A Little White Lie

A Little White Lie is a 2022 American independent comedy film written and directed by Michael Maren and based on the 2013 novel Shriver by Chris Belden. It stars Michael Shannon, Kate Hudson, Don Johnson, and Zach Braff. The film is about a handyman with the same name as a famous writer who is mistakenly invited to a literary festival and is welcomed by fans and writers, but is exposed as an imposter when the real Shriver arrives. Production was initially set to begin in 2017 but was postponed to 2020. With a new cast, filming began in February 2020 and was one week shy of wrapping before the COVID-19 pandemic halted production until over a year later. It was released in theaters and video on demand on March 3, 2023. Premise A famous writer named Shriver is invited to attend a college's literary festival, but the invitation is mistakenly sent to a "down-on-his-luck" handyman with the same name who has never even read a book. Despite this, he accepts the invitation and travels to the college, where he is welcomed by fans and other writers, and even begins a romance with an English professor. Eventually, the real Shriver arrives and exposes the handyman as an imposter.