The good news: Janelle Monáe is starring in a film. The bad news: exceedingly few details about the project are known. She’s signed on to topline an upcoming Lionsgate movie from activist filmmakers Gerard Bush + Christopher Renz. The project is being “cloaked in secrecy,” Deadline writes. And that’s no exaggeration. No word on a title, logline, or even a genre. But it sounds like the film will mark the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter’s first starring role.
“Bush + Renz are known for their deep creative layers, highlighting social issues as a hallmark of their innovative, edgy approach,” the source notes. “They have worked on campaigns partnering with the MLK Memorial Foundation and Amnesty International, as well as directing Jay-Z’s politically charged music visual ‘Kill Jay-Z,’ garnering them significant praise. Their viral police brutality PSA produced by activist icon Harry Belafonte titled ‘Against the Wall’ starring Michael B. Jordan, Danny Glover, and Michael K. Williams solidified their voices, not only as important American artists but also celebrated visual activists in their field.” An activist herself, Monáe, who identifies as pansexual, is outspoken about racial and gender inequality and LGBTQ issues.
Monáe’s acting credits include “Hidden Figures” and “Moonlight.” She voices one of the main characters in animated flick “UglyDolls,” set to bow May 3. Among her upcoming projects are Kasi Lemmon’s “Harriet,” a biopic of Harriet Tubman led by Cynthia Erivo, and Julie Taymor’s “The Glorias: A Life on the Road,” an adaptation of Gloria Steinem’s memoir. Her albums include “The Electric Lady” and “Dirty Computer.”
Monáe’s Wondaland Pictures has a first-look deal with Universal.
Asked about the mission of her company, Monáe said, “There’s so many stories out there. If I look at a ‘Moonlight’ — a movie that I was extremely excited about being a part of — having a young, gay, black boy highlighted in the way that ‘Moonlight’ highlighted his voice and story, I’d never seen in cinema,” she explained. “Even with ‘Hidden Figures,’ another film that I was really honored to be a part of, I didn’t have any idea about those women who helped get John Glenn into orbit, or the human computers who were doing all the numbers that it took to get our astronauts into space. So I’m just looking for those unique stories.”
The multi-hyphenate added, “There are a lot of other people that I respect and admire, like Issa Rae and Lena Waithe and Jordan Peele, who are also pushing forward underrepresented voices. I just hope, and Wondaland hopes, to continue to push culture forward and and redefine how we are viewed. I want to make movies the dirty computers can feel proud of.”
