Rihanna and Lupita Nyong’o to star in Ava DuVernay-directed film that started with an Internet meme
An internet post has caused a fan-desired film to happen. According to EW, the online campaign to make a film based on a Tumblr post of Lupita Nyong’o (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and Rihanna (Annie) at a fashion show in 2014 was successful. The photo was posted on Tumblr by “elizabitchtaylor,” which said, “They look like they’re in a heist movie with Rihanna as the tough-as-nails leader/master thief and Lupita as the genius computer hacker.” A campaign began to have Ava DuVernay (Selma) direct the buddy film. Issa Rae (Insecure) was called on to write the script. The online campaign has now become a real thing. Here is the original post.
Then the Twitter back and forth started between Nyong’o, Rihanna, DuVernay and Rae:
I’m down if you are @rihanna https://t.co/vwHBWeCbFZ
— Lupita Nyong’o (@Lupita_Nyongo) April 21, 2017
I’m in Pit’z https://t.co/Kz0o3lBEmL
— Rihanna (@rihanna) April 23, 2017
@rihanna So @ava, your turn pic.twitter.com/YGJbNI5jLz
— Mikelle Street (@MikelleStreet) April 23, 2017
@dvrrxll @rihanna pic.twitter.com/XG2WMribGJ
— Issa Rae (@IssaRae) April 23, 2017
At the Cannes Film Festival, Netflix won the bidding war to back and distribute the film. There isn’t any official info about the plot, but the people who suggested the idea will reportedly be credited in some way. DuVernay is currently finishing post-production on A Wrinkle in Time, but the film should begin shooting next year. The Tumblr user who started it all posted her reaction today.
So, are you guys excited for the dream team film with Nyong’o, Rihanna, DuVernay and Rae? Are you planning on posting any buddy film ideas on social media now? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or tweet us @ComingSoonnet.
(Photo Credit: Getty Images)
