“Grown-ish” indeed — Yara Shahidi has booked her first leading film role with top billing. Best known for her portrayal of Zoey Johnson in “Black-ish” and spinoff “Grown-ish,” the actress is teaming up with “Pitch Perfect 3” helmer Trie Sie to bring “Sitting in Bars with Cake” to the screen. Audrey Shulman is penning the Amazon Studios pic, which is based on her book of the same name. The Hollywood Reporter broke the news.
“Based on a true story, ‘Cake’ centers on a quiet young woman unlucky in love who discovers an unlikely guy magnet when she bakes a cake for her best friend’s birthday and brings it to a bar, only to be swarmed by men. She believes it’s a fluke, but her friend convinces her to commit to a year of baking cakes and bringing them to bars, with the goal of finding true love. The young woman’s life proceeds to open up in ways she couldn’t have imagined,” the source teases. The project hopes to balance laughs and heart in a story of love and friendship.
Shahidi is among the pic’s exec producers. The “Sun is Also a Star” actress’ upcoming slate also includes Disney’s live-action “Peter Pan & Wendy,” which sees her playing Tinker Bell.
Besides the third installment of “Pitch Perfect,” which took in over $185 million worldwide, Sie’s other credits include “Step Up All In” and “The Sleepover.” She’s in post-production on “Players,” a Netflix rom-com with “Jane the Virgin” breakout Gina Rodriguez.