Joey King’s “A Family Affair” Character Inspired By Hollywood CEO
Joey King's "A Family Affair" character is inspired by an iconic assistant-turned-ceo. Let's find out who she is and more.
A Little Summary
With a stellar cast of Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron, Joey King and Kathy Bates, the new “A Family Affair” movie hit theaters on 28th June 2024. This Netflix romcom is directed by American film director Richard LaGravenese. His other notable works include The Bridges of Madison County, Behind the Candelabra, and The Fisher King.
He is an outstanding storyteller with a penchant for individual-focused narratives. This time he has taken it a step further. For his new romcom “A Family Affair“, he has based Joey King’s character Zara Ford off of someone who is an icon in the film industry. She is none other than Pamela Abdy, the CEO of Warner Bros Entertainment(WB)!
Joey King has played many well-known characters in her career. Her most well known roles are as Christine in the horror blockbuster The Conjuring and as feisty Shelley “Elle” Evans in the teen rom-com The Kissing Booth. She played the role of Christine Perron when she was only 12 years-old.
“It was pretty intense.”, she commented while appearing on The Drew Barrymore Show. She even developed a rare blood disorder. Nevertheless, she is at the peak of her career and has a good social media presence. She is regularly seen hanging out with American pop sensation Sabrina Carpenter.
Pamela’s Story
Well, this time things got a little bit extraordinary. This role is being discussed by fans because of a particular reason. Director LaGravanese had based the character of Zara on a real-life person. And that person is none other than Hollywood head-honcho Pamela Abdy. It turns out that the now CEO of WB was once an assistant to another famous Hollywood director.
Pamela Abdy is credited as the producer for movies such as “47 Ronin”(2013), “Endless Love”(2014) and “A Million Little Pieces”(2018). She has been a veteran in the film industry and, in addition, serves as the co-chair of Warner Bros Motion Picture Group. It turns out, Abdy had to start as an assistant in the film industry, just like Zara in “The Family Affair”. She worked for prominent Golden Globe and Emmy awardee Danny DeVito.
In an interview with Collider, LaGravanese reveals what he feels about an assistant being an unsung hero. He states that every assistant “deserves credit for the work that they do”. He has experiences with both good and bad ones because he has been in the business for so long. He believes that those assistants who are dedicated to their job are indeed the ones who wind up running studios later on.
“This character was based on one specific person for that.”, he adds. He met Pamela Abdy when she was working with DeVito. While he was there, he witnessed their incredible dynamic. “Pam never let him Danny get away with it just ’cause he was a movie star. And he loved that about her!” he adds.
Who is Zara?
In “A Family Affair” movie, Joey King plays the role of Zara, a personal assistant to a jerk of a boss, who also happens to be a movie-star. His name is Chris Cole and is efficiently played by Efron. She is under-appreciated by Chris. He depends on her for every kind of chore.
From making itineraries to getting his things back from his ex-girlfriend’s place, she has to do it all. Yet, he neglects her efforts and makes her job very challenging. With big dreams of becoming a big-shot producer, she took the job as his assistant to learn the trade. Despite all her hard work, she is still left running his errands.
In the toxic Hollywood environment, it is indeed very hard to “make it”. So, Zara is trying her best to please Chris in spite of his humongous ego. So imagine her horror when she walks in on her mother Brooke (Nicole Kidman) and Chris getting cozy. Yep. Her lights were about to go out. Literally! Because when she quickly turns her head, in order to remove herself from that very awkward situation, her head slams into the wall. Without a doubt, she does not approve of their relationship.
Brooke is a widowed author. She is on a self-searching journey of her own. Her editor Leila (Kathy Bates) is trying to convince her to go out into the world to explore again. Brooke is at a turning point in her life where she wants to write personally again. Despite being her mother in-law, Leila encourages Brooke to get back in the dating scene. That is when she meets Chris one fine day. Well, not so fine for Zara though.
More on Pamela Abdy
Born on 23 November 1973, Abdy started her film career as an assistant to DeVito at Jersey Films. Through that production company, she got her first co-producing job for Garden State in 2004. Following this, she had a good box-office run with movies like “47 Ronin “(2013) and “A Million Little Pieces” (2018). Furthermore, she went on to preside as production executive in big companies such as Paramount and New Regency. According to a “The Hollywood Reporter” article, dated June 1, 2022, MGM veterans Pamela Abdy and Michael De Luca had reached a deal with Warners and New Line Cinema. After the conclusion of their respective contracts from Amazon, maybe around next month, they would join as co-chairs in WB.
Joey King is bringing her own unique touch to Abdy’s character. LaGravanese vision is truly displayed by Efron and King’s amazing on-screen chemistry.
