Da’Vine Joy Randolph is in talks to star in a new musical.
The Oscar-winning actress is said to be in negotiations to appear in the untitled Universal film from director Michel Gondry and producer Pharrell Williams.
The project is considered a coming-of-age musical that draws inspiration from the “Happy” hitmaker’s upbringing in Virginia Beach during the 1970s and Kelvin Harrison Jr. is already confirmed to star.
Gondry will direct from a script by Martin Hynes and Steven Levenson with Williams, Mimi Valdes and Gil Netter all serving as producers.
Randolph recently won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress after starring as grieving mother Mary Lamb in The Holdovers. She explained that she hopes to “infiltrate” genres where minoritized people, specifically people of color, are not traditionally represented in the film industry.
“I don’t just want to do Black movies. I will always pay tribute to, honor, uplift and be a part of Black storytelling, but I need to infiltrate and get into the spaces where we’re not. I want to be in a Wes Anderson movie just ’cause. I want to be in a David O. Russell movie just ’cause. Coen brothers. I’ve never seen us there. Because that’s when I think we can really bring about educating and creating real change. If we just stay by ourselves, nothing is going to change.” she told Variety.
The Oscar win capped off a superb awards season for Randolph, although she has insisted that the success will not “change” her.
“There isn’t one. There’s a trophy in my house now, but I’m not different. You can’t come from Philadelphia and be changed; they won’t let you. This will be who I am,” she said after being asked about the difference between her now and before her Academy Awards triumph.
“The roles will get better; the money will improve; the lines will get better. I hope to make a legacy and leave an imprint with this career. I hope my work will matter, and it will be something that people of all shapes, sizes, colors, creeds and genders can connect to. But me — and the soul of me — won’t change.” Randolph added.
