniless. While struggling to support herself in a time when women had very few options, Grace teams with Kelsey Grammer’s congressman character to challenge the discrimination faced by both black and white women. The Lord Of The Rings star Sean Astin and Aml Ameen were also cast in the movie.

After that flurry of activity in 2019, there’s been little in the way of updates since. So, is Charming The Hearts Of Men still happening?

Charming The Hearts Of Men Was Filmed In Atlanta

According to Atlanta Magazine, the cast and crew of Charming The Hearts Of Men started filming in and around Atlanta, Georgia in mid-August 2019. Judging by a photo star Anna Friel posted on her Instagram of herself in costume, it seems principal photography on the romantic drama concluded sometime in late September 2019. A more recent update from Anna Friel via Twitter in February 2020 suggested she had returned to Georgia to shoot pickup shots, while a May 2020 blog post from assistant editor Taylor Glazier hinted the final cut of the film had been edited and was good to go.

Charming The Hearts Of Men May Be Experiencing Some Delays

Although Charming The Hearts Of Men has a 1 September 2020 release date listed on its IMDb page, it seems the romance movie hasn’t been officially released yet nor has it found a distributor. The delay could be a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, but a little research shows Susan DeRose has come under fire in her other career as a restaurateur over an issue that may be affecting the release of her debut film. According to Eater Atlanta, DeRose caught heat back in 2020 for displaying both an insensitive banner outside one of her Atlanta restaurants during a BLM march and for hanging a controversial artwork depicting the former Georgia state flag – which unfortunately incorporates Confederate imagery – inside the same eatery. All things considered, now might not be the best time for DeRose to release a movie that’s set during the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s.

That said, Charming The Hearts Of Men has been mentioned in recent articles from the outlets like Deadline or the Irish Examiner about what upcoming projects stars Kelsey Grammer and Anna Friel are in, so it seems the release of the movie is going ahead.