What may seem like an eternity back but back in 2013, the Daily Mail (via Indiewire) sat down with Thandie Newton (‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’, ‘Westworld’) and said to the outlet the following:
“I’m writing my first movie script which will go into production very soon and I’m so excited. I can’t say the title yet because it’s all top secret, but over the next few years I will be maturing into somebody who is not just up there on the screen. My next step will be directing, that is my ultimate goal”.
Clearly the “production very soon” quote seems rather old now considering that we have heard nothing regarding the project since 2013, however we at DiscussingFilm have potential new details on the film finally after just over 5 years.
We must preface this that this information must be taken with a small grain of salt, because as of writing, we have not heard back from Thandie Newton’s reps regarding this story however I trust my sources on this story enough to report it whilst awaiting a comment from Thandie’s reps.
Now for the interesting part, per my sources, Thandie Newton is officially set to direct and produce the film also now and is still listed as the screenwriter, the film is eyeing to begin production in January 2019 in Oakland. The film, as theorised by IndieWire, will be an adaption of Rita Williams-Garcia’s novel titled ‘One Crazy Summer’ (which as of now is what the movie will also be called). The movie will be set in the summer of 1968, and will follow three young African-American girls in New York travel to Oakland to spend the summer with their mother who turned away from motherhood to become a poet.
As of now, no cast has been listed however Aisha Coley (‘A Wrinkle In Time’, ‘Central Park Five’) is set to be the casting director for the film. Forest Whitaker (‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’), Chris Moore (‘Manchester By The Sea’) and Nina Yang (‘Sorry To Bother You’) are all listed to be producing the film alongside Thandie Newton, it is unclear for each whether it is in the producer role or in the executive producer role.
Thandie Newton’s reps are yet to comment on this story.
