Screen Gems is stocking up on actors as it preps its upcoming slate, tappingCrazy Rich AsiansstarConstance Wuto topline an untitled pregnancy comedy, and Oscar-nominatedMoonlightactressNaomie Harristo star in the cop thrillerBlack and Blue, Collider has confirmed.
GLOWactressKimmy Gatewoodis directing the pregnancy comedy from a spec script bySavion Einstein. Wu will play a young woman who finds herself in a unique situation when she becomes pregnant with twins by different fathers — an actual rare occurrence known as superfecundation. That mouthful of a word used to be the title of the script, which was a semifinalist for the Nicholl Fellowship.
Elizabeth BanksandMax Handelmanare producing via their Brownstone Productions banner. Screen Gems executivesScott StraussandMichael Bitarwill oversee the project for the studio, whileAlison SmallandSam Crawleywill oversee on behalf of Brownstone.
Meanwhile, Harris has signed on to star in the police body cam thrillerBlack and Blue, which used to be titledExposure.Deon Tayloris directing from a script byPeter A. Dowling.Sean Sorensenis producing with Taylor, whose Hidden Empire partnerRoxanne Aventwill serve as an executive producer.Eric Paquettewill oversee the project for Screen Gems.
Harris will play a rookie cop in New Orleans whose body cam captures the murder of a drug dealer by a group of fellow officers. The corrupt cops proceed to hunt her down over the course of one long night as they attempt to recover the footage.
Outside of a small role in the 2011 indieSound of My Voice, I had never seen Wu’s work beforeCrazy Rich Asians, but she greatly impressed me with her charming and vulnerable performance in that blockbuster, and I think this is a fun project for her. I’ll be curious to see who her male co-stars are, but the premise certainly sounds interesting, to say the least! As forBlack and Blue,the premise sounds a bit formulaic, but I love that title and agree that Harris has earned her own action-thriller following her Oscar-nominated turn inMoonlight.Rampagewasn’t exactly what I had in mind for her career after that film, but I won’t hold it against Harris, who will soon begin filmingCary Joji Fukunaga’sBond 25withDaniel Craig.
Wu is represented by UTA and Principal Entertainment, while Harris is repped by WME, Untitled Entertainment and Tavistock Wood.Deadlinebroke bothstories.
