Kay Cannon will follow up her feminist coming-of-age comedy “Blockers” with a fresh take on an old classic. She’s signed on to write and direct a new telling of “Cinderella” with Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Camila Cabello in the iconic title role. The Hollywood Reporter broke the news. The project is set up at Sony Pictures, and Cabello will be “integrally involved in the music for the film.”
Plot details are scarce, but the pic is said to be “a modern re-imagining of the traditional tale of the orphaned girl with an evil step-mother with a musical bent thrown in for good measure.”
Cannon made her feature directorial debut with box office and critical hit “Blockers,” a teen comedy about BFFs eager to have sex for the first time on prom night — and the girls’ parents, who are desperate to stop them at all costs.
A three-time Emmy nominee, Cannon launched her career as a writer on “30 Rock.” “New Girl,” “Cristela,” and “Girlboss” are among her other TV writing credits. She penned the screenplay for 2012 box office smash “Pitch Perfect,” and went on to write the second and third installments of the aca-franchise.
When we asked Cannon her advice for other women directors, she said, “You will get tired. You will get frustrated. You will be treated unfairly and minimized. You will want to quit. Don’t,” she urged. “You can never quit.”
Cannon told us that she considers the #TimesUp movement “wonderful,” “necessary,” and “overdue.” She explained, “It’s as if we collectively and simultaneously reached this tipping point where we all looked at each other and said, ‘No. It shouldn’t be this way. Not anymore. We’re done. Pull the rug up off the floor — let’s see what secrets have been hiding under there for all these years, and let’s fix this shit.'”
Cabello was a member of Fifth Harmony before going solo. Her record-breaking debut album, 2018’s “Camila,” debuted at No. 1 on 110 iTunes charts around the world. Her best known songs include “Havana,” “Crying in the Club” and “Never Be the Same.” Her music has been featured in the soundtracks for “The Fate of the Furious” and “Bright.”
