Washington [US], May 3 : The upcoming musical by Michel Gondry and Pharrell Williams for Universal Pictures has gained another star, Janelle Monae.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Monae has joined the cast of the untitled period feature, which focuses on coming-of-age. The film already boasts a talented lineup including Kelvin Harrison Jr., Halle Bailey, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Brian Tyree Henry, and Missy Elliott.
The movie, set in Virginia Beach in 1977, is based on Atlantis Apartments, the area where Williams spent his childhood. Gondry is directing the musical, with a script by Martin Hynes and Steven Levenson.
Williams and Mimi Valdes from I Am Other, along with Gil Netter from Gil Netter Productions, are producing the film. Universal's senior VP of production development, Ryan Jones, and director of production development, Christine Sun, are overseeing the project, as per The Hollywood Reporter.
Monae has starred in films like Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Antebellum, Hidden Figures, and Moonlight, and also appeared in the TV series Homecoming. She's a successful musician too, with her album The Age of Pleasure earning a Grammy nomination for album of the year. Monae is represented by WME, ID PR, Wondaland Management, Ziffren Brittenham, and Johnson Shapiro.
Gondry's directorial credits include Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep, Be Kind Rewind, and The Green Hornet, as well as the music documentary Dave Chappelle's Block Party. He won an Oscar for his work on the script of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
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