“Sister Act” fans, take note: another musical comedy about a choir is on the way. “Little” helmer and co-writer Tina Gordon has been tapped to direct Universal Pictures’ “Praise This,” Deadline confirms. She’ll also rewrite the script.
Set in the world of competitive youth choir, earlier drafts of “Praise This” were penned by Camilla Blackett (“Fresh Off the Boat”) and writing team Murder Ink (Jana Savage, Brandon Broussard, and Hudson Obayuwana).
“Little” hit theaters earlier this year. Based on an idea by “Black-ish” star Marsai Martin, the comedy follows a bully (Regina Hall) who reverts to her childhood self (Martin) when the responsibilities of adulthood become too much to bear.
Gordon has said that she was “nervous about the movie being well-received.” She explained, “I thought, ‘Oh, god, please, there are not that many female directors. There are not that many black female directors doing comedy. I don’t wanna be the one where they say, ‘Remember that time when we hired her at Universal?’ When you’re in a space where you’re the first, or one of a rare number, you just wanna do your very best job, and you really want it to succeed for yourself, but also for the women that are behind you,” she emphasized. “That’s the pressure that I was thinking about, and that I always think about.”
“What Men Want” and “Drumline” are among Gordon’s writing credits. She made her directorial debut with 2013 comedy feature “Peeples,” which she also penned.
