Regina King is bringing rapper Dana Dane’s “Cinderfella” to the big screen. According to Vibe, the Emmy-winning actress is partnering with Dane to adapt his 1987 song — a gender reversal of the classic fairy tale “Cinderella” — into a feature-length hip hopera. Few details are available but the “Cinderfella” script is reportedly finished, and King and Dane are currently shopping the project around to studios and in the preliminary casting stages.
Set in the Brooklyn projects, Dane’s song is about Cinderfella, a young man who lives with his awful step-dad and step-brothers. Cinderfella’s life changes when his fairy godfather, Hurb, appears, helps Cinderfella go to a big party, and provides him a new pair of sneakers for the occasion.
King won two consecutive Emmys in 2015 and 2016 for her work in the ABC anthology series “American Crime.” In January she signed a two-year deal between the studio and her Royal Ties production company. King’s HBO dystopian drama “The Leftovers” recently aired its series finale. Also a director, King has helmed episodes of shows like “Being Mary Jane,” “Scandal,” and “Green Leaf.” Next, she’ll star in Veena Sud’s Netflix series, “Seven Seconds,” which explores the racial tensions that erupt in Jersey City after a black boy is critically injured by a police officer. “Seven Seconds” is expected to debut sometime this year.
Listen to the original “Cinderfella” below.
