Rihanna and Lupita Nyong'o Set to Star in Netflix Movie That Started With Viral Twitter Post
Twitter is home to both good and bad ideas, but sometimes one idea is so fantastic that it manages to get the support of the whole internet. The perfect example would be a buddy movie starring Rihanna and Lupita Nyong'o.
What started with a photo of the two beautiful women together at a Miu Miu fashion show has now snowballed and became an actual film project in the works.
Earlier this year, Twitter user 1800SADGAL shared the photo of Rihanna and Nyong'o, and then said that the scene looked like it was taken from a movie. She even described what she thought would be the basic premise of the film.
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Twitter users everywhere soon jumped in and the post spread like wildfire. It even caught the attention of the two Hollywood celebrities involved. The Academy Award-winning actress shared the post and revealed that she would be willing to take part in the film if Rihanna agrees. The Grammy Award winner responded three days later, saying she's "in."
Ava DuVernay ("Selma") was then asked by Twitter users to direct the film, and she responded with enthusiasm. All that was left was an actual script, and Twitter came to Issa Rae ("Insecure"), who replied with a gif image of a cat typing furiously on a laptop.
Now, Entertainment Weekly reports that Netflix has nabbed the rights to the project after an intense negotiation at the Cannes Film Festival. Sources told the media outlet that other companies wanted the rights to the film, but the streaming service was ultimately able to win the project after making a bold bid. DuVernay confirmed the news on Twitter.
Both DuVernay and Rae are currently attached to other projects, but the latter is apparently already starting work on the script. Production is scheduled to begin in 2018, which will allow DuVernay to direct.
A release date has yet to be set.
