Female Buddy Comedy "Golden Arm" Casts Mary Holland and Betsy Sodaro; Sets Production Start Date
The Californer/10034849

LOS ANGELES - Californer -- The independent comedy feature Golden Arm announced today that the film will be going into production this summer in Oklahoma.

Mary Holland and Betsy Sodaro are attached to star in the female buddy comedy about ladies arm wrestling. The premise focuses on a tough lady trucker who trains her girly best friend to compete in the National Ladies Arm Wrestling Championship.

Holland will be playing the part of Melanie, a wimpy baker who needs to get her life back on track after her business falls into insurmountable debt. Holland is currently shooting the Comedy Central series Robbie opposite Rory Scovel and will next be seen in the IFC feature Greener Grass which premiered at Sundance 2019. She also co-wrote the Sony/TriStar feature Happiest Season that was just greenlit with Kristen Stewart starring. Holland is represented by ICM Partners, Atlas Artists and Ziffren Brittenham.

More on The Californer

• Luxury Hospitality Advisors Launches Realtor Training Based on Five Star Hotel Service Training
• Swidget Launches Luminance™ to Help Schools Achieve Alyssa's Law Compliance
• Farther's Michael Lee Named One of InvestmentNews' Rising Stars of 2025
• Growing Demand for EVA Mats Signals Shift in Car Interior Market
• 4th Annual Holidays In The Village, A European Marketplace

Sodaro will be playing Danny, Melanie's best friend and arm wrestling champ who has suffered an injury and is unable to compete in the tournament. Another UCB comedy vet, Betsy has been seen on Disjointed with Kathy Bates, the NBC sitcom Animal Practice and in Monsters University. Sodaro is represented at UTA, Dave Becky at 3 Arts Entertainment and Dean Bahat at Ziffren Brittenham.

Director Maureen Bharoocha is set to helm the project. Bharoocha is best known for her work as a rising comedic director on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, in addition to her work that appeared on Lifetime. Bharoocha shot back-to-back movies for the network which included I Am Watching You and Fatal Flip. Her short film Hairpin Bender was also featured at Santa Barbara Film Festival in 2017. Bharoocha is represented by Audrey Rowe and Tara Dorfman at CAA, Brandy Rivers at Industry Entertainment and Lev Ginsburg at Ginsburg Daniels Kallis.

More on The Californer

• Moorpark College Named 2025 Pathway Champion for Driving Equity in Transfer Success
• MDRN MUSE Expands Insurance Network Coverage to Include Delta Dental & Cigna
• Chera TV: The Female-Led Platform Redefining Hollywood's Next Era of Storytelling
• California Student Aid Commission Launches 2026-27 Statewide Financial Aid Cycle at Ventura College
• California: Governor Newsom supports workers as Trump's shutdown hurts the economy

Golden Arm is a female buddy comedy that uses humor to drive women's empowerment themes. The project gained momentum when former Women in Film head Jane Fleming (#REALITYHIGH, The Frozen Ground) and Mark Ordesky (The Lord of the Rings trilogy) came on board to executive produce through their Court Five banner. They joined executive producer Russell Wayne Groves (Balls Out, Dealt, The Unicorn) and producer Geeta Bajaj of The Unicorn.

The film is the debut feature for writing team Ann Marie Allison and Jenna Milly, who are also executive producing. Allison and Milly are represented by Jon Brown at Ensemble Entertainment and Linda Lichter of Lichter, Grossman, Nichols & Adler.

For more information, contact Geeta Bajaj at goldenarmmovie@gmail.com. And, follow @GoldenArmMovie on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.