KJ Apa Hosts NYC Screening for Jimmy Stewart Biopic
KJ Apa attended a New York screening of his film Jimmy on October 21, with co-stars Max Casella and Jen Lilley and director Aaron Burns also present. The movie casts Apa as Jimmy Stewart and centers on Stewart's choice to serve as a combat pilot and commander in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II after winning an Oscar for The Philadelphia Story. Jimmy opens in theaters on November 6.
The New York event took place at the SAG-AFTRA Theater, with Burns & Co. Entertainment and The Cinema Society presenting the Oct. 21 screening. Producers Angela Galgani Sullivan and Jack McClintock joined Apa, Casella, Lilley and director Aaron Burns, and attendees later gathered at The Skylark.
In the film, Casella portrays director Frank Capra and Lilley plays Gloria Stewart. The supporting cast includes Jason Alexander as Louis B. Mayer, Christopher McDonald as Lionel Barrymore, Sarah Drew as Hedda Hopper and Karolyn Grimes, who appeared in It’s a Wonderful Life as a child, in a cameo. Jimmy reaches theaters Nov. 6.
The release may draw moviegoers interested in classic Hollywood and wartime service, while Apa’s fan base could bring a younger audience to a historical biopic. For veterans’ families and history educators, the film may prompt discussion about Stewart’s military choices, though its cultural reach may depend on reviews and word of mouth. The screening itself may generate early social-media buzz among entertainment followers.